wardly? Do you know what you are saying? The man is a
thief!"

For one moment she shrank before the epithet; the next she raised her
head, her eyes flashing, her lips parted.

"You have no right to use that word. You have not seen him steal."

"Seen him? No. But the ears are as reliable as the eyes, and we have
heard him declare that he intends to steal."

"Intends! Intends! Intentions are not acts." In her deep agitation, she
turned upon him with a new demeanor.

"Oh, be merciful!" she cried. "Give him the benefit of mercy. Wait till
the Assembly is over, and then accuse him. If you can prove your
accusation, then justice can be done. On the other hand--"

"The other hand?" Again Bale-Corphew's cruel laugh broke from him. "He
has not shrunk from lies--from imposture--from blasphemy. Is it likely
he will shrink from his reward? Oh no! We will run no risks. The trap
has closed. No one will gain access to him to-night until the hour of
the Gathering has arrived. It will be my special--my sacred--duty to
watch and guard." As he spoke his eyes seemed to devour her face, and
before the expression in their depths her strength faltered.

"And why have you come here?" she asked, unsteadily. "Why have you come
here? What has this to do with me?"

As she put the questions, he watched her closely; and when her voice
quivered, a spasm of emotion--a wave of jealousy and suspicion--swept
his face.

"Can you ask that question?" he demanded.

Enid wavered.

"Why not?" she murmured. "Why should I not?"

"Why not?" He laughed again, suddenly and savagely. "Because the man
loves you. Because he stole out of the house to-day--and came here to
you. I tracked him here and tracked him back again."

Enid shrank away from him.

"So--so you are a spy?" she said, in a confused, uneven voice.

He turned instantly, his passions aflame.

"A spy?" he cried. "I am a spy? Very well! We will see who comes out
victor. The thief or the spy." His voice rose, his face darkened. The
demon of jealousy that had pursued him for seven days was free of the
leash at last.

"I wanted to know this," he exclaimed. "I wanted to be sure. I had my
suspicions, but I wanted proof. On the day I surprised you with him, I
suspected; to-day, when I saw him enter this house, I felt convinced--"

"Convinced of what?"

"Convinced that there is more in this matter than his love for you. That
there is also--"

With a swift movement Enid stopped him. She w