come to appeal to him for
mercy, and was as absolutely clear that it was an appeal to which he
could not listen.

"Mrs. Rendel," he said, "I am afraid I am obliged to tell you that I
cannot listen to anything you may have to say. I can guess, of course,
why you have come here, and I am sorry for _you_," he said, leaning on
the pronoun. "But I can do nothing," and he spoke slowly and inexorably,
"I can do nothing for either you or your husband." But Rachel had now
lost all fear, all misgiving.

"I don't think," she said, unconsciously drawing herself up and looking
straight at him, "you know what I have come to say, and I must ask you
to listen for a moment."

"I think I do know," Stamfordham said sternly, and she saw he meant to
go out.

"I have come to tell you," she said, quickly standing between him and
the door, "that my husband was wrongfully accused of the thing that you
believed he did." Stamfordham shook his head: this was what he expected
to hear. "I know who did it, I have found out to-day," and she grew more
and more assured as she went on. Stamfordham started, then looked
incredulous again. "I have come to tell you who did it, that you may
know my husband is innocent." Then she became aware of Lady Adela, who,
having at first been much annoyed at her brusque intrusion, was now
suddenly roused to interest, even to sympathy. Rachel turned to her. "I
must say this," she said. "Don't you see, don't you understand, what it
is to me?"

"Yes, yes, you must," the other woman said, with a sudden impulse of
help and sympathy. "Go on," and she went outside. Stamfordham felt a
slight accession of annoyance as Lady Adela passed out; he felt it was
going to be very difficult for him to deal as cruelly as he was bound to
do with the anxious, quivering wife before him. He stood silent and
absolutely impenetrable. Rachel went on quickly in broken sentences.

"I didn't know about this at the time. I have been ill since. I could
not remember. You brought some papers for my husband to copy, and he
locked them up so that no one should see them, and while he went down to
speak to you they were pulled out of his writing-table from outside, by
somebody else who was there, and who showed them to Mr. Pateley. Mr.
Pateley came in and went out again. Frank didn't know he had been
there." Stamfordham stopped her.

"They were taken out by 'somebody,' you say; do you mean--in fact I must
gather from your words--that it was--do y