the accusation of the indian, which seemed to be emphasized by jotty's silence, brought miss grison, still weak and broken, to her feet. "it's a lie! a lie! a lie!" she stammered, holding on to the chair for support.

"it's the truth," insisted bakche deliberately.

"but it's impossible," murmured fuller, who was quite bewildered, "she loved her brother dearly."

"i did, i did. bless you for saying that, mr. fuller," cried miss grison in a tremulous tearful way. "why should i murder my darling baldwin?"

"to get me into trouble," quavered sorley, who had got back into his chair and was nervously plucking at his chin.

"i wouldn't have sacrificed him to you," retorted miss grison, dropping back again into her seat and taking out her handkerchief.

"perhaps if i tell my story," said bakche appealing to the inspector, "you may be convinced of the truth."

"go on," said moon curtly, and took out his pocket-book.

"she killed him----"

"i never did, i never did," wept miss grison, "you did it yourself."

"i did it! how dare you say that!"

"because it is true. you admit having been at rotherhithe on the night and about the time poor baldwin was murdered. you wanted the peacock, you know you did, and told me so. when i said baldwin had it----"

"i went to try and get it from him," finished bakche, "that is quite correct, madam. i did, and i tried hard to get him to part with it. but he refused and you urged him not to give it to me, even for money. when you visited your brother----"

"i never visited him," snapped miss grison, whose strength was coming back, and whose eyes were again beginning to flash ominously.

"you did," retorted the indian, "you went frequently, i disguised myself as a lascar and followed you. i overheard your conversations with him many a time, madam."

"ah!" she flashed out, "you were eavesdropping."

"yes," admitted the man candidly. "i had too much at stake not to take all the means in my power to safeguard my interests. and a few days before the murder you urged your brother to write to mr. sorley and make an appointment for the thirteenth of november."

"ah!" murmured moon, making a note, "the night of the death."

"yes! yes! yes!" cried sorley, his voice growing stronger; "i got that letter, and wrote an answer saying that i would come."

"jotty found the answer," put in alan quickly, "and sold it to me for two pounds. mr. latimer passed it on to you, mr. inspector."

moon nodded. "i have it at my office. go on, sir."

"miss grison--as i overheard--urged her brother to make this appointment with mr. sorley, and then tell him that the peacock was to be given to me."

"ah!" cried the woman sarcastically, "and yet you say that i urged my brother not to give it you. you contradict yourself."

"i am not responsible for your frequent changes of mind," said bakche in chilly tones, "sometimes you told your brother to make terms with me so that mr. sorley--whom you seemed to hate--might be disappointed, and then you tried to prevent him even seeing me, let alone handing over the peacock. but you got him to make the appointment for the night of the murder with mr. sorley, that i'll swear to. there was another thing that i overheard. your brother confessed with tears and terror that he had murdered that gentleman to rob him outside chin chow's opium den."

"what if he did?" said miss grison boldly.

"you blamed him for the shame he was bringing on your name."

"i did, but that does not say that i should have denounced him."

"there was no need for you to do so," said moon coldly; "sooner or later the truth would have become known. grison was already suspected."

"so he told his sister," said bakche quickly, "and for that reason she reproached him."

"why not say that i murdered him?" sneered the woman quivering.

"you did, but not on the night you advised him to make the appointment with this gentleman." he pointed to sorley huddled up in his chair.

"when then, if you please, liar that you are?"

"i am no liar, and you know it, madam. it was on the night that the appointment was kept that you killed your brother. i determined to come on that night, so as to overhear the interview between mr. sorley and your brother, and i did. mr. sorley wanted the peacock and grison refused to surrender it. then mr. sorley left."

"and grison was alive? grison was alive?" cried the man in question.

"yes," said bakche, answering the question and a look of moon's. "grison was alive. mr. sorley is perfectly innocent."

"thank god! oh thank god!" wept sorley hysterically, and sliding from his chair he knelt down covering his face with his grimy hands. alan nodded to dick in a somewhat triumphant way, as he had never been sure of sorley's guilt, and dick nodded penitently in return, admitting silently his error.

"was miss grison at rotherhithe on that night?" asked moon rather unnecessarily, seeing that bakche accused her of committing the crime.

"yes. i was on the watch, and i saw her coming."

"did mother slaig see her?"

"not on that night, i fancy. miss grison always slipped into the house and out of it like a shadow," said bakche, after a moment's reflection. "sometimes mrs. slaig saw her and sometimes she did not. the house was always filled with people coming and going, and in that shabby dress"--bakche referred somewhat superciliously to miss grison's worn attire--"no one noticed her."

