ives in bliss. Alas, that
is not to be! Do not repine, and do not break the furniture in the
lodgings, as your means will henceforth be limited, I fear. You will
remember that I was in your debt, with reference to a little affair
which happened in Clerkenwell Close, not such a long time ago; please
accept this intimation as payment in full. When I am established in the
country to which business summons me, I shall of course send for you
immediately, but it may happen that some little time will intervene
before I am able to take that delightful step. In the meanwhile your
mother will supply you with all the money you need; she has full
authority from me to do so. All blessings upon you, and may you be
happy.--With tears I sign myself,

'YOUR BROKEN-HEARTED HUSBAND.'

Joseph's absence through the night had all but prepared Clem for
something of this kind, yet he had managed things so well that up to
the time of his departure she had not been able to remark a single
suspicious circumstance, unless, indeed, it were the joyous
affectionateness with which he continued to behave, She herself had
been passing through a time of excitement and even of suffering. When
she learned from the newspaper what fate had befallen Bob Hewett, it
was as though someone had dealt her a half-stunning blow; in her fierce
animal way she was attached to Bob, and for the first time in her life
she knew a genuine grief. The event seemed at first impossible; she
sped hither and thither, making inquiries, and raged in her heart
against everyone who confirmed the newspaper report. Combined with the
pain of loss was her disappointment at the frustration of the scheme
Bob had undertaken in concert with her. Brooding on her deadly purpose,
she had come to regard it as a certain thing that before long her
husband would be killed. The details were arranged; all her cunning had
gone to the contrivance of a plot for disguising the facts of his
murder. Savagely she had exulted in the prospect, not only of getting
rid of him, but of being revenged for her old humiliation. A thousand
times she imagined herself in Bob's lurking-place, raising the weapon,
striking the murderous blow, rifling the man's pockets to mislead those
who found his body, and had laughed to herself triumphantly. Joseph out
of the way, the next thing was to remove Pennyloaf. Oh, that would
easily have been contrived. Then she and Bob would have been married.

Very long since Clem had shed