Beatrice sank back in the chair and fixed her eyes fearfully on the man who thus accused Vivian of a terrible crime. "You say that to frighten me," she gasped.

Major Ruck made no direct reply, but touched a bell. In response to its sound an old woman neatly dressed, but as evil-looking as the tramp, appeared. "Send Waterloo to me," said the Major.

The old woman vanished, and Major Ruck strolled to the window, whistling, with his hands behind his back. Beatrice, grasping the arms of her chair with the perspiration beading her forehead, wondered what Waterloo had to do with the accusation. She remembered the tramp's hint, and fancied that perhaps after all he really knew the truth; but that the truth should place Vivian in the position of an assassin appeared too terrible for words. While she thus meditated and the Major whistled, Waterloo with his familiar leer appeared. In the presence of his master the old man--for he was very old, as Durban had said, in spite of his attempts to renew his youth--seemed meaner than ever, and very much afraid.

"Yuss, Major," said Waterloo meekly.

Ruck wheeled sharply. "Tell this young lady what you saw of Alpenny's murder," he commanded.

"Why, lor' bless me, I sawr very little, sir," whined the tramp.

"Tell what you did see, and how Vivian Paslow killed the man."

"I don't believe it--I can't believe it!" muttered Beatrice, twisting her hands in agony.

"Wait till you hear what Waterloo has to say," said Ruck grimly.

"It wos this waiy, miss," said the tramp, addressing himself to the pale girl. "The Alpenny cove, he set me to watch you an' Mr. Paslow seein' as you loved one another."

"And do still, in spite of all," murmured Beatrice, while the Major raised his eyebrows superciliously.

"I wos awatchin' the pair of you on thet night," went on Waterloo in a cringing way, "and follered you, miss, to th' oak."

"You were the man crouching near the gates of The Camp?"

"Yuss, miss. I guessed you sawr me. I follered y'; and then wen Mr. Paslow sawr me, he follered me. He got 'old of me and kicked me, and I tuck out my knife to stab him. But he went away and back to the oak; I pulled myself together, and follered to knife him if I could. You had gone, miss, and Mr. Paslow he went to The Camp to see if you wos back, miss. I didn't keep quiet enough in the follering, and Mr. Paslow he caught me agin near The Camp and kicked me 'ard. I tried to use my knife," said Waterloo with a venomous look, "but he took it off me, and climbed over the big gates. I follered."

"Why did Mr. Paslow enter The Camp?" questioned Beatrice.

"To see if you wos back, miss," explained the tramp, while the Major smiled graciously. "I follered to git back me knife. I sawr the door of the counting-house open, an' the ole cove Alpenny come out hollering Thieves!' He was dressed in his hat an' cloak to go away----"

"That," interpolated the Major, "will be explained later."

"Wen he sawr Mr. Paslow he made for him, and Mr. Paslow held out my knife--unthinking, like. Alpenny fell on it, and then he struck Mr. Paslow. I never sawr any cove go so mad es Mr. Paslow did. He fair raged, and got the ole man down an' cut his throat."

"No, no, no!" cried Beatrice fiercely; "you lie!"

"I don't lie, now," said Waterloo sullenly; "it's the truth. And wen Mr. Paslow sawr me comin' over the gate, he bolted, leaving his handkerchief behind."

"Ah!" Beatrice remembered what Durban had said about the handkerchief. "Mr. Paslow left that with Mr. Alpenny on the day he quarrelled with him, previous to the death."

"Did Mr. Paslow explain that himself?" asked Ruck sneeringly.

"No. Durban gave me the explanation. I never spoke to Mr. Paslow of the handkerchief, as I believed Durban."

"And Durban told that lie to save your asking Mr. Paslow. Though, I dare say," added the Major with a shrug, "that Paslow would have lied also had you spoken to him."

"Go on," said Beatrice, speaking to Waterloo with grey lips. The conviction was forcing itself upon her that, after all, he might be telling the terrible truth.

"Wen Mr. Paslow slung his 'ook," said Waterloo, leering, and more at his ease, "he got over the big gate. I dragged Alpenny into the counting-house and laid him out. Then I locked the door, and got away by the underground passage. Outside I heard voices, and saw the Major here."

"Quite so," said Ruck courteously; "and now I can tell the remainder of the story. I came down, Miss Hedge, to punish Alpenny, who had been betraying the organisation of which he was the founder."

"The Black Patch Gang?" said Beatrice faintly. She felt very ill.

"Exactly. Alpenny founded it thirty years ago, and I was one of the earliest members, as was Waterloo here. When Alpenny was stopping at Convent Grange with your father and Mr. Paslow's father, he was even then a receiver of stolen goods, although the operations of the Gang were not so wide then as they have been since. We include all classes amongst us. Tuft the lawyer, who acted for Alpenny, and who got Mr. Paslow out of trouble when he was accused of shoplifting, is one of us; so is his wife, Miss Carr--or, as I should say, Mrs. Paslow. I am the head of the lot. The cabman who drove you here is a member; so is the doctor who attended Miss Carr's double, and who gave a false certificate by my direction."

"Why?" asked Beatrice quickly.

"Well, if you had procured me the necklace, I would have allowed you to marry Paslow. And then if Miss Carr had married this American, we would have got money out of him. I always," added the Major with a smile, showing his white teeth, "believe in killing two birds with one stone. However, to resume. We are bound by a death-oath not to betray one another. Alpenny made a lot of money, and found that the police were getting to know too much. He decided to bolt. I warned him twice, and the third time the warning was conveyed by Durban, through Mr. Paslow."

"Wait. Is Durban one of the Gang?"

"No," scowled the Major with a sudden change of tone, "he is too honest. But he knows everything about us. Because we threatened to kidnap you, he held his peace. However, Alpenny received his third warning, and instead of profiting by it he prepared to bolt. I thought he would do it, and went down with another man to kill him."

"Kill him!" screamed Beatrice. "Oh no, no!"

"Oh yes, yes!" said the Major coolly; "we had to make an example of him. However, Mr. Paslow saved us the trouble. When Waterloo here heard my voice, he came out and told us the truth. I entered by the great gates, as I had a duplicate key. Waterloo went through the underground passage and let us into the counting-house. We saw the body, and searched for the Obi necklace, which, however we were unable to discover."

"It was in a pocket behind the rep curtains," said Beatrice.

"And Durban found it. I know all about that. But at the moment we could not find the necklace, and as you might be back at any moment, according to Waterloo here, we had to go away. But I picked up Mr. Paslow's handkerchief where he left it on the ground while struggling with his victim, and, soaking it in the blood, I left it beside the body in the counting-house."

"I found it," said Beatrice. "Why did you do that?"

"I wanted Paslow to be accused, since he would not join us. However, you found it, and Durban explained its presence there by a lie. Waterloo and the other man, whose name need not be mentioned, as he is our executioner----"

"Ah! You did not intend to kill Mr. Alpenny yourself?"

"No," said Ruck, with an expression of disgust. "I have done many criminal things in my time, but my hands are free from blood. This man was always employed to punish any traitor. I took him down to kill Alpenny, but Mr. Paslow, as I say, saved us the trouble. I was alone outside the counting-house as Waterloo and the other man locked the door from the inside, and then escaped by the underground passage. When I was going away amidst the storm I saw you enter the great gates----"

"Ah!" Beatrice started up. "You were the tall man in the cloak with the black patch?"

"I was," admitted the Major coolly; "so now you know the whole story.--Waterloo, you can go."

The little man seemed glad to get away from the calm, searching eye of the Major, and with a final leer at............