intimidated, and a savage struggle ensued--ending in Maxwell dealing Morgan a death stroke with the knife with which he had stabbed Louis. In a paroxysm of fury he battered the face of the dead man and stamped upon it; and finally overturned the heavy table upon the body, and fled. Then Louis, fearful lest the murder would be fastened upon him, managed to rise and stumble from the house unobserved. The violence of the storm, which was raging furiously without, favored him, and he succeeded in making his way to a common lodging-house, frequented by thieves and men of the worst character, to whom the sight of a man who had been engaged in a desperate fight was familiar. There he remained in hiding for a couple of days, by which time he was strong enough to leave Liverpool and take train to London, where he joined his mother and was nursed by her. Meanwhile Maxwell had also returned to London, devoured by anxiety, and by curiosity to ascertain what had become of John Fordham. After keeping quiet for a week he paid a visit to Louis' mother, and was astonished to see Louis in her house. As may be imagined he was not cordially received, for Louis had given his mother a true account of what had occurred. At this juncture Maxwell's natural cunning--of which there are so many instances in John Fordham's Confession--came to his aid. He professed the greatest delight at Louis' escape, and the deepest regret that he had allowed his temper to master him in their dispute over cards. Concerning Morgan's death he pointed out that Louis' peril was no less than his own, and that, if the worst should happen, it was not he alone who would be accused of the murder. Naturally, he argued, Louis would throw the crime upon him, and naturally he would throw it upon Louis. It was a fair assumption that his story would be believed before Louis' because of the wound which the latter had received, which people would say was inflicted by Morgan while defending himself against the attack made upon him. These arguments were strong enough to show the dangerous position in which Louis stood in relation to the crime. Maxwell then went on to say that their safety lay in fixing the guilt upon John Fordham, and he related to them how that unfortunate man came to be entangled in the affair. The hatred they bore to John Fordham induced them to listen with avidity to the villainous proposal, and they hailed with pleasure the opportunity of being revenged upon him.