atened, but now he is probably marked for
death, and it is only right that he should know all."

"I am with you, sir. Things have changed since we agreed to keep him out
of the trouble. Now we dare not; consideration for his feelings might
cost his life. It is a duty--and no light or pleasant one, either. I
have not a shadow of doubt that he will want to be one with us in this.
But remember, we are his guests; his name, his honour, have to be thought
of as well as his safety."

"All shall be as you wish, Adam. And now as to what we are to do? We
cannot murder Lady Arabella off-hand. Therefore we shall have to put
things in order for the killing, and in such a way that we cannot be
taxed with a crime."

"It seems to me, sir, that we are in an exceedingly tight place. Our
first difficulty is to know where to begin. I never thought this
fighting an antediluvian monster would be such a complicated job. This
one is a woman, with all a woman's wit, combined with the heartlessness
of a _cocotte_. She has the strength and impregnability of a diplodocus.
We may be sure that in the fight that is before us there will be no
semblance of fair-play. Also that our unscrupulous opponent will not
betray herself!"

"That is so--but being feminine, she will probably over-reach herself.
Now, Adam, it strikes me that, as we have to protect ourselves and others
against feminine nature, our strong game will be to play our masculine
against her feminine. Perhaps we had better sleep on it. She is a thing
of the night; and the night may give us some ideas."

So they both turned in.

Adam knocked at Sir Nathaniel's door in the grey of the morning, and, on
being bidden, came into the room. He had several letters in his hand.
Sir Nathaniel sat up in bed.

"Well!"

"I should like to read you a few letters, but, of course, I shall not
send them unless you approve. In fact"--with a smile and a blush--"there
are several things which I want to do; but I hold my hand and my tongue
till I have your approval."

"Go on!" said the other kindly. "Tell me all, and count at any rate on
my sympathy, and on my approval and help if I can see my way."

Accordingly Adam proceeded:

"When I told you the conclusions at which I had arrived, I put in the
foreground that Mimi Watford should, for the sake of her own safety, be
removed--and that the monster which had wrought all the harm should be
destroyed."

"Yes, that is so."

"To carr