"Yes, yes, lad," he said; "you did it from kindness. It has made no difference. I could not have borne it for you to deceive me, Antony," he said, with a sweet, sad smile lighting his face as I caught his hand. "Come, let us go. Mary, my good soul, you are labouring under a mistake. Good-night!" "No, you don't!" cried Mary, setting her back against the door. "You don't go till he comes back. He'll come and bring your sister here. And you may take her home. I'll talk to him. What?" she cried triumphantly; "what did I say?" She turned, and threw open the door; for just then a heavy step was heard below, and, as if expecting some strange scene, Hallett and I stood watching, as step after step creaked beneath a heavy weight, till whoever was coming reached the landing and staggered into the room. "You--" Mary's sentence was never finished; for her husband's look, as he strode in with Linny in his arms, seemed to crush her. "I couldn't get him, too, but I marked him," he said, panting, "and I've stopped his little game." "Linny!" cried Hallett to the half-insensible girl, who seemed to glide from Revitts' arms, and sink in a heap at his feet, while I stood gazing in utter amazement at the turn things had taken. "Mary, my lass! a drop of something--anything--I'm about done." Mary's teeth gritted together, and she darted a vindictive look at her husband; but she obeyed him, fetching out a bottle of gin and a glass, which he filled and drained before speaking. "Not so strong as I was," he cried excitedly. "Glad you're here, sir. I ketched sight of him with her from the 'bus as we come in. I'd a known him from a thousand--him as give it me, you know. `Look arter Mary,' I says to Master Antony here, and I was after him like a shot, hanging on to the hansom cab he'd got her in, and I never left 'em till it stopped down at Richmond, at a willa by the water-side." "Richmond?" said Hallett blankly. "Richmond, as I'd been through twice that very day. When the cab stops--I'd made the man right with half-a-crown, and--telling him I was in the police--my gentleman gets out, and I had him like a shot. I might have got help a dozen times, but I wanted to tackle him myself, as I allus swore I would," cried Revitts savagely; "but he was too much for me again. I'm stronger than him, but he's got tricks, and he put me on my back after a good tussle--just look at my noo things!--and afore I could get up again, he was off, running like a coward as he is. But I brought her back, not knowing till I had her under the gas-lamp as it was Master Ant'ny's friend and your sister, and she'd told me who she was, and asked me in a curious crying way to take her back to Master Ant'ny, as she said was the only one who'd help her now." "You--you brought her home in the cab?" cried Mary hoarsely.