“Yes，Mr。Northmour，“returnedClara，withgreatspirit；“butthatiswhatyouwillneverdo。Youmadeabargainthatwasunworthyofagentleman；butyouareagentlemanforallthat，andyouwillneverdesertamanwhomyouhavebeguntohelp。“
“Aha！“saidhe。“YouthinkIwillgivemyyachtfornothing？YouthinkIwillriskmylifeandlibertyforloveoftheoldgentleman；andthen，Isuppose，hebestmanatthewedding，towindup？Well，“headded，withanoddsmile，“perhapsyouarenotaltogetherwrong。ButaskCassilishere。HEknowsme。AmIamantotrust？AmIsafeandscrupulous？AmIkind？“
“Iknowyoutalkagreatdeal，andsometimes，Ithink，veryfoolishly，“repliedClara，“butIknowyouareagentleman，andI
amnottheleastafraid。“
Helookedatherwithapeculiarapprovalandadmiration；then，turningtome，“DoyouthinkIwouldgiveherupwithoutastruggle，Frank？“saidhe。“Itellyouplainly，youlookout。Thenexttimewecometoblows——“
“Willmakethethird，“Iinterrupted，smiling。
“Aye，true；soitwill，“hesaid。“Ihadforgotten。Well，thethirdtime’slucky。“
“Thethirdtime，youmean，youwillhavethecrewofthe’RedEarl’
tohelp，“Isaid。
“Doyouhearhim？“heasked，turningtomywife。
“Iheartwomenspeakinglikecowards，“saidshe。“Ishoulddespisemyselfeithertothinkorspeaklikethat。Andneitherofyoubelieveonewordthatyouaresaying，whichmakesitthemorewickedandsilly。“
“She’satrump！“criedNorthmour。“Butshe’snotyetMrs。
Cassilis。Isaynomore。Thepresentisnotforme。“
Thenmywifesurprisedme。
“Ileaveyouhere，“shesaidsuddenly。“Myfatherhasbeentoolongalone。Butrememberthis:youaretobefriends，foryouarebothgoodfriendstome。“
Shehassincetoldmeherreasonforthisstep。Aslongassheremained，shedeclaresthatwetwowouldhavecontinuedtoquarrel；
andIsupposethatshewasright，forwhenshewasgonewefellatonceintoasortofconfidentiality。
Northmourstaredafterherasshewentawayoverthesandhill。
“Sheistheonlywomanintheworld！“heexclaimedwithanoath。
“Lookatheraction。“
I，formypart，leapedatthisopportunityforalittlefurtherlight。
“Seehere，Northmour，“saidI；“weareallinatightplace，arewenot？“
“Ibelieveyou，myboy，“heanswered，lookingmeintheeyes，andwithgreatemphasis。“Wehaveallhelluponus，that’sthetruth。
Youmaybelievemeornot，butI’mafraidofmylife。“
“Tellmeonething，“saidI。“Whataretheyafter，theseItalians？
WhatdotheywantwithMr。Huddlestone？“
“Don’tyouknow？“hecried。“Theblackoldscamphadcarbonarifundsonadeposit——twohundredandeightythousand；andofcoursehegambleditawayonstocks。TherewastohavebeenarevolutionintheTridentino，orParma；buttherevolutionisoff，andthewholewasp’snestisafterHuddlestone。Weshallallbeluckyifwecansaveourskins。“
“Thecarbonari！“Iexclaimed；“Godhelphimindeed！“
“Amen！“saidNorthmour。“Andnow，lookhere:Ihavesaidthatweareinafix；and，frankly，Ishallbegladofyourhelp。IfI
can’tsaveHuddlestone，Iwantatleasttosavethegirl。Comeandstayinthepavilion；and，there’smyhandonit，Ishallactasyourfrienduntiltheoldmaniseitherclearordead。But，“headded，“oncethatissettled，youbecomemyrivalonceagain，andI
warnyou——mindyourself。“
“Done！“saidI；andweshookhands。
“Andnowletusgodirectlytothefort，“saidNorthmour；andhebegantoleadthewaythroughtherain。
VI
WewereadmittedtothepavilionbyClara，andIwassurprisedbythecompletenessandsecurityofthedefenses。Abarricadeofgreatstrength，andyeteasytodisplace，supportedthedooragainstanyviolencefromwithout；andtheshuttersofthedining-
