new him at once, because I happened to have
watched him make his hundred at Lord's only the day before.
He seemed surprised that no one had told me he was there, but
the whole thing was such a surprise that I hardly thought of
that. I am afraid I must say that it was not a very pleasant
surprise. I felt instinctively that he had come from you, and
I confess that for the moment it made me very angry indeed.
Then in a breath he assured me that you knew nothing of his
coming, that you would never have allowed him to come, but
that he had taken it upon himself as your intimate friend and
one who would be mine as well. (I said that I would tell you
every word.)

"Well, we stood looking at each other for some time, and I
was never more convinced of anybody's straightness and
sincerity; but he was straight and sincere with me, and true
to you that night, whatever he may have been before and
after. So I asked him why he had come, and what had happened;
and he said it was not what had happened, but what might
happen next; so I asked him if he was thinking of you, and he
just nodded, and told me that I knew very well what you had
done. But I began to wonder whether Mr. Raffles himself knew,
and I tried to get him to tell me what you had done, and he
said I knew as well as he did that you were one of the two
men who had come to the house the night before. I took some
time to answer. I was quite mystified by his manner. At last
I asked him how he knew. I can hear his answer now.

"'Because I was the other man,' he said quite quietly;
'because I led him blindfold into the whole business, and
would rather pay the shot than see poor Bunny suffer for it.'

"Those were his words, but as he said them he made their
meaning clear by going over to the bell, and waiting with his
finger ready to ring for whatever assistance or protection I
desired. Of course I would not let him ring at all; in fact,
at first I refused to believe him. Then he led me out into
the balcony, and showed me exactly how he had got up and in.
He had broken in for the second night running, and all to
tell me that the first night he had brought you with him on
false pretences. He had to tell me a great deal more before I
could quite believe him. But before he went (as he had come)
I was the one woman in the worl