ilanthropy? Has the sister
implored Miss Beverly to throw her money into this bottomless gulf? What
happened when you were at the chateau that day I never knew."

"We thought that the subject was disagreeable to you," said Kate. "We saw
and spoke with Miss Dalahaide, a pale, cold girl, dressed in black, with
a voice that somehow sounded--_dead_. She did not mention her brother,
and seemed so reserved that I should think it would be difficult to break
the ice with her. Indeed, she appeared very annoyed at the necessity for
showing us a little room with a life-size picture in it, which I fancied
must be a portrait of the brother."

A curious shiver passed through Loria's body.

"Miss Beverly saw that portrait?" he asked in a low, strained voice.

"Yes, and I noticed that she kept glancing at it again and again while we
stopped in the room. I suppose a morbid sort of curiosity regarding a
murderer is natural, even in a young girl, provided his personality is
interesting."

Once more Loria remained silent, his face set in hard lines.

"Such a man as Maxime Dalahaide must have been before his fall, would be
a dangerous rival," Lady Gardiner went on, with a spice of malice. She
was watching Loria as she spoke, and thrilled a little at the look in his
eyes as he turned them upon her. "Oh, these Italians!" she thought. "They
are so emotional that they frighten one. Their passions are like caged
tigers, and you never quite know whether the cage door is safely locked."

"Maxime Dalahaide will never be dangerous to any man again on this
earth--not even to himself, since the worst has happened to him that can
happen," answered Loria.

"Strange if, although he is buried in a prison-land at the other end of
the world, he might still, in a vague, dim way, be a rival to fear more
than another," Kate reflected dreamily. Aloud she went on: "It seems
ridiculous to say so, but I believe that Virginia is making a hero of
him. She has never seen this man--she never can see him; yet his
image--evolved from that portrait at the chateau which was his old
home--may blur others nearer to her."

"Great heavens! You believe that?"

"I merely suggest it. The idea only occurred to me at this moment. But
Virginia is certainly thinking of Maxime Dalahaide. To-day, she was
reading a French book about Noumea. She hid it when I came into the room;
but later I came across it by accident. Yes, she is thinking of him, but
it is only a girl's fooli