t we
come upon a bad piece of family history here. Silas Craig entered the
service of my father in 1858, as under game-keeper. Here we come upon the
first black mark against the name. He appears to have lived reputably for
some years, and then, after a quarrel with a neighbour about some trivial
matter, he deliberately murdered him, a crime for which he was tried and
executed in 1867. John Craig, his only son, entered our service in 1880,
and, when I left England, accompanied me as my valet."

There was a moment's silence. Quest shook his head a little reproachfully.

"Professor," he said, "you are a scientific man, you appreciate the
significance of heredity, yet during all this time, when you must have
seen for yourself the evidence culminating against Craig, you never
mentioned this--this--damning piece of evidence."

The Professor closed the book with a sigh.

"I did not mention it, Mr. Quest," he acknowledged, "because I did not
believe in Craig's guilt and I did not wish to further prejudice you
against him. That is the whole and simple truth. Now tell me what you are
going to do about his arrest?"

"Lenora and I are sailing to-morrow," Quest replied. "We are taking over
the necessary warrants and shall bring Craig back here for trial."

The Professor smoked thoughtfully for some moments. Then he rose
deliberately to his feet. He had come to a decision. He announced it
calmly but irrevocably.

"I shall come with you," he announced. "I shall be glad of a visit to
England, but apart from that I feel it to be my duty. I owe it to Craig to
see that he has a fair chance, and I owe it to the law to see that he pays
the penalty, if indeed he is guilty of these crimes. Is Miss Laura
accompanying you, too?"

Quest shook his head.

"From what the surgeons tell us," he said, "it will be some weeks before
she is able to travel. At the same time, I must tell you that I am glad of
your decision, Professor."

"It is my duty," the latter declared. "I cannot rest in this state of
uncertainty. If Craig is lost to me, the sooner I face the fact the
better. At the same time I will be frank with you. Notwithstanding all
this accumulated pile of evidence I feel in my heart the urgent necessity
of seeing him face to face, of holding him by the shoulders and asking him
whether these things are true. We have faced death together, Craig and I.
We have done more than that--we have courted it. There is nothing about
him I can acc