That evening Kitty was arrested and lodged in the Melbourne Gaol, to
await her trial on a charge of wilful murder.
CHAPTER XV
KISMET
Of two evils it is always best to choose the least, and as M. Vandeloup
had to choose between the loss of his popularity or his liberty, he
chose to lose the former instead of the latter. After all, as he argued
to himself, Australia at large is a small portion of the world, and
in America no one would know anything about his little escapade in
connection with Kitty. He knew that he was in Gollipeck’s power, and
that unless he acceded to that gentleman’s demand as to giving evidence
he would be denounced to the authorities as an escaped convict from New
Caledonia, and would be sent back there. Of course, his evidence could
not but prove detrimental to himself, seeing how badly he had behaved to
Kitty, but still as going through the ordeal meant liberty, he did so,
and the result was as he had foreseen. Men, as a rule, are not very
squeamish, and view each other’s failings, especially towards women,
with a lenient eye, but Vandeloup had gone too far, and the Bachelors’
Club unanimously characterised his conduct as ‘damned shady’, so a
letter was sent requesting M. Vandeloup to take his name off the books
of the club. He immediately resigned, and wrote a polite letter to the
secretary, which brought uneasy blushes to the cheek of that gentleman
by its stinging remarks about his and his fellow clubmen’s morality. He
showed it to several of the members, but as they all had their little
redeeming vices, they determined to take no notice, and so M. Vandeloup
was left alone. Another thing which happened was that he was socially
ostracised from society, and his table, which used to be piled up with
invitations, soon became quite bare. Of course, he knew he could force
Meddlechip to recognise him, but he did not choose to do so, as all his
thoughts were fixed on America. He had plenty of money, and with a
new name and a brand new character, Vandeloup thought he would prosper
exceedingly well in the States. So he stayed at home, not caring to
face the stony faces of friends who cut him, and waited for the trial
of Kitty Marchurst, after which he intended to leave for Sydney at once,
and take the next steamer to San Francisco. He did not mind waiting, but
amused himself reading, smoking, and playing, and was quite independent
of Melbourne society. Only two things worried him, and the first of
these was the annoyance of Pierre Lemaire, who seemed to have divined
his intention of going away, and haunted him day and night like an
unquiet spirit. Whenever Vandeloup looked out, he saw the dumb man
watching the house, and if he went for a walk, Pierre would slouch
sullenly along behind him, as he had done in the early days. Vandeloup
could have called in the aid of a policeman to rid himself of this
annoyance, but the fact was he was afraid of offending Pierre, as he