ou, and your musket went off accidentally?"

"No, Miss Greendale, I took deliberate aim at him, and it was only
the mercy of God that saved his life."

Bertha was too surprised and shocked to speak, and he went on:

"He himself thought that he had been hit by a Sepoy bullet, and it
was only when I sent for him, believing that I had received my
death wound, that he knew that it was I who had hit him."

"But for what?" she asked. "What made you do this terrible thing? I
thought he was liked by his men."

"There was no one liked better, Miss Greendale; he was the most
popular officer in the regiment, and if the soldiers had known it,
and I had escaped being hung for it, I should have been shot the
first time I went into action afterwards. It had nothing to do with
the army. I enlisted in his company on purpose to shoot him."

Bertha could hardly believe her ears. She looked at the man
earnestly. Surely he could not have been drinking at that time of
the morning, and she would have doubted his sanity had it not been
for the calm and earnest look in his face. He went on:

"I came here to tell you why I shot at him."

"I don't want to hear," she said, hurriedly. "It is no business of
mine. I know that whatever it was Major Mallett must have forgiven
you. Besides, you saved his life afterwards."

"Excuse me, Miss Greendale, but it is a matter that concerns you,
and I pray you to listen to me. You have heard of Martha Bennett,
the poor girl who disappeared four years ago, and who was thought
to have been murdered."

"Yes, I remember the talk about it. It was never known who had done
it."

"She was not murdered," he said. "She returned some months
afterwards, but only to die. It was about the time that Sir John
was ill, and naturally you would have heard nothing of it.

"Well, Miss Greendale, I was at one time engaged to Martha. I was
of a jealous, passionate disposition, and I did not make enough
allowance for her being young and naturally fond of admiration. I
quarrelled with her and the engagement was broken off, but I still
loved her with all my heart and soul."

Then he went on to tell of how maddened he had been when he had
seen her talking to Major Mallett, and of the conversation he had
overheard in her father's garden, on the evening before she was
missing.

"I jumped at the conclusion at once, Miss Greendale, that it was
Captain Mallett, as he was then. He had been round saying goodbye
to the tenants