Ralph just touched Marion's cheek. "You are a good girl--an angel," he murmured. "What we should do without you I cannot say. Stay here and have no fear. I shall not be far away. I am going to sleep for the rest of the night on the floor outside." "On the floor, my dear uncle?" "Bah! it is no hardship," said Ralph. "I have had far less comfortable quarters many a time. I am used to it and like it. And I sleep like a hare. The slightest noise or motion and I am awake instantly." Marion raised no further protests. This singular individual was in the habit of doing as he pleased, and nothing could turn him from his humor. He bade Marion good-night and softly closed the door. But he did not lie down at the head of the stairs. On the contrary, he crept quietly down to his room again. There Tchigorsky and Geoffrey waited him. The lamp was once more lighted. Tchigorsky had a grin on his face. "Foiled her?" he asked. "I heard you." "For the present, at any rate," Ralph replied. "That charming woman does me the honor to regard me as a benighted idiot." Tchigorsky dropped into a chair and rocked to and fro, shaking with noiseless mirth. CHAPTER XXXII MORE FROM THE PAST Geoffrey looked from one to the other for explanation. "Won't you tell me what has happened?" he asked. "As a matter of fact, nothing has happened," Ralph replied. "A little time ago Tchigorsky outlined a bold stroke on the part of the foe. He suggested that it was possible, without removing a single bolt or bar, to spirit away one of the family, who would never be heard of again. Tchigorsky was making no prophesy; he was speaking from knowledge. Well, the attempt has been made and it has failed." "Who was the victim, uncle?" "Your cousin, Vera. Sit down, my boy; if you go plunging about like that you will ruin everything. Did I not tell you that the attempt had been made and had failed? Vera is safe for a long time to come." Geoffrey dropped into his seat again. "How did you manage it, uncle?" he asked. Ralph gave the details. He told the story dryly. "So I not only prevented the dastardly attempt to carry Vera away," he concluded, "but I baffled the foe altogether. There was not the slightest suspicion that I was on the stairs except by the merest accident." "But you say that Marion was with Vera?" "She was. That nimble wit of hers led her to suspect danger. But Marion could not have averted the tragedy. A slender girl like her could have done nothing against a strong and determined foe. If necessary, she would have been carried off and they would have killed two birds with one stone." Geoffrey shuddered. He was sick of the whole business. For the moment he was a prey to utter despair. It seemed hopeless to fight against a foe like this, a foe striking in the dark and almost moving invisibly. "Some one ought to watch that room," he said.