"everyone knew that i came to comfort mm brother," said the woman sharply.

"i am not denying that. but on that night you hovered round the place and saw sorley come and go. he came at seven and went away by eight. grison afterwards came down and got a drink, after which he retired to bed at ten o'clock as was stated at the inquest. he did not see you when he was down stairs, as you did not speak to him. but you followed him up and were with him in his room. no one but i saw you, as no one paid any attention to your brother, save i who was on the watch. after ten--i can't state the exact time--you came out of the room and slipped away unnoticed. i followed you to the end of the slum, madam, and then returned to see if you had been urging grison not to give me the peacock. i looked in and he was on his bed quite dead."

"why didn't you give the alarm?" asked alan impatiently.

"ask yourself why i did not, mr. fuller," said bakche pitying this denseness. "here was i, who wanted a valuable object possessed by grison, disguised as a lascar. had i given the alarm i should have been arrested for the crime and would have had a great difficulty in clearing myself."

"yes," said moon, "that is perfectly true. well?"

"well," echoed bakche, "what more do you wish me to say, sir. grison was alive when this lady entered his room, and when she came out he was dead. i knew also that she carried away the peacock."

"how do you know?" asked latimer, while miss grison sniffed disdainfully.

"jotty told me."

"yuss," said the boy, brisking up, for he had nodded in a sleepy way during the recital, "he guv me a quid fur tellin' him; he wantin' thet there blessed peacock, somehow."

"but how did you know miss grison had it jotty?" questioned alan.

"sawr it afore him es was good t' me was buried. i wen up t' 'er house in bloomsbury es i'd orfen gone afore, fur him es was good t' me, and i ses as 'er brother was a deader. sh' sawr me in 'er room an' i sawr 'er smuggle awaiy thet peacock and thet thing," and jotty pointed to the stiletto, which was lying on the table where moon had thrown it.

"you liar! oh, you little liar!" shrieked miss grison, shaking her fist.

"it's trewth, fur sure," insisted jotty, "an' cos i knowed too much, y' tuck me int' yer bloomin' ouse an' guv me thet button suit. i didn't say nuffin, i didn't, es y' wasn't a bad ole gal, an i oped t' maike quids out of y'. an' when y' come daown 'ere, t' the fun'rel of him es was good t' me, y' tuck awaiy thet peacock an' thet stabbin' thing. oh, i kep' m' eye peeled, y' bet, fur i wanted thet peacock m'self, wuth plenty of quids it is anyhow. sawr's y' packin' them in a bag when y' thought es i wasn't lookin'. but i ain't no fool, nohow, tho' y' did git me t' help t' git thet sorley cove int' trouble."

"how was that, jotty," asked the inspector while miss grison ripped her handkerchief to shreds in silent anger.

"why sh' fun' out es i'd got that letter fro' him," he pointed to sorley "an' she ses, as i'd better taike it t' mr. fuller there, who'd give me quids fur it anyhow. an' i did, gettin' two quids fur it. an' then i was 'opin' t' git more quids fro the sorley cove, and comes daown 'ere t' saiy es the gaim was up, an' show'd him th' noospaiper. she," he indicated miss grison with his chin, "made me tell 'er as mr. sorley 'ad the peacock, es i'd seen the doring of it on mr. fuller's taible and missus she ses as there wasn't no dorin' maid, an' thet mr. fuller mus' 'ave got it fro' the sorley cove. 'an' ses she, 'he's cort naow, so i'll tell the noospaipers es my poor brother was killed for the bloomin' peacock's saik.' an----"

"lies! lies! all lies!" cried miss grison, who had been gradually working herself up into a passion "you want to save that beast of a husband of mine, you know you do, you know you do."

"he is saved already," said moon sharply; "the evidence of mr. bakche, supported as it is by jotty, proves that mr. sorley is innocent, and that you are guilty."

"and what is more," put in alan severely, "you evidently laid a trap for your husband. that is proved by your telling jotty to bring me the letter and thus implicate him. and not until you knew that the peacock was in mr. sorley's possession--as you guessed from the drawing having been made, knowing that none had been made before--did you make public the fact that your brother had been murdered for the sake of the bird."

