h she wished to steal; but on this occasion
he had locked the door--a thing which he did not always do in his
drunken humours--and so Rhoda was returning disappointed. After this
confession I made her go back to her own house and promised to keep her
secret. I also told her that if she held her tongue I would give her a
present. For this purpose I made Ferruci buy me a cloak lined with
rabbit skins, as Rhoda on her night excursions wanted something to keep
her warm. When Ferruci gave it to me, and it was lying in my room, Mrs.
Clear came one night to see me, and finding it cold, she borrowed the
cloak to wrap round her. She kept it for some time, and brought it back
on Christmas Eve, when I gave it next day to Rhoda. It was Ferruci who
bought the cloak, not I; and it was purchased for Rhoda, not for Mrs.
Clear.

"The next night I entered No. 13 by the cellarway, and found it of great
advantage, as I could visit Clear without exciting suspicion, and so
keep an eye on him. At first he was alarmed by my unexpected appearance,
but when I showed him the secret way, he made use of it also. We used it
only on dark nights, and it was for this reason that we were not noticed
by the neighbours. It would never have done for any one of us to be
seen climbing over the fence. Mrs. Clear once visited her husband, and
had a quarrel with him about his drinking. It was her shadow and Clear's
which Denzil saw on the blind. As soon as they heard his ring they both
went out the back way, and in climbing hurriedly over the fence Mrs.
Clear tore her veil. It was a portion of this which Denzil found.

"On that night, Clear, after leaving his wife, entered the square by the
front, and so met with Denzil, much to the latter's surprise. I was very
angry when Clear showed Denzil over the house; but he said that the
young man was very suspicious, and he only showed him the house to prove
that there was no one in it, and that he must have been mistaken about
the shadows on the blind. Notwithstanding this explanation, I did not
approve of Clear's act, nor, indeed, of his acquaintance with Denzil.

"For some months matters went on in this way. Clear remained in the
Silent House, drinking himself to death; Mrs. Clear looked after Vrain
in her Bayswater house; and I, in my old-man disguise, remained in
Jersey Street, although at times I left there and went to see my
daughter. All this time Lydia had no idea of what we were preparing.
Then I began to g