to his master, in his master's cellar, had connected Mr. Vendale
in this man's mind with the idea of danger by murder. Your niece
surprised him into a confession, which aggravated tenfold the terrors
that possessed her. Aroused to a sense of the mischief he had done, the
man, of his own accord, made the one atonement in his power. 'If my
master is in danger, miss,' he said, 'it's my duty to follow him, too;
and it's more than my duty to take care of _you_.' The two set forth
together--and, for once, a superstition has had its use. It decided your
niece on taking the journey; and it led the way to saving a man's life.
Do you understand me, so far?"

"I understand you, so far."

"My first knowledge of the crime that you had committed," pursued
Bintrey, "came to me in the form of a letter from your niece. All you
need know is that her love and her courage recovered the body of your
victim, and aided the after-efforts which brought him back to life. While
he lay helpless at Brieg, under her care, she wrote to me to come out to
him. Before starting, I informed Madame Dor that I knew Miss Obenreizer
to be safe, and knew where she was. Madame Dor informed me, in return,
that a letter had come for your niece, which she knew to be in your
handwriting. I took possession of it, and arranged for the forwarding of
any other letters which might follow. Arrived at Brieg, I found Mr.
Vendale out of danger, and at once devoted myself to hastening the day of
reckoning with you. Defresnier and Company turned you off on suspicion;
acting on information privately supplied by me. Having stripped you of
your false character, the next thing to do was to strip you of your
authority over your niece. To reach this end, I not only had no scruple
in digging the pitfall under your feet in the dark--I felt a certain
professional pleasure in fighting you with your own weapons. By my
advice the truth has been carefully concealed from you up to this day. By
my advice the trap into which you have walked was set for you (you know
why, now, as well as I do) in this place. There was but one certain way
of shaking the devilish self-control which has hitherto made you a
formidable man. That way has been tried, and (look at me as you may)
that way has succeeded. The last thing that remains to be done,"
concluded Bintrey, producing two little slips of manuscript from his
despatch-box, "is to set your niece free. You have attempted murder, a