"yes, yes," quavered sorley, who was still kneeling and weeping, wholly broken down by his providential escape; "it was a trap, i always said so. i knew that she placed the peacock in that cupboard; i told you so, alan. i never knew that she hid the stiletto with my jewels, as i never came across it. but now that i know, i am sure that she put it there to get me into still further trouble. and i admitted that the stiletto was mine, didn't i, alan i didn't i, mr. inspector?"

"yes, yes," said moon nodding, "the case is clear enough. miss grison i arrest you on a charge of murdering your brother."

the woman was silent and glared at him fiercely, but made no effort to evade him as he advanced, clinking the handcuffs. "wait a moment," she said suddenly, "you needn't put those on yet. what motive had i to kill the brother i loved so dearly?"

"that i can't tell," said moon hesitating.

"she is mad," cried sorley, "she was always mad."

"you drove me mad," shouted miss grison turning on him furiously. "i loved you and you scorned me because you wished to marry a rich woman. but that you could have put baldwin in jail for that forgery i should have told the truth about my marriage; and much as i hated you i should have taken my true position here as your wife. but you were too strong for me and too strong for baldwin. he was never wicked, but only weak, and you ruined him as you ruined me. i vowed to be revenged."

"and you have failed," said sorley brokenly, yet with a note of triumph.

"failed. yes, i know i have failed, and what is more i have fallen into the trap i set for you. that makes me question the justice of the eternal. he gave me misery all my life, and you happiness. yet here you get the better of your evil, and i am condemned to the scaffold. baldwin is better off. at least i saved him from being hanged."

"oh," said moon, while alan and latimer started, "so you admit having murdered your brother."

"yes," said miss grison darkly, and throwing back her head. "i did evil that good might come of it. listen and before you take me away policeman, i am willing to tell the truth."

"what you say will be used in evidence against you, remember."

"i don't care. i have fought and lost." she moved forward to the table and facing the men adopted quite an oratorical attitude. beginning her story calmly enough she gradually worked herself up into a furious passion, as a sense of the wrongs she had endured came home to her. and the fact that the man who had inflicted those wrongs was now free, was not the least bitter drop in her cup of sorrow.

"four men against one woman," said miss grison scornfully, and drawing up her small figure stiffly; "five, if that brat can be called a man, instead of an ungrateful beast. how brave you all are, how very brave."

moon glanced at his watch. "time presses," he said coldly, "say what you have to say, for i must take you up to london as soon as possible."

"oh, i shall say my say quick enough," cried miss grison savagely, "is that the way to speak to a lady, you low policeman. for i am a lady." she flung back her head haughtily. "i always was a lady, as baldwin always was a gentleman, bless him."

"yet you murdered him," hinted moon coldly.

"and for why?" she demanded clenching her hands, "because i wished to save him from himself and from the gallows, and from further disgracing the honored name left by our father. i tell you all that i loved baldwin, but i knew his weakness i knew his faults, knew that unless he had some one stronger than himself to cling to, he was always dropping into the mud. oh, the poor soul, who can blame him? not i, though the world may, and the world did. if sorley had treated baldwin properly, he might have lived and died here in honor."

"i did my best," quavered her husband faintly, "but he drank and----"

"oh, he had all the vices and you all the virtues," interrupted miss grison scornfully; "but you might have put up with his weaknesses for my sake. i was your wife, and deserved some consideration. but you drove me away and you drove baldwin."

"i gave you money to set up that boarding-house."

"yes; and i took it as my right, although i could have spat in your wicked face for insulting me by the offer. i only held my peace when you were courting that slut who died, because you could have put baldwin into jail. he and i went away to try and live out our ruined lives as best we could. baldwin was too much afraid to think of revenge, but i was not, and i swore that you should pay for your wickedness. he told you that he had the peacock, which i had given him, after i took it from here, as it was a toy to him. you came and came, but i prevented baldwin giving it to you, although he wanted to, for money that he might go to the colonies."

"that would have been a wise move," murmured alan nodding.

"it would not," contradicted miss grison, "what do you know about it, mr. fuller? although i have no quarrel with you, as you have always treated me like a gentleman. it would not have been a good move, because baldwin was so weak that unless he was constantly looked after, he was always getting into dangerous trouble. he was a fool; yes, i who loved him, and who sacrificed my life to him, say that he was a weak fool. i did my best to keep him in the straight path, i allowed him a weekly income, and comforted him, i did all that a sister and a woman could do. but it was all of no use, as you may guess, you men who are bullying a poor weak woman. when baldwin confessed to me that he had murdered that man outside chin chow's opium den i knew that the end had come."

