essful, but the man himself was weakly. The strain of holding his
difficult audience night after night had begun to tell on him.
Macheson's help would be invaluable. There was a complete school of
night classes running in connexion with the work, and also a library.
"You can guess where the money came from for those," he added, smiling.
"On the women's side there was only the cookery, and the care of the
children. All very imperfect, but with the making of great things about
it."

They went into the Cafe proper for their coffee, sitting at a
marble-topped table, and Holderness called for dominoes. But they had
scarcely begun their game before Macheson started from his seat, and
without a word of explanation strode towards the door. He was just in
time to stop the egress of the man whom he had seen slip from his seat
and try to leave the place.

"Look here," he said, touching him on the shoulder. "I want to talk to
you."

The man made no further attempt at escape. He was very shabby and thin,
but Macheson had recognized him at once. It was the man who had come
stealing down the lane from Thorpe on that memorable night--the man for
whose escape from justice he was responsible.

"My friend won't interfere with us," Macheson said, leading him back to
their seats. "Sit down here."

The man sat down quietly. Holderness took up a paper.

"Go ahead," he said. "I shan't listen."

"If I am to talk," the man said, "I must have some absinthe. My throat
is dry. I have things to say to you, too."

Macheson called a waiter and ordered it.

"Look here," the man said, "I know all that you want to say to me. I can
save you time. It was I who called upon old Mr. Hurd. It was out of
kindness that I went. He has a daughter whom I cannot find. She is in
danger, and I went to warn him. He struck me first. He lost his temper.
He would not tell me where to find her, he would not give me even the
money I had spent on my journey. I, too, lost my temper. I returned the
blow. He fell down--and I was frightened. So I ran away."

Macheson nodded.

"Well," he said, "you seem to have struck an old man because he would
not let you blackmail him, and I, like a fool, helped you to escape."

"Blackmail!" The man looked around him as though afraid of the word. His
cheeks were sunken, but his brown eyes were still bright. "It wasn't
that," he said. "I brought information that was really valuable. There
is a young lady somewhere who is in dange