The Scarlet Bat. Fergus Hume

pulled himself straight, and tried to smile. Jarman could see that the poor young fellow was on the verge of hysterics, being overwrought, and quite broken down. Therefore he spoke roughly to brace the slack nerves. With a few choice expletives he chased Frank into the bedroom, made him strip to the skin, and after a thorough towelling, saw him inducted into a pair of flannel trousers and a faded blazer, together with a woollen shirt and a pair of old slippers. Then he demanded if Frank was hungry, and led him back to the parlour.

      "No, I'm not hungry," said Frank, dropping into a chair near the fire, for Eustace approved of a fire when the rain fell; "but another whisky--"

      "Not a bit of it. You'll get squiffy. You must eat!"

      "But I want to tell you--"

      "Later! Later! Meantime, bread and meat."

      Jarman looted the kitchen, and, having sent Miss Cork to bed, boiled the kettle and returned with a tray. This he placed before his guest, and stood over him while Frank forced ham and bread down a most unwilling throat. Then he gave the young man a pipe, mixed him a second glass of whisky of the weakest description, and demanded explanations.

      "I can give them in one word," said Frank, now more composed. "Murder!"

      Jarman stared again, and whistled. Then he went to see that the door was closed, and returned to his seat. "Who have you been killing?"

      "No one. But I'm in danger of being accused. I am innocent--I swear I am innocent, Eustace?"

      "All right, old man," replied Jarman, patting his junior on the back. "I know you wouldn't come to me if you were guilty."

      "If I were, would you shelter me?"

      "H'm! Depends upon the kind of murder. I don't mind a fair fight sort o' killing. 'Fact, I've shot a man or two myself in the Great Waste Lands."

      "But I didn't shoot Starth. I really didn't."

      "Starth! What, is he--"

      "Dead! Dead! Shot dead. But not by me--not by me."

      Eustace chewed his pipe, and stared into the fire, pulling hard. He appeared to be worried.

      "Poor girl!" said he at length.

      Frank understood on the instant. "Does she love her brother?"

      "Do you know her?" asked Eustace, without looking up.

      Lancaster shook his head. "I saw her last night at the theatre. Her brother insulted me, and asked me to see him to-day, as he wanted to apologise--"

      "Wait!" Jarman threw up his hand. "The whole truth, if you please."

      "I'm telling the truth, if you will only listen."

      "Apologising doesn't sound like Starth," objected Eustace.

      "I thought so when I got his note, and I am convinced now that his invitation was a trap."

      "To have you shot?"

      "How do I know?" He was shot himself.

      "By whom?"

      "I can't say. I was lying in a stupor when it happened."

      "Drugged--with opium?" hinted Jarman.

      "Yes. Did you know that Starth--"

      "All along." Jarman placed the tips of his fingers together. "See here, Frank, I know Miss Starth very well. She lives here with an old lady called Mrs. Perth. Their cottage is only a stone's throw away from my diggings. I met the brother there in the long ago, and--"

      "And introduced him to me. I wish you hadn't."

      "It's too late now, seeing that the man's dead, to raise objections. I never approved of Walter Starth. A bad lot--a very bad lot. He never liked you. I don't know why. But I didn't think it would come to this."

      "Jarman"--Frank started from his seat--"you don't suppose--"

      "Sit down, you ass." Jarman pushed Lancaster back into his chair. "I wouldn't take things so quietly if you had killed him. Barring that, I'm glad the man's out of the world. He was no use in it."

      "My own words--my own words!"

      "When and where?"

      "At the Piccadilly Theatre last night. I shouted them in the bar after I knocked him down."

      "H'm! Shouldn't talk like that, Frank, it's foolish."

      "I know it is. I'm in a fix, that's why I come to you."

      "Well," said Eustace, refilling his briar, "the best thing you can do is to tell me everything from the start.

      "Where am I to start from. You know about Fairy Fan?"

      "Yes; and about Starth's love for her. He looked upon you as a rival, and the knowledge didn't increase his liking for you. Well?"

      Frank straightened himself, and forthwith delivered a succinct account of all that had taken place, from the encounter on the previous night to his leaving the house in Sand Lane, South Kensington.

      "I took the Underground to Liverpool Street and caught the down train by the skin of my teeth. I didn't even return to my diggings, as I was afraid of being arrested. I'm a marked man now, Eustace. The police will hunt me down. And I am innocent."

      "Why didn't you give the alarm when you found Starth dead?"

      "Man alive, that would have delivered me into the power of the law."

      "I know that. Just asked the question to see what you'd say. H'm! It's a nasty case for you. The circumstantial evidence--"

      "I know--I know. Who knows better than I?" Frank rose to pace the room anxiously. "I spoke foolishly about Starth being better out of the world, at the theatre. I took my pistol with me--I was alone in the house with him!--that servant saw me leave, and I daresay noticed my agitation. Jarman, it's awful. I don't see how I'm going to get out of the danger. They'll hang me."

      "Steady, old man. They won't hang you. I won't let them."

      "Then you'll help me to get out of the country?"

      "No. If you cut, you'll surely be caught. By to-morrow every seaport in the kingdom will be watched. You must stay here."

      "But I'll be traced."

      "I don't think so. Plenty of men go up and down on this line in frock-coats and tall hats. I don't suppose anyone took particular notice of you."

      "The train was crowded."

      "All the better. There's safety in a crowd. No, Frank, don't leave England. Stop here, and I'll fix you up some sort of disguise. The very daring of the thing may be your salvation. The police will never think that you will remain so near town. I'll make things safe with Miss Cork, and she's the only person who has seen you. When we get time to turn round we can sift matters out."

      "What a good chap you are, Jarman!"

      "Nothing of the sort. If you were guilty I shouldn't chance the risk of being an accessory after the fact. As it is, I'll see you through the business. It's a nasty affair, there's no denying that. I expect the sister will come over to-morrow to ask for my assistance."

      "Oh!" Frank jumped up nervously. "Do you think she'll recognise me?"

      "Of course not. She only saw you once, and that at a distance, Besides, I don't suppose she inquired your name. Finally, as I intend to disguise you, she won't guess that anything is wrong. You work the typer?"

      "Yes."

      "Good! Then you'll stop here as my secretary. I'll dictate, and you'll work the machine. With your moustache cut off, dyed black hair, a stained face, and a pair of goggles for weak eyes, no one will recognise you."

      "But no one hereabouts knows me, except Miss Starth, and she only saw me in the glare of the electrics for a few minutes."

      "Frank, you're an ass! The _Police