"what end?" demanded moon stolidly.

"the end of my patience, the end of the sinful years which baldwin was permitted to live on this miserable earth," cried miss grison. "he told me that he was suspected, and implored me to save him. i promised to do so, and i did in the only way that i could. i killed him, i stabbed him to the heart, and that was an easy death compared to being hanged."

so fierce and wild did she look as she said these words, that all present shivered, and sorley moaned, "a terrible woman, a terrible woman."

"a merciful woman! a good woman! a bold woman!" cried his wife, overhearing. "a weaker woman would not have acted as i did. but it was the only way, if i wished to save him from being hanged and the honored name of our father, dr. theophilus grison, from being further smirched. i determined to kill baldwin, and also to use his death as a means to hang you."

"you wicked woman!" cried alan indignantly.

"wicked? why wicked, since this beast ruined both me and my brother? i was only dealing out justice to him, as i dealt out mercy to baldwin. and i made my plans cleverly. i knew that mr. bakche was haunting mother slaig's, and counted on him recognizing my brute of a husband on that night, since he had already seen him here when he came to make inquiries about the peacock. i made baldwin write to sorley to appoint the thirteenth of november night as the time to come up. baldwin showed me the reply, and i knew that he would be there. i took the stiletto which belonged to sorley as i stole it along with the peacock when i left this house. since it was his i thought it would make the evidence against him more certain. i went to rotherhithe and watched. i saw sorley go, and then i went up to baldwin's room and stabbed him. it doesn't matter how i cajoled him to lie down and rest, and chose my time. i stabbed him to the heart and that is enough for you to know."

again her listeners shivered, for there seemed to be something terrible about this small frail woman admitting such a dreadful deed so callously and boldly. she smiled as she saw their feeling. "what a lot of cowards you men are," she jeered, "you wouldn't have acted so bravely; no, not you."

"go on, go on," said moon impatiently, "there's no time to be lost."

"i have nearly finished," said miss grison tartly, "don't hurry me, as you must admit that my confession is interesting. i killed baldwin with this," she added, taking up the stiletto which lay on the table, "and i took it away, along with the peacock, intending to hide both in this house. jotty--ungrateful little reptile that he is--saw me with these when he came to thimble square to tell me of the murder. ha! ha! of the murder which i had committed. i wept and wailed, as i was bound to do, since my dear brother had been murdered by sorley. then came the inquest, and i said nothing, for i waited my chance. the funeral took place here, and i stayed at mrs. millington's, she has been a good friend to me. i came to this house on the day you know of, mr. fuller," she went on, addressing herself to alan who nodded in answer, "and while you and marie were in the grounds, and this man--if he can be called a man--was asleep, i placed the peacock in that black-oak cupboard and the stiletto in the place behind that panel marked with a cross, where i knew sorley kept those bits of glass----"

"they are jewels, valuable jewels," cried her husband irrelevantly.

"oh, get on with the confession," said latimer sharply, for the prolonged scene was getting on his nerves, "you hid the stiletto and peacock."

"yes," said miss grison snappishly, "and then i waited, guessing that sorley would probably seek mr. fuller's help to solve the riddle of the bird. that was why i introduced the subject of cryptograms on that day when we were at tea, mr. fuller. when i learned that jotty had sorley's reply to the request of baldwin i sent him to you so that it might implicate this beast of a husband of mine. then when jotty told me about the drawing of the peacock, i knew that sorley had consulted you, since no drawing had ever been made of the thing. my trap was set, and by making the matter of the peacock public, i closed it on the man i hate."

she shut her mouth with a snap, and idly dug the stiletto into the table as if she had finished. "what else?" questioned moon imperiously.

"nothing else," said miss grison raising her pale eyes; "you know all. the trap caught the bird, and my revenge would have been complete had not this fool learned more than he should have. you, i mean, you," said miss grison walking slowly towards the indian, "why couldn't you let me have my way?"

"i wanted the jewels," said bakche stolidly, and not moving even when she was face to face with him.

"you shall never have them," cried miss grison unexpectedly, and before anyone could move she raised her arm. in a moment the stiletto was in the indian's heart, and he fell like a log on the floor.

"great god!" roared the inspector and sprang forward.

miss grison put out her frail arms. "go on, put the handcuffs here," she mocked coolly. "i have settled the beast who balked me of my revenge!"

"he is quite dead," said alan lifting a pale face from an examination.

"and that beast sorley lives," snarled miss grison viciously, and spat at her husband.