"Jose telegraphed me and told me to rely on you," she whispered in a low voice, "and I will. As a matter of fact, I have carefully studied all the other first-class passengers and there is no one amongst them whom we need fear, so we must look for enemies amongst the people on the dock side." "I think I can protect you all right," I replied, with a smile as bright and infectious as her own. "But take my arm, look as though you belonged to me, as if we were brother and sister, in point of fact. What about your luggage?" "That will be sent on," she returned quickly, stepping out bravely beside me. "I arranged all that with the stewardess, who for the time will treat it as her own. I knew time pressed, and so I did all I could to facilitate my departure." "Then let us make the most of your foresight," I said, and elbowing our way through the crowd the pair of us passed quickly out of the dock and soon hid ourselves in the refreshment room of the station, from which we passed rapidly to a slow train, which a porter explained would eventually land us in London, but would take four hours over the process. "It is safety before speed we must study at this point," I whispered to my companion; and we were just congratulating ourselves that we had got the carriage to ourselves as the guard's whistle sounded, and had slipped out of Southampton with great discretion, when a most unexpected thing happened. The carriage door opened suddenly, and in there stepped that evil-looking woman in black I had noted on the dock side. The next instant the train rumbled off. "Confound it," I said to Miss Velasquon, "I never bargained for this. I think we had better change at the next station." Evidently the stranger heard my whisper, for she looked up. "You may change, sir," she said icily, "and I advise you to do so, but your companion won't." And her hands came together with a vicious snap. "How--what the dickens do you mean?" I blurted out, and my eyes flashed fire. "This," the woman answered: "Miss Camille Velasquon, as it happens, is in my, not your, charge. Unfortunately, she is an escaped criminal lunatic, and it is my business, with the aid of some friends in the adjacent compartment, to convey her at once to Broadmoor Asylum." CHAPTER ELEVEN. WHAT HAPPENED TO US.