"Are we safe here?" he asked Tamaroo, who appeared quite easy in his mind. "I was told that these rooms were dangerous." "Dangerous?" echoed the negro, looking round. "Why should they be dangerous?" Jarman repeated the warning of Mrs. Burl and the boast of Balkis. But Tamaroo merely laughed. "There is no danger," he said decisively. "I am quite sure that. Balkis will do nothing to harm us." "She does not seem to be very well disposed towards Frank." "Because she will insist that I killed Starth," said Frank. "No doubt Berry has been poisoning her mind. However, Berry will not look for me here." "Darrel might," hinted Eustace, uneasily. "Nonsense! How can he find this place?" "Oh, he knows it! My belief that he had the negro blood in his veins is true. He is a relative of Balkis, and sometimes comes here; but he is not proud of the relationship." "But even if he does know this place he'll never think that I am here." Eustace looked doubtful. "I had to pitch him out of the garden of Rose Cottage," he said. "He was impertinent to Mildred." "To Mildred?" repeated Frank, with an angry flush. "Yes," responded Jarman, keeping his eyes away from Frank's face. "He said--well, never mind what he said. I punished him for his insolence, and he went away, vowing that he would hunt you down." Tamaroo laughed. "He will never come here," he said. "He must know that Balkis is on the side of the Berrys, and will believe that this is the last place I would bring my master to. The very danger of the refuge makes its safety." "I am not sure that Balkis _is_ on the side of Captain Berry now," was the reply of Eustace. "She certainly will not help him, if only because she hates Fairy Fan," and Eustace related how he had made use of the letter Miss Berry had written. Tamaroo nodded approvingly. "That is a good plan," he said. "If she thinks the white woman loved Starth, she will not help her plots. Balkis was madly in love with Mr. Starth." "She says he would have married her," said Jarman. Frank laughed. "I don't believe that. Starth was nice in his ideas of female beauty, and would not marry a black woman. Moreover, he was desperately in love with Fan." "Balkis knows that, and hates Fan accordingly," said Eustace, grimly. "But Starth might have married Balkis for her money." "She is certainly rich," put in Tamaroo, meditatively. "Already she has made up her mind to return to America. She goes next week." "And what will you do with Frank then?" "Take him abroad. I have arranged it all with Balkis. She knows many sailors, and can get some captain to give Mr. Frank and myself a passage--say to Spain. There we will wait till there is a chance of learning who killed Starth." Jarman looked attentively at the negro. "You do not know who is the guilty person?" he asked meaningly. "No." Tamaroo looked surprised. "Why should I?"