When Louis fell to the ground in the house in Rye Street, Maxwell and Morgan, believing him to be dead, stood transfixed with fear, appalled by the tragic termination to their plan of robbery. Jack had rushed from the room in terror, but this they scarcely noticed, so engrossed were they in fears for their own safety. What aroused them were the sounds of a desperate fight in the passage below--the fight that was going on between John Fordham and Jack. Their impression was that they had been watched, and that the police were upon them. If that were indeed the case, their peril could not have been greater, for, with the body of their victim on the ground, they would be caught red-handed. The conflict in the passage continued for several minutes, and it seemed as if one or more of the combatants were endeavoring to force their way upstairs. Suddenly there was a lull--they heard the thud of a fallen body, and then the violent slamming of the street door. Following that, a dead silence. It was long before they could muster sufficient courage to go from the room to ascertain what had taken place. They took a light with them, and coming upon the body of a man, they stooped to see who it was. "By God!" cried Maxwell. "It is my brother-in-law, John Fordham! How did he come here?" and then, "What a slice of luck!" I can almost hear him utter these words as I write them down--and if he did not utter them he thought them, which I take it amounts to the same thing. Quick as lightning he saw the opportunity of diverting suspicion from himself, and fixing the guilt upon an innocent man. Assisted by Morgan, to whom probably he disclosed his plan, he carried Fordham's body into the room, took the knife with which he had stabbed Louis, and put in its place the gold-digger's knife he found in Fordham's sheath, smearing it first with blood. Then he and Morgan removed every article which would draw suspicion upon themselves, and stole from the house to await the issue of events. Whether they kept watch upon the house to see what John Fordham would do--for they had ascertained that he had only been stunned by the fall, and was certain to soon recover his senses--or went away and returned after an interval, is not material. Sufficient that they did return--to find John Fordham flown, and Louis still lying on the ground in a state of insensibility, and apparently dead. But the wound he had received was not mortal, as we know. He became conscious while Maxwell and Morgan were quarreling. Morgan, it appears, was under the impression that Maxwell intended to cheat him of his share of the spoil, and he was insisting upon a fair division then and there. Maxwell refused, and a stormy scene ensued, of which Louis was a witness, though he did not dare to stir lest they should really make an end of him. From words, the two men came to blows, and Maxwell was heard to threaten to serve Morgan as he had served Louis. But Morgan, thoroughly enraged, was not to be