"Then, once and for all," she said, raising her voice, "I tell you I'll have no hand whatsoever in it?" He was apparently taken aback by the suddenness of her decision. "And you prefer to be left unprotected against the vengeance of La Gioia!" he said harshly. "Yes, I do," she said determinedly. "And recollect that from to-night I refuse to be further associated with these vile schemes of yours. You deceived me once; you shall never do so again!" He laughed aloud. "And you think you can break from me as easily as this. Your action to-night is foolish--suicidal. You will repent it." "I shall never repent. My hatred of you is too strong!" "We shall see," he laughed. "Let me pass!" she cried, and leaving him, walked quickly down the path, and in a few moments the flutter of her light dress was lost in the darkness. Her companion hurried after her. I emerged quickly from my hiding-place, and followed them as far as the stile. He had overtaken her, and was striding by her side, bending and talking earnestly as they crossed the open grassland. To follow sufficiently close to overhear what he said was impossible without detection, therefore I was compelled to remain and watch the receding figures until they became swallowed up in the darkness. Then, turning, I passed through the belt of wood again, and, scaling a wall, gained the high-road, which, after a walk of half an hour, took me back to Hounslow. That night I slept but little. The discovery I had made was extraordinary! Who was this woman with the strange name? "La Gioia" meant in Italian "The Jewel," or "The Joy." Why did they fear her vengeance? In the morning, as I descended to breakfast, the landlord of the inn, standing in his shirt-sleeves, met me at the foot of the stairs. "Have you heard the terrible news, sir?" he inquired. "No," I said in surprise. "What news?" "There was murder committed last night over in Whitton Park!" "Murder?" I gasped. "Who has been murdered?" CHAPTER THIRTEEN. I PRACTISE A NEW PROFESSION. "Why, the Colonel--Colonel Chetwode!" the man answered excitedly. "Colonel Chetwode!" I gasped. "Impossible!" "It's a fact," he declared. "The whole thing's a deep mystery. They found him at five o'clock this morning." "Tell me all about it," I urged. "Mr Plummer, sergeant of police, was in here half an hour ago, and he told me all about it. According to what he says, it seems that a workman going across the park to Twickenham early this morning, saw the body of a man on the edge of the lake, half in the water. He rushed forward, and to his horror found it was the Colonel, quite dead." "Drowned?" "No; he wasn't drowned. That's the curious part of it. He was murdered." "How?" "By a blow on the head, the police believe. Plummer says that there are lots of marks near the edge of the lake as though a struggle took place." "Extraordinary!" I ejaculated. "You say he was quite dead when discovered. Was a doctor called?"