She shook her head sadly, but still allowing me to hold her soft little hand. "You must not speak of love," she whispered. "You are an honest man who has been entrapped and compelled to act dishonestly as you do. I know it all, alas! I--I know----" and she burst into tears. "I have discovered," she sobbed, "that my father is a thief!" "We cannot help that, Lola," I said, in deep sympathy at her distress. "No. Unfortunately we can't," she replied faintly, in a voice full of emotion. "But it would be fatal to us both if we loved each other. Surely, George, you can see that!" "I don't see it, dearest," I exclaimed, bending and kissing her fondly on the cheek for the first time. We had halted in the forest path, and now I held her in my arms, though she resisted slightly. "I love you, darling!" I cried. "_I love you!_" "No! No!" she protested. "You must not--you cannot love me. I am only the daughter of a man who, at any moment, might be arrested--a man for whom the police are ever in search, but cannot find." "I know all that; but you, dearest, are not a thief!" I urged, for I loved her with all the strength of my being--with all my soul. She trembled and sobbed, but did not reply. Her tearful face was hidden upon my shoulder. "Do you care for me in the least?" I whispered to her. "Tell me, dear, do." She was silent. I repeated my question, until at last she raised her face to mine, and, though she did not speak, I knew with joy that her answer was in the affirmative. And then I poured out my secret to her, how ever since I had first seen her I had loved her to distraction; and how the knowledge that she reciprocated my affection had rendered me the happiest man in the world. For a long time we remained locked in each other's arms. How long I cannot tell. Suddenly, when she had dried her tears, she seemed full of apprehension concerning my welfare. "Oh! do be careful of yourself, George!" she cried. "I am always so anxious about you when you are away. Father sends you on those strange and highly dangerous missions because he trusts you, and you, alas! are compelled to do his bidding. But do take care. You know well what the slightest blunder would mean--and you would never clear yourself, you know!" I promised I would take great care always, and again we moved along. It was not, however, until dusk that we returned to the Manor. I could not help wondering how Lola had discovered her father's true character and the nature of his secret "business," but on the whole I felt it was just as well that she knew, for she herself would exercise great care. And then I thought in ecstasy, "She is mine--_mine_!" Just before midnight, soon after I had retired, the door of my room opened, and I found Rayne in his pajamas. He placed his finger upon his lips with a gesture of silence. Then, closing the door noiselessly, he drew me to the opposite side of the room, and, showing me a photograph, said: