"are you, too, in ignorance of thereal culprit?"
"Quite; Boris has refused to disclose his identity," she said, quietly,in a tone of annoyance.
"No," replied the Russian, bitterly. "There will be time enough whenthe police have hunted him down. Hitherto I have been powerless. Idare not denounce him lest he should divulge my connection with theplots, the inevitable result of which would have been my exile to themines. Now, however, I fear nothing. He has destroyed the only one Iloved, and shall suffer the penalty!" he added, fiercely.
"But why not tell us?" I argued. "Surely we may know upon whom reststhe guilt?"
"Let the matter remain at present," he said, petulantly. "When the timearrives I shall be prepared to prove that which will send him to thegallows. Not only did he take my wife's life, but he also committed asecond murder in order to hide the first--"
"Another?" I cried.
"Yes. Since my poor wife's maid, Jane Maygrove, returned from Australiaand made her confession, I have discovered something even more strange.It seems that Jane had a sister Nell, very similar in feature, andprevious to her departure abroad she told this sister all that hadhappened at Bedford Place on the fatal night. Needless to say, Nelltraced the murderer and made excellent use of her information, inasmuchas she levied blackmail upon him to a considerable extent, he, ofcourse, believing her to be the witness of his crime. She had married aman named Grey, and the pair lived upon the money she succeeded inextorting from the murderer. For some time this went on, until onenight she was discovered in a court off Drury Lane, stabbed in the neck,and with the seal upon her--"
"Why, that was the woman who was murdered on the night following myreturn from Russia!" I remarked, in amazement.
"That is so. Here is her photograph," and he handed me a fadedcarte-de-visite, which he took from his pocket.
It was similar to that which had been given me by the man who had diedin the garret.
"Jane Maygrove," he continued, "is none other than the wife of yourclub-friend, Rivers."
"Ted Rivers's wife?" I repeated, incredulously. He replied in theaffirmative, adding, "Does not that account for his consternation whenyou produced a photograph of her twin sister? He believed it to be thatof his own wife."
"How do you know all this?" I asked, my interest in the solution ofthis extraordinary problem increasing more than ever.
"On the day you left Elveham, after discovering Vera and myself in theDene, you came to London, and outside the Junior Garrick you were met byan old man named Grey, the husband of Nell Maygrove, were you not?"
"That's true," I admitted. "But how came you aware of this?"
"Simply because I followed you," he replied, laughing. "I had an objectin doing so; it was in your own interest, as you will know later."
"How could your espionage affect me?" I asked, with a sudden feeling ofresentment at having been "shadowed."
"You shall know very soon. On the day to which I refer, you went toGrey's room. He told you, before he died, how he discovered hismurdered wife, and how he had taken the seal from her breast. Do youremember?"
"Yes."
"Your conversation was overheard by the sister of the dead woman, who,until then, was unaware that the significant sign had been found uponher, she being abroad at the time the accounts were published in thenewspapers. When she heard Grey's declaration she at once knew that theman who had killed her sister was the murderer of my wife. Prompted byrevenge, she determined to track the villain, and bring him to justice,even at the risk of being prosecuted for theft herself. It was inconsequence of this that she materially assisted us by giving evidencein your favour to-day."
"To her, to Vera, and to yourself, I owe my present liberty," Iexclaimed deeply moved. "I am indeed grateful to you all for yourefforts."
"You have little to thank me for, dear," said Vera tenderly. "Fateseemed against me in everything I did."
"I understand how you must have suffered, dearest, and how circumstancesprecluded you from telling me the truth. You did your best, and infuture I shall trust you implicitly," I said, while her arm stole gentlyaround my neck, and she looked lovingly into my eyes.
Wringing Boris's hand heartily, I expressed my gratitude to him, adding,"There is one thing needful to completely solve the enigma--the name ofthe man who committed the crimes."
"When I gave the police the information I promised I would not divulgeuntil they made the arrest; otherwise I would tell you," he replied,with a tantalising smile.
"Do tell us! We must know the whole truth now," urged Vera earnestly.
"His name--but--hark!--what's that?" he ejaculated, with bated breath.
We listened. It was the sound of hurrying footsteps in the corridor.
"I must see Mrs Burgoyne at once. Do you hear? Quick! Tell me; whichis her room?" a voice shouted excitedly.
"It's here! first on the left, sir," was the reply.
A second later the door was flung open without warning.
CHAPTER THIRTY FIVE.
THE VANTAGE-GROUND OF TRUTH.
Demetrius burst abruptly into the room.
His wild appearance startled us. His face was pale and haggard; hiseyes bloodshot, his collar torn, and his coat rent at the shoulder.
He stopped suddenly, stepping back a few paces when he saw Vera was notalone.
"Why, good Heavens! What's the matter?" I exclaimed, in utterastonishment; for he and I had been the closest friends.
"Matter! _Diable_! You should know!" he cried, his foreign accentbeing more pronounced in his excitement.
"No. What is it?" asked Vera, who had risen and was standing close tohim. "Are you mad?"
"Yes, imbecile--if you like," he shouted hoarsely. Pointing to Boris,he added, his face distorted by a look of intense hatred, "That traitoris the cause! He has set the police upon me. They have followed me andare hunting me down. But they shall not arrest me--_Sacre_--at leastnot yet!"
"Come; enough of this!" commanded Boris, sternly, advancing andclutching him by the shoulder.
"Hands off, you devil!" he cried fiercely, shaking himself free."Listen, first, to what I have to say!"
"Now, it's useless to struggle," Boris declared firmly. "I shall detainyou here and send for the police."
"No you won't. Curse you! They are following me now. They saw meenter the hotel. Hark! they're on the stairs. But I have something--something to say."
There was a sly, crafty look in his distended eyes.
"Well; what is it?" I asked, at the same time glancing at Vera, andnoting that her delicate face was firm-set and pale.
"You--you robbed me of her, and, by Heaven, some satisfaction is due tome. I demand it--do you understand?" he screamed with an imprecation,addressing me.
"It is I who protected my sister, and assisted her to evade the clutchesof a heartless villain--the man who murdered my wife!" interposed Boris,infuriated, emphasising his words with a foreign oath.
"Is it this man?" I demanded, bewildered.
"Yes," he answered, angrily. "This is the scoundrel who murdered twodefenceless women." Turning towards him, he added quickly, "Ah!Demetrius Orselska, the revenge I have so long sought is now near athand."
"It is--it is," hissed the other. "But, _ma foi_! if you think I willbe trapped, you are mistaken!" he laughed harshly. "No--you, FrankBurgoyne--you English cur!--you took Vera from me. Though she is yourwife, you shall no longer enjoy her beauty. _Dieu_! you shan't?"
I saw him plunge his hand nervously into his pocket, but had not theslightest idea of his intention.
As I turned to look at Vera she covered her blanched face with herhands, screaming,--"Look, Frank--he has a pistol!"
His movements were of lightning-like rapidity. Before I could wrest theweapon from his murderous grasp he had levelled it at her.
There was a flash--a loud report--and a puff of smoke curled between us.
For a second I feared to glance at her, but when I lifted my e
yes, itwas with joy I saw that the bullet had sped harmlessly past, shatteringa great mirror at the opposite end of the room.
Shrieking wildly and hysterically, she staggered fainting to a chair,while Boris and I struggled with the murderer to obtain possession ofthe weapon.
"Stand back!" he shouted, his dark flashing eyes starting from theirsockets, and his even row of white teeth prominently displayed. "Touchme, and I'll blow your brains out! _Sacre_! I warn you!"
The mad excitement seemed to have filled him with fiendish strength, andby an agile movement he again freed