"Mrs. Warburton's condition," he concluded, "was such that I dared not confide in her, as I had intended. She was too ill and weak to exercise self-control, and we had too much at stake to run any risk. Indeed, I had begun to realize what an enemy we had to deal with, and to fear that we could only succeed by playing our desperate game to the end. In fact, there seemed no alternative. From the moment of Mrs. Warburton's coming among us, Mamma's watch was lynx-like. I could not have removed the lady or interposed to save her one moment's uneasiness, without being myself betrayed. And then our situation would have been worse than ever; Mamma would have revenged herself upon us through the little girl. At every point, that vile old woman was a match for me. When she proposed the marriage, I pretended to withhold my consent until she should tell everything concerning the lady's prospective fortune. For two long weeks I enacted the part of a blustering, drunken ruffian; cursing, quarrelling, threatening; before I extorted the truth from her. Some papers, that had accidentally fallen into her hands, had informed her that Mrs. Warburton--or the child, Leschen, she called her--was the daughter of one John Ainsworth. These same papers--they were those confided to her by Arthur Pearson--gave a specific account of the fortune John Ainsworth possessed at the time he left the mines." Again he paused, and the Australian lifted his head, speaking quickly. "I comprehend," he said; "I sent such memoranda in a letter to my sister, and also told her of investments I proposed to make in Australia. I wanted her to understand my business affairs for little Lea's sake." "And through these documents," resumed Stanhope, "the shrewd old woman traced your Australian career, and knew that your fortune, in the twenty years of your exile, had swollen immensely. When she saw the advertisement of your lawyer, she took alarm. She must act promptly or, perhaps, lose her game. So she stole the little girl, hoping to use her as a means by which to compel Mrs. Warburton to yield up a large slice of her prospective wealth. And had her first plan been carried out, she would not have hesitated to find means to remove from her path the greatest obstacle to her ambition--yourself, Mr. Ainsworth." "I see," said the Australian gravely. "Yes, it is quite probable."