"Not intentionally. I swear that I did not. But seeing that she was dead, it was just as well to hunt for what I wanted. I found nothing, so I came down and got out by the window. Just outside the gate someone--that infernal priest as I now know--snatched at my shoulder and grabbed my scarf. I slipped him in the fog and--and--that's all." "Quite enough too. You shall hang," cried the Squire. "No," said Pentreddle, rising and making for the window, "he shan't hang." He threw up the window and the fierce gale came howling into the room. "I shall call up Akira's sailors," shouted the young man. "Don't; don't!" screamed Dane. "They'll torture me." "Serve you right," said his uncle fiercely. "You have brought shame and disgrace upon the family." "Mr. Colpster," the Squire turned as he heard his name mentioned and saw that Harry had picked up the Mikado Jewel, "I take this back to Akira." "You shan't! you shan't! It's mine!" and the old man dashed forward with outstretched hands while the wind drove wildly into the rooms. A roar of laughter came from the bound man on the floor. "Ha! ha! ha!" he screamed. "Uncle, you're done for! you're done for! Ha! ha! ha!" "Give! give! give!" whimpered Colpster, trying to seize Pentreddle. "It is mine! it is mine!" "It belongs to the Temple of Kitzuki," said Harry, backing towards the window. "I stole it and now I am going to return it. I promised to do so, if Akira told me who murdered my mother. Keep back, sir! keep back!" Theodore roared with laughter and twisted himself round to see what would happen. Colpster, his eyes filled with mad anger, dashed at Pentreddle, who evaded him dexterously, and before the Squire knew his intention, slipped like an eel out of the window. Harry clambered down the ivy with the cleverness of a sailor and saw above him the wild despairing face of the Squire, while he heard the loud ironical laughter of the bound man. The rain was coming down in torrents dashed here and there by the wind. The sailor slipped and fell on his back, but was up again in a moment and made for the beach. He heard high above the sound of wind and wave the thin lamentations of Colpster, who saw the luck of his family being carried away for ever. Pentreddle raced for the beach through the furious weather. There he shouted as he stumbled towards the pier, and immediately two Japanese took him by the shoulders to tumble him bodily into the launch. They seemed to be in a desperate hurry, for scarcely had he got his breath when he found that the launch was plunging at full speed through the turbulent water. "What the devil is the hurry!" gasped Harry, shaking the water from his eyes.