adily without any change of expression. "A necklace had been
taken to him to-day by a woman--a diamond necklace." Her eyes wavered at
this, and an expression of fear came into her face. There was a pause,
and then Bat leaned forward and said in a lowered voice: "What made you
say that you had put your jewels away in a vault?"

She arose and went to his side.

"Bat," she said, "I felt sure your friend Mr. Ashton-Kirk would find me
out. I knew from the first that I was not cunning enough to conceal
anything from him."

"Nora," said Scanlon, as he, too, arose, "why did you try?" Again there
was a pause, and again the big athlete broke the silence. "As I have
told you more than once," said he, "I believe in you; nothing can shake
me from that. There are a great many things you have said and done that
I do not understand; others of them I see through, though you did not
intend that I should. Why was all this? Why didn't you tell me the facts
as they stood?"

"Bat," she said, "I didn't dare; I was afraid."

"Afraid? Of what?" He looked down at her; her face was pale; her gloved
hands were clasped, tremblingly. "That night when Tom Burton came here,
he struck you. We saw the mark, but you said it was caused by something
else. He also stole your jewels, but you said nothing. Nora, was there
any good reason why you should have misled us like that?"

She reached out and touched his arm.

"I can see," she said, "that it will be useless to carry the thing any
further. I did think I could manage it myself, but I see now that it was
hopeless from the start. Will you sit down?" There was a certain sweet
humbleness in her voice which turned the big man's heart to water. "I'll
tell you everything now, and so you may judge me for yourself."

Once more they sat down; Nora drew the veil still further from her face
and began to speak in a low voice, but steadily, and with no hesitation.

"Tom Burton did strike me that night, and I would not tell the truth
about it, Bat, because I was ashamed. I could not bring myself to admit
that the man I had chosen for my husband would do such a thing. Other
misdoings of his I could speak of--but that one I felt I must always
keep to myself. His taking of my jewels I would not have held from you
if I had not been afraid--afraid as I never was before."

"Of what?" asked Scanlon.

"Tom Burton was killed in his son's house; I knew that son; I knew what
he had suffered all his life because of his