ecause of that, he won't let me see Guy again. He is very
angry with me--I doubt if he will ever really forgive me--for
following Guy to this place. But,--Mr. Kelly,--I had a reason--an
urgent reason for doing this. I hoped to be back again before he
found out; but everything was against me."

"Ah! Didn't I know it?" said Kelly. "It's the way of the world in
an emergency. Nothing ever goes right of itself."

She smiled rather wanly. "Life can be--rather cruel," she said.
"Something is working against me. I can feel it. I have forfeited
all Burke's respect and his confidence at a stroke. He will never
trust me again. And Guy--Guy will simply go under."

"No--no!" said Kelly. "Don't you believe it! He'll come round and
lead a decent life after this; you'll see. There's nothing
whatever to worry about over Guy. No real vice in him!"

It was a kindly lie, stoutly spoken; but it failed to convince.
Sylvia shook her head even while, he was speaking.

"You don't know all yet. I haven't told you. But I will tell
you--if you will listen. Once when Burke and I were talking of
Guy--it was almost the first time--he said that he had done almost
everything bad except one thing. He had never robbed him. And
somehow I felt that so long as there was that one great exception
he would not regard him as utterly beyond redemption. But now--but
now--" her voice quivered again--"well, even that can't be said of
him now," she said.

"What? He has taken money?" Kelly looked at her in swift dismay.
"Ye don't mean that!" he said. And then quickly: "Are ye sure now
it wasn't Kieff?"

"Yes." She spoke with dreary conviction. "I am fairly sure
Kieff's at the back of it, but--it was Guy who did it, thanks to my
carelessness."

"Yours!" Kelly's eyes bulged. "Ye don't mean that!" he said again.

"Yes, it's true." Drearily she answered him. "Burke left the key
of the strong-box in my keeping on the day of the sand-storm. I
dropped it in the dark. I was hunting for it when you came.
Then--I forgot it. Afterwards, you remember, Burke and Guy came in
together. He must have found it--somehow--then."

"He did!" said Kelly suddenly. "Faith, he did! Ye remember when
he had that attack? He picked up something then--on the floor
against his foot. I saw him do it, the fool that I am! He'd got
it in his hand when we helped him up, and I never noticed,--never
thought. The artful young devil!"

A hint of admiration