"I wonder if what Diabella told was the secret," muttered Towton, stroking his chin. "Did Dimsdale ever give you to understand that his secret, whatever it might have been, was a disgraceful one?" "On the contrary, he said that he didn't mind any one knowing what it was," said Vernon promptly; "only he added that The Spider had embroidered actual facts and so might make things hot for him were the added facts to become known to the world at large." Towton nodded. "I thought so." "Thought what?" asked Vernon impatiently. "That Diabella and this mysterious Spider are in league." Vernon dropped into his chair, placed his hands on his knees and stared very hard at the lean, brown face of the soldier. "What do you mean?" "Listen, and I'll tell you. I am quite sure that you will come to the same conclusion," and Towton in an incisive manner related what had taken place in the fortune-teller's weird apartments. The effect on Vernon was to produce an extraordinary emotion of mingled dread and relief: dread, because he saw deep and dangerous villainy at work, and relief as now he espied a gleam of light in the darkness surrounding the "Rangoon" crime. He made no remark either during Towton's recital or after it, so that the Colonel grew impatient. "Well, what do you make of it?" he asked sharply. "I agree with you that Diabella and The Spider are in league. Perhaps," he rose, much agitated, "perhaps Diabella is The Spider all by herself." "The Spider I always understood to be a man." "It is presumed so, but who knows. Diabella may be the real originator of these crimes and may employ men to collect her fees. Then, of course, as a popular fortune-teller, she has every opportunity of learning people's secrets, for those who consult such creatures always give themselves away. A few skilfully put questions and a few dexterous prophecies would make people loosen their tongues. Then a clever woman, putting two and two together, would soon make the four, which means blackmail." "But how the deuce could she learn this secret of Dimsdale's?" "Well, the secret is connected with the Far East and you say that Diabella employs two Indians in her fortune-telling business. She may have learned it from them since the older man, the one who attempted to strangle you, may have been a soldier in the Burmese War and so may have been connected with Dimsdale. Then, again, Diabella may herself have been in the East and may have learned about Ida not being Dimsdale's daughter." "Do you think it is true?"