"Dear," he said gravely, "I have thought over matters in my solitude, and I see how wrong I have been in not facing the worst. This flight of mine almost admits guilt. If I am innocent, people ask themselves, why should I fly?" "Because appearances were against you," burst out Elspeth. "Because you were in the hands of Inspector Trent, who would not give you a fair trial. Innocent men have been hanged before, for crimes which they did not commit, and if you give yourself up to these policemen who are misled by false evidence, you may be hanged." "No, dear, I will not be hanged. The God who has given me a pure woman's love in my hour of deep distress will not forsake me in my need. Your love, given unasked, marks the turn of my fortunes; so low as I have sunk, even so high will I rise, and you with me. And come what may, your heart can never prove false to me." "Never! Never." "My," said Mrs. Kind with a sigh, "don't he talk lovely. Sweetlips never pattered in this way to me. It's as good as a play, and play it is," she added, raising herself anxiously, "don't forget that you have to save your life, before you can marry." "We can be married quietly," said Elspeth. "It ain't so easy to get tied up," retorted Mrs. Kind, wisely. "That doctor now,--his name's in all the papers by this time, and if he wanted a licence, or went to put up the banns, he'd be nabbed as soon as looked at." "Oh, Angus." Elspeth's eyes filled with tears. He drew her tighter to his breast. "Leave it to me, darling. What Mrs. Kind says is perfectly true, but there is a way out of the difficulty. Let me consult Browne and Sweetlips, and----" "Oh," said Elspeth, starting, "Dr. Browne is here. I left him running after a motor car." "What for?" Elspeth explained the episode of the insult, and what the little doctor had said about the cigarette stump. Herries, knowing the theory of Kind, became quite excited, as he guessed that if this clue was followed up it might lead to serious developments, likely to secure his safety. "But I don't see what a woman can have to do with the murder," he said perplexed. "Leave it to Sweetlips," said Mrs. Kind, seriously. "He's the chap to find a needle in a haystack." "Yes, but a woman of fashion----" "Ho," snorted Rachel, rubbing her nose, "did you ever know a case where there wasn't a woman?" She glanced merrily at Elspeth. "There's two in this affair." "Three," said Elspeth quickly, "you forget Miss Tedder. By offering this reward, Angus," she blushed as she shyly pronounced the name, "I can see that she wants to hang you. Well then, I will put my wits against hers and save her cousin." "Save your husband that is to be," whispered Herries, fondly. Elspeth took hold of the lapels of his poor jacket---- "Do you really mean it: do you really mean it?" she asked, earnestly. "Think of what I am, as Sweetlips told you,--the daughter of Michael Gowrie, who was left in pawn by him, to be a drudge at the 'Marsh Inn.'"