room，intowhichIwasleddirectly，andwhichwasfeeblyilluminatedbyalamp，wereevenmoreelaboratelyfortified。Thepanelswerestrengthenedbybarsandcrossbars；andthese，intheirturn，werekeptinpositionbyasystemofbracesandstruts，someabuttingonthefloor，someontheroof，andothers，infine，againsttheoppositewalloftheapartment。Itwasatonceasolidandwell-designedpieceofcarpentry；andIdidnotseektoconcealmyadmiration。
“Iamtheengineer，“saidNorthmour。“Youremembertheplanksinthegarden？Beholdthem？“
“Ididnotknowyouhadsomanytalents，“saidI。
“Areyouarmed？“hecontinued，pointingtoanarrayofgunsandpistols，allinadmirableorder，whichstoodinlineagainstthewallorweredisplayeduponthesideboard。
“Thankyou，“Ireturned；“Ihavegonearmedsinceourlastencounter。But，totellyouthetruth，Ihavehadnothingtoeatsinceearlyyesterdayevening。“
Northmourproducedsomecoldmeat，towhichIeagerlysetmyself，andabottleofgoodBurgundy，bywhich，wetasIwas，Ididnotscrupletoprofit。Ihavealwaysbeenanextremetemperancemanonprinciple；butitisuselesstopushprincipletoexcess，andonthisoccasionIbelievethatIfinishedthreequartersofthebottle。AsIeat，Istillcontinuedtoadmirethepreparationsfordefense。
“Wecouldstandasiege，“Isaidatlength。
“Ye——es，“drawledNorthmour；“averylittleone，perhaps。ItisnotsomuchthestrengthofthepavilionImisdoubt；itisthedoubledangerthatkillsme。Ifwegettoshooting，wildasthecountryis，someoneissuretohearit，andthen——whythenit’sthesamething，onlydifferent，astheysay:cagedbylaw，orkilledbycarbonari。There’sthechoice。Itisadevilishbadthingtohavethelawagainstyouinthisworld，andsoItelltheoldgentlemanupstairs。Heisquiteofmywayofthinking。“
“Speakingofthat，“saidI，“whatkindofpersonishe？“
“Oh，he！“criedtheother；“he’sarancidfellow，asfarashegoes。Ishouldliketohavehisneckwrungto-morrowbyallthedevilsinItaly。Iamnotinthisaffairforhim。Youtakeme？I
madeabargainformissy’shand，andImeantohaveittoo。“
“That，bytheway，“saidI。“Iunderstand。ButhowwillMr。
Huddlestonetakemyintrusion？“
“LeavethattoClara，“returnedNorthmour。
Icouldhavestruckhiminthefaceforhiscoarsefamiliarity；butIrespectedthetruce，as，Iamboundtosay，didNorthmour，andsolongasthedangercontinuednotacloudaroseinourrelation。I
bearhimthistestimonywiththemostunfeignedsatisfaction；noramIwithoutpridewhenIlookbackuponmyownbehavior。Forsurelynotwomenwereeverleftinapositionsoinvidiousandirritating。
AssoonasIhaddoneeating，weproceededtoinspectthelowerfloor。Windowbywindowwetriedthedifferentsupports，nowandthenmakinganinconsiderablechange；andthestrokesofthehammersoundedwithstartlingloudnessthroughthehouse。Iproposed，I
remember，tomakeloopholes；buthetoldmetheywerealreadymadeinthewindowsoftheupperstory。Itwasananxiousbusiness，thisinspection，andleftmedown-hearted。Thereweretwodoorsandfivewindowstoprotect，and，countingClara，onlyfourofustodefendthemagainstanunknownnumberoffoes。IcommunicatedmydoubtstoNorthmour，whoassuredme，withunmovedcomposure，thatheentirelysharedthem。
“Beforemorning，“saidhe，“weshallallbebutcheredandburiedinGradenFloe。Forme，thatiswritten。“
Icouldnothelpshudderingatthementionofthequicksand，butremindedNorthmourthatourenemieshadsparedmeinthewood。
“Donotflatteryourself，“saidhe。“Thenyouwerenotinthesameboatwiththeoldgentleman；nowyouare。It’sthefloeforallofus，markmywords。“
ItrembledforClara；andjustthenherdearvoicewasheardcallingustocomeupstairs。Northmourshowedmetheway，and，whenhehadreachedthelanding，knockedatthedoorofwhatusedtobecalledMyUncle’sBedroom，asthefounderofthepavilionhaddesigneditespeciallyforhimself。
