" said Mrs. Ralston; "the man must be arrested
immediately."

"And," interrupted Olive, "you must all three go to Bellair; that is,"
looking at Mrs. Ralston, "if--"

"If I will go?" interrupted that lady. "Yes, I, too, intend to be
present when Miss Payne gives her enemy up to justice."

[Illustration: "No!" gasped Olive, half rising; "I--I--"--page 413.]

"Are you in earnest about going to Bellair, Miss Keith?" Clarence
Vaughan asked. "Shall you go, really?"

Claire bestowed upon him a willful little nod over her shoulder,
saying, as she did so: "I shall, 'really.' I am confident that
something will happen there, and I want a chance to faint!"

CHAPTER XLVI.

CORA "STIRS UP THE ANIMALS."

It was evening--the evening of the day on which Mrs. Ralston had made
her startling revelation. Madeline Payne stood alone in her own room,
looking moodily out upon the leafless grove that was fast taking on a
covering of snow.

The storm that had been impending for days, had broken at last. For
two hours the snow had been falling thickly, steadily, in great
feather-like flakes, which quickly covered the brown earth, and
clothed the naked treetops with a fair, white garment.

Madeline had been standing, motionless and moody, for many minutes.
Her eyes were full of dissatisfaction, and her lips were compressed.
She had been taking a mental review of the situation, and its present
aspect was far from pleasing.

"What a knot," she soliloquized; "what a difficult, baffling,
miserable knot! To be kept thus inactive just because the last knot in
the tangle will not come straight--good gracious, how like a pun that
sounds! How much longer must I smile upon these wretches? How much
longer must I conceal my real feelings? I will put my forces into
action, and make my last, desperate venture, for this is becoming
intolerable. I must force, or buy, this secret from Edward Percy, at
the cost of his safety, or my fortune, if need be."

She pressed her face against the frosted pane, peering down through
the gathering night and the snow.

"Mercy!" she ejaculated, "who on earth can be plowing through this
storm? And on what errand? It looks like--and, as I live, it is, yes,
it is, Mr. Edward Percy! He is too dainty to expose himself for
nothing. I must look into this."

While she was musing at the window, Cora, curled up behind one of the
crimson curtains of the red parlor, had become the possessor of a
valuable secret.