will--twenty----"

Blayney laid a finger to his lips and went out. The gesture might have
meant anything. With trembling hand Richard seized the glass of water
and drained it at a gulp. There was miserably little--it barely cooled
the heat of his throat. Whimpering he set the glass down and lifted
the cover from the plate. Underneath was a cube of bread the size of a
lump of sugar. With a savage cry he picked it up and flung it across
the room but a moment later was on all fours gathering up the broken
bits and pieces and eating them wolfishly.

Blayney found him searching pathetically for the last crumb when he
came stealthily into the room and put a tin mug on the table.

"I'll collect that twenty later," he said and vanished.

Almost like a miser Richard took the mug in his hands and purred over
it possessively. With a sigh of absolute content he raised it to his
lips. Then a scream broke from him--harsh, strident, savage. There
were no soft spots in the walls of Hugo Van Diest's fortress. The
water was salt.

CHAPTER 19.

AT THE CHESTNUTS.

Mrs. Barraclough was one of those old ladies who are constantly being
surprised. She courted surprise. She never forestalled a climax and
of the hundreds of sensational novels which she so greedily devoured
never once was she guilty of taking a premature peep at the last
chapter to ensure herself that right would triumph. "I shall find out
all about it in good time" was the motto she affected. This being so
she made no effort to secure Isabel's confidence but simply waited for
Isabel to speak. The same reticence possessed her in the matter of the
four mysterious serving girls. She hadn't the smallest idea why
Anthony had suddenly transformed himself into a domestic agency
although, at the back of her head, she guessed at a deep underlying
motive. It gratified her beyond measure to be surrounded by unfathomed
waters and frequently as a corollary to her prayers she would thank God
for the little excitements and mysteries He sent to flavour her
declining years.

After the uncontrollable rush of tears on her arrival Isabel pulled
herself together and made a show of gaiety and preserved it nobly for
nearly three weeks. Anthony had gone and gloomy forebodings were of no
service. Accordingly she helped Mrs. Barraclough in the garden and
made the very best friends of the four girls. Perhaps she was the
least bit resentful on finding out that they knew