“Comein，Northmour；comein，dearMr。Cassilis，“saidavoicefromwithin。
Pushingopenthedoor，Northmouradmittedmebeforehimintotheapartment。AsIcameinIcouldseethedaughterslippingoutbythesidedoorintothestudy，whichhadbeenpreparedasherbedroom。Inthebed，whichwasdrawnbackagainstthewall，insteadofstanding，asIhadlastseenit，boldlyacrossthewindow，satBernardHuddlestone，thedefaultingbanker。LittleasIhadseenofhimbytheshiftinglightofthelanternonthelinks，Ihadnodifficultyinrecognizinghimforthesame。Hehadalongandsallowcountenance，surroundedbyalongredbeardandside-whiskers。Hisbrokennoseandhighcheek-honesgavehimsomewhattheairofaKalmuck，andhislighteyesshonewiththeexcitementofahighfever。Heworeaskull-capofblacksilk；ahugeBiblelayopenbeforehimonthebed，withapairofgoldspectaclesintheplace，andapileofotherbookslayonthestandbyhisside。Thegreencurtainslentacadaverousshadetohischeek；and，ashesatproppedonpillows，hisgreatstaturewaspainfullyhunched，andhisheadprotrudedtillitoverhunghisknees。Ibelieveifhehadnotdiedotherwise，hemusthavefallenavictimtoconsumptioninthecourseofbutaveryfewweeks。
Heheldouttomeahand，long，thin，anddisagreeablyhairy。
“Comein，comein，Mr。Cassilis，“saidhe。“Anotherprotector——
ahem！——anotherprotector。Alwayswelcomeasafriendofmydaughter’s，Mr。Cassilis。Howtheyhaveralliedaboutme，mydaughter’sfriends！MayGodinheavenblessandrewardthemforit！“
Igavehimmyhand，ofcourse，becauseIcouldnothelpit；butthesympathyIhadbeenpreparedtofeelforClara’sfatherwasimmediatelysouredbyhisappearance，andthewheedling，unrealtonesinwhichhespoke。
“Cassilisisagoodman，“saidNorthmour；“worthten。“
“SoIhear，“criedMr。Huddlestoneeagerly；“somygirltellsme。
Ah，Mr。Cassilis，mysinhasfoundmeout，yousee！Iamverylow，verylow；butIhopeequallypenitent。Wemustallcometothethroneofgraceatlast，Mr。Cassilis。Formypart，Icomelateindeed；butwithunfeignedhumility，Itrust。“
“Fiddle-de-dee！“saidNorthmourroughly。
“No，no，dearNorthmour！“criedthebanker。“Youmustnotsaythat；youmustnottrytoshakeme。Youforget，mydear，goodboy，youforgetImaybecalledthisverynightbeforemyMaker。“
Hisexcitementwaspitifultobehold；andIfeltmyselfgrowindignantwithNorthmour，whoseinfidelopinionsIwellknew，andheartilydespised，ashecontinuedtotauntthepoorsinneroutofhishumorofrepentance。
“Pooh，mydearHuddlestone！“saidhe。“Youdoyourselfinjustice。
Youareamanoftheworldinsideandout，andwereuptoallkindsofmischiefbeforeIwasborn。YourconscienceistannedlikeSouthAmericanleather——onlyyouforgottotanyourliver，andthat，ifyouwillbelieveme，istheseatoftheannoyance。“
“Rogue，rogue！badboy！“saidMr。Huddlestone，shakinghisfinger。
“Iamnoprecisian，ifyoucometothat；Ialwayshatedaprecisian；butIneverlostholdofsomethingbetterthroughitall。Ihavebeenabadboy，Mr。Cassilis；Idonotseektodenythat；butitwasaftermywife’sdeath，andyouknow，withawidower，it’sadifferentthing:sinful——Iwon’tsayno；butthereisagradation，weshallhope。Andtalkingofthat——Hark！“hebrokeoutsuddenly，hishandraised，hisfingersspread，hisfacerackedwithinterestandterror。“Onlytherain，blessGod！“headded，afterapause，andwithindescribablerelief。
Forsomesecondshelaybackamongthepillowslikeamanneartofainting；thenhegatheredhimselftogether，and，insomewhattremuloustones，beganoncemoretothankmefortheshareIwaspreparedtotakeinhisdefense。
“Onequestion，sir，“saidI，whenhehadpaused。“Isittruethatyouhavemoneywithyou？“