the evening, turned out to be almost invariably on the side of
the baroness and her friends? Swindlers, all of them; and there isn't
a doubt on my mind, whatever there may be on yours, that Miss Gwilt's
manners and appearance made her a valuable member of the society in the
capacity of a decoy. Her own statement is that she was innocent of
all knowledge of what really went on; that she was quite ignorant of
card-playing; that she hadn't such a thing as a respectable friend to
turn to in the world; and that she honestly liked the baroness, for the
simple reason that the baroness was a hearty good friend to her from
first to last. Believe that or not, as you please. For five years she
traveled about all over the Continent with these card-sharpers in high
life, and she might have been among them at this moment, for anything I
know to the contrary, if the baroness had not caught a Tartar at Naples,
in the shape of a rich traveling Englishman, named Waldron. Aha! that
name startles you, does it? You've read the Trial of the famous Mrs.
Waldron, like the rest of the world? And you know who Miss Gwilt is now,
without my telling you?"

He paused, and looked at his father in sudden perplexity. Far from being
overwhelmed by the discovery which had just burst on him, Mr. Bashwood,
after the first natural movement of surprise, faced his son with a
self-possession which was nothing short of extraordinary under the
circumstances. There was a new brightness in his eyes, and a new color
in his face. If it had been possible to conceive such a thing of a
man in his position, he seemed to be absolutely encouraged instead of
depressed by what he had just heard. "Go on, Jemmy," he said, quietly;
"I am one of the few people who didn't read the trial; I only heard of
it."

Still wondering inwardly, Bashwood the younger recovered himself, and
went on.

"You always were, and you always will be, behind the age," he said.
"When we come to the trial, I can tell you as much about it as you need
know. In the meantime, we must go back to the baroness and Mr. Waldron.
For a certain number of nights the Englishman let the card-sharpers
have it all their own way; in other words, he paid for the privilege of
making himself agreeable to Miss Gwilt. When he thought he had produced
the necessary impression on her, he exposed the whole confederacy
without mercy. The police interfered; the baroness found herself in
prison; and Miss Gwilt was put between th