"No, I don't think he will die; men like Mayne never do meet the reward of their evil deeds. You remember the text of the 'wicked flourishing like a green bay-tree,' Brother Johnson. As like as not he will recover--so the doctor says. Then," added Carwell, with a bitter smile, "I suppose Rachel will marry him." "Will you allow her to do so?" "What can I do to prevent it? She is of age, and can act as best pleases her. I might threaten to disinherit her, but she is so infatuated with the scoundrel that she would not care if she went to him penniless. And he is well off in this world's goods, you know. Yes, I believe she will marry him, unless Chard proves him guilty of murdering his wife." "Do you think he really killed her?" asked Johnson, doubtfully. "Bithiah says he did not, but I cannot see how she knows. Slade declares that Herbert met Zara on that night and obtained from her the pearl which Bithiah gave her for the clothes. Herbert--so that Rachel might not know of his meeting--bribed Slade with the pearl." "Slade should be punished for his act." "I think he will be," replied Carwell. "Mr. Inspector was here to-day, and he intends to report him at headquarters. So that is all Mrs. Slade has gained by her jealousy. It was her discovery of the pearl which led to this. She is satisfied now that he is innocent, and had nothing to do either with Bithiah or Zara; but she has lost him his employment." "Slade must have known, that the dead girl was Zara." "Yes, I believe he did. For he saw her meet Mayne in Bithiah's clothes, and recognized her face in the moonlight. The scoundrel accepted the bribe, to hold his tongue; and did so in the face of all the trouble you got into, Brother Johnson." "Not only that," rejoined the minister, resentfully, "but he actually worked against me in order to implicate me in the supposed murder of Bithiah. He tried to make out that I had taken from my study the cord with which the girl was strangled." "By the way, who did take the cord?" "I don't know. It might have been Mayne. He was frequently in my study." "No," rejoined Carwell, after a moment's thought, "I do not believe Mayne did so. Bithiah very truly says that if he did kill the girl, he must have done so in a passion. In that case he would hardly have got the cord beforehand for the commission of a crime which at the time never entered his mind. Bad as the man is, I think he is innocent of murder." "It could not have been Slade." "Certainly not. Slade had no motive to kill the girl. Zara was not married to him, but to Mayne." "What about Pharaoh Lee?" "Oh! he was in the North when Zara was there," replied Carwell, "and if he were guilty he would hardly have sought the assistance of the Poldew police. No! I can't think who is the guilty person." "Time will show," said Johnson, rising. "Has Pharaoh been caught yet? I hear the police are after him."