It is a fact worth remarking upon, that in all her career, though she had been associated with the most desperate of criminals, and though she had been surrounded on all sides by men who would stop at nothing to gain their ends, Kate had never witnessed an act of violence. Such arrests of members of the confederation as she had seen had been very humdrum affairs. The arrival of two strangers, a consultation carried on in a low tone by a pleasant detective officer, an urgent call to somebody to “get my hat” and the disappearance, very often for a long time, of the member affected. She had never seen a fellow creature man-handled nor did she believe that there was in her confederates the tigerish malignity which was now displayed. She looked from face to face in amazement and horror as they crowded round the handcuffed figure and flung him into a chair. Michael had been choked to insensibility at the first attack. With the loosening of the rope, he had recovered consciousness and put up a fight, and had been hammered back to insensibility by the three men who had watched him from the moment he had crossed the open ground to the east of the railway, and had lain in wait for him. They had manacled him with his own handcuffs. This he realized, as he came back to consciousness, with his head throbbing and every bone in his body aching. He leant his elbows on the table and buried his face in his hands, striving to collect his thoughts. It was the cold steel of the handcuff against his nose which was the starting point from whence he unravelled the situation. The blow which had felled him had fortunately been broken by his soft felt hat and he raised his hand and gingerly felt the bump which Dr. Garon’s loaded cane had raised. “Now then, wake up,” said Gregori’s voice roughly, “let’s have a look at you.” Michael raised his head and looked at the speaker. “Hello, Gregori,” he said dully. He looked round the room and caught the girl’s eyes and for a moment held them. “You seem to have tumbled into it, my young friend,” said Colonel Westhanger. Michael slowly shifted his eyes to the speaker and smiled. “We all seem to have tumbled into it, you worse than anybody. This means a life sentence for you, Colonel.” The old man’s face went white. “It is only bluff,” said Garon; “he is here by himself. I have been watching him for an hour. You tried to pull off the job on your lonely!” “Alone,” said the Colonel and the girl watching him saw his face go hard. “Alone! Are you sure?” “Absolutely sure,” said the doctor. He sat straddle-legged on a chair leaning on the back and puffing the cigar he had just lighted. “It would be rather a serious business if you had made a mistake, wouldn’t it?” drawled Michael. He was recovering his scattered senses and something of his good spirits. “You fellows had better make the best of a bad job.”