refers to tried to secure when he came back the second time. He may
make another attempt, or Painter may go to sleep. Hurry! hurry!"

Archie needed no second telling, as he realized what hung on the
securing of the confession. He stole swiftly out of the room, closing
the door after him. Faint as was the sound, Mrs. Jasher heard it and
opened her eyes.

"Do not go, Random," she said faintly. "I have yet much to say, although
the confession will tell you all. I am half sorry I wrote it out--at
least I was--and perhaps should have burnt it had I not met with this
accident."

"Accident!" echoed Sir Frank scornfully. "Murder you mean."

The sinister word galvanized the dying woman in sudden strong life, and
she reared herself again on the bed.

"Murder! Yes, it is murder," she cried loudly. "He killed Sidney Bolton
to get the emeralds, and he killed me to make me close my mouth."

"Who stabbed you? Speak! speak!" cried Random anxiously.

"Cockatoo. He is guilty of my death and Bolton's," and she fell back,
dead.

CHAPTER XXV. THE MILLS OF GOD

In the cold gray hours of the morning, Hope and his friend left the
cottage wherein such a tragedy had taken place. The dead woman was lying
stiff and white on her bed under a winding sheet, which had already been
strewn with many-hued chrysanthemums taken from the pink parlor by the
weeping Jane. The wretched woman who had led so stormy and unhappy a
life had at least one sincere mourner, for she had always been kind to
the servant, who formed her entire domestic staff, and Jane would not
hear a word said against the dead. Not that anyone did say anything; for
Random and Hope kept the contents of the confession to themselves. There
would be time enough for Mrs. Jasher's reputation to be smirched when
those same contents were made public.

When the poor woman died, Random left the doctor and the servant to look
after the corpse, and went into the parlor. Here he met Hope with the
confession in his hand. Luckily, Painter was not in the room at the
moment, else he would have prevented the artist from taking away the
same. Hope--as directed by Mrs. Jasher--had found the confession,
written on many sheets, lying on the desk. It broke off abruptly towards
the end, and was not signed. Apparently at this point Mrs. Jasher had
been interrupted--as she had said--by the tapping of Cockatoo at the
window. Probably she had admitted him at once, and on her refusal to
give him th