"You have spoken of your father's will. Well, your solicitors may make the offer, but I shall refuse." "You will refuse!" cried Liane, joyously. "Yes," she answered, smiling in contentment. "I shall refuse because I am already engaged to marry Max, the man whose words have cleared your father, and whose evidence will convict the man who has held you so long beneath the thrall of terror." "You are to marry Max!" Liane exclaimed, surprised. "Yes. We have known each other some years now, and as I have recently won sufficient money which, invested, will bring us in a modest income, we have agreed to marry and relinquish gambling. One of our promises to each other is that after marriage neither of us shall enter the Casino on any pretext whatsoever. I shall certainly keep it, and I feel assured that Max will." "I'm sure you have our heartiest congratulations," Captain Brooker said, smiling. "I've known Max a long time, and although once he has been one of us and an outsider, he is, nevertheless, at heart a gentleman." Mariette, known as "The Golden Hand," and believed by _habitues_ of Monte Carlo to be thoroughly unscrupulous, and an adventuress of the very worst type, was now an entirely different person to the woman who flung down her gold so recklessly upon the tables. Her life had not been altogether blameless, nevertheless there was still sufficient generosity, tenderness, and love within her heart to render her a devoted wife with a man who would love and cherish her. "Make your offer to marry me as soon as you wish," she laughed. "You know what my reply will be." "A reply," he said, "that will bring me fifty thousand pounds." "You are indeed my friend, Mariette," Liane said, stretching forth her hand. "Forgive me for believing that you were my enemy." The other grasped it warmly, answering,-- "I have forgiven all--everything save the terrible offences of the man who has fled, offences before God and man that are beyond atonement." CHAPTER TWENTY ONE. RED AND BLACK. The fugitive was already out of sight when his pursuer gained the road. In the crooked streets of Monaco, with their dark arches, narrow passages and steep inclines, it is easy to evade pursuit, and Zertho, to whom the place was well-known, was fully aware that if he could gain the foot of the rock he could get clean away. He crushed his hat on his head and ran swiftly as a deer. Max knew the road the accused man must take, and dashed after him, hatless, as fast as his legs would carry him. Suddenly, however, he entered a crooked lane, only to find himself in a _cul-de-sac_. He quickly retraced his steps and gained the square in front of the Palace, but by this time the man he was pursuing was already at the foot of the rock. Rushing up to the wall of the fortifications he peered over, and saw far below the fugitive spring into a open cab and drive rapidly towards La Condamine. To overtake him now was impossible. The police must take up the chase.