m Carson sent this Hewlett
back to the _chateau_; for no doubt the wolves have picked him pretty
clean by now."

"Listen to me, Simon Leroux," said Jacqueline, standing up before him,
as indomitable in spirit as he. "All your plots and schemes mean
nothing to me. My only aim is to take my father away from here, from
you and M. d'Epernay, and let you wrangle over your spoil. There are
more than four-legged wolves, M. Leroux; there are human ones, and,
like the others, when food is scarce they prey upon each other."

"I like your spirit!" exclaimed Simon, staring at her with frank
admiration.

And Jacqueline's head drooped then. Unwittingly Simon had pierced her
defences.

But he never knew, for before he had time to know the grey-beard rose
upon his feet and rubbed his thin hands together, chuckling.

"Never mind your money, Simon," he said. "I'm going to be richer than
any of you. Do you know what I did with that ten thousand? I gave it
to my little daughter, and she has gone to New York to make our
fortunes at Mr. Daly's gaming-house. No, there she is!" he suddenly
exclaimed. "She has come back!"

Leroux wheeled round and looked from one to the other.

"So that was the purpose of your visit to New York?" he asked the girl.
"So--you have not quite forgotten that, _madame_! Your price was not
too vile a thing for you to take it to New York with you! Your shame
was not too great for you to remember that your father had ten thousand
dollars!"

"It was not mine," she flashed back at Leroux. "My father would have
lost it again to you. I took it to New York because I thought that I
could make enough to give him a home during the rest of his days. Do
you think I would have touched a penny of it, _monsieur_?"

"I don't know," answered Leroux. "But we will soon find out. Where is
that money, _madame_?"

Jacqueline's lips quivered. I saw her glance involuntarily toward the
door behind which I was standing.

And suddenly the last phase of the problem became clear to me.
Jacqueline thought I had robbed her.

I stepped from behind the door and faced Leroux. "I have that money,"
I said curtly.

I saw his face turn white. He staggered back, and then, with a bull's
bellow, rushed at me, his heavy fists aloft. I think he could have
beaten out my brains with them.

But he stopped short when he saw my automatic pistol pointing at his
chest. And he saw in my face that I was ready to shoot to kill.