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STARTING OUT WITH JAVA™
From Control Structures through Data Structures

FOURTH EDITION

Tony Gaddis

Haywood Community College

Godfrey Muganda

North Central College

330 Hudson Street, NY NY 10013

Senior Vice President Courseware Portfolio Management: Marcia J.
Horton

Director, Portfolio Management: Engineering, Computer Science & Global

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Copyright © 2019, 2016, 2012, 2007 by Pearson Education, Inc. or its
affiliates. All Rights Reserved. Printed in the United States of America. This
publication is protected by copyright, and permission should be obtained
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Other names may be trademarks of their respective owners.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Gaddis, Tony, author. | Muganda, Godfrey, author.

Title: Starting out with Java. From control structures through data structures /
Tony Gaddis, Haywood Community College, Godfrey Muganda, North
Central College.

Description: Fourth edition. | Pearson, [2019] | Includes bibliographical

references and index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2018002219| ISBN 9780134787961 | ISBN 013478796X

Subjects: LCSH: Java (Computer program language) | Data structures

(Computer science)

Classification: LCC QA76.73.J38 G33 2019 | DDC 005.13/3--dc23 LC

record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018002219

1 18
ISBN-13: 978-0-13-478796-1

ISBN-10: 0-13-478796-X
Contents in Brief
1. Chapter 1 Introduction to Computers and Java 1

2. Chapter 2 Java Fundamentals 27

3. Chapter 3 Decision Structures 111

4. Chapter 4 Loops and Files 189

5. Chapter 5 Methods 269

6. Chapter 6 A First Look at Classes 317

7. Chapter 7 Arrays and the ArrayList Class 403

8. Chapter 8 A Second Look at Classes and Objects 493

9. Chapter 9 Text Processing and More about Wrapper Classes 557

10. Chapter 10 Inheritance 611

11. Chapter 11 Exceptions and Advanced File I/O 701

12. Chapter 12 JavaFX: GUI Programming and Basic Controls 759

13. Chapter 13 JavaFX: Advanced Controls 823

14. Chapter 14 JavaFX: Graphics, Effects, and Media 909

15. Chapter 15 Recursion 999

16. Chapter 16 Sorting, Searching, and Algorithm Analysis 1027

17. Chapter 17 Generics 1079

18. Chapter 18 Collections and the Stream API 1125

19. Chapter 19 Linked Lists 1195

20. Chapter 20 Stacks and Queues 1245

21. Chapter 21 Binary Trees, AVL Trees, and Priority Queues 1287

1. Index 1353

2. Appendices A–M Companion Website

3. Chapters 22–25 Companion Website

4. Case Studies 1–7 Companion Website

Contents
1. Preface xxv

1. Chapter 1 Introduction to Computers and Java 1

1. 1.1 Introduction 1

2. 1.2 Why Program? 1

3. 1.3 Computer Systems: Hardware and Software 2

1. Hardware 2

2. Software 5

4. 1.4 Programming Languages 6

1. What Is a Program? 6

2. A History of Java 8

5. 1.5 What Is a Program Made Of? 8

1. Language Elements 8

2. Lines and Statements 11

3. Variables 11

4. The Compiler and the Java Virtual Machine 12

5. Java Software Editions 13

6. Compiling and Running a Java Program 14

6. 1.6 The Programming Process 16

 1. Software Engineering 18

7. 1.7 Object-Oriented Programming 19

1. Review Questions and Exercises 21

2. Programming Challenge 25

2. Chapter 2 Java Fundamentals 27

1. 2.1 The Parts of a Java Program 27

2. 2.2 The print and println Methods, and the Java API 33

3. 2.3 Variables and Literals 39

1. Displaying Multiple Items with the + Operator 40

2. Be Careful with Quotation Marks 41

3. More about Literals 42

4. Identifiers 42

5. Class Names 44

4. 2.4 Primitive Data Types 44

1. The Integer Data Types 46

2. Floating-Point Data Types 47

3. The boolean Data Type 50

4. The char Data Type 50

5. Variable Assignment and Initialization 52

6. Variables Hold Only One Value at a Time 53

 5. 2.5 Arithmetic Operators 54

1. Integer Division 57

2. Operator Precedence 57

3. Grouping with Parentheses 59

4. The Math Class 62

6. 2.6 Combined Assignment Operators 63

7. 2.7 Conversion between Primitive Data Types 65

1. Mixed Integer Operations 67

2. Other Mixed Mathematical Expressions 68

8. 2.8 Creating Named Constants with final 69

9. 2.9 The String Class 70

1. Objects Are Created from Classes 71

2. The String Class 71

3. Primitive Type Variables and Class Type Variables 71

4. Creating a String Object 72

10. 2.10 Scope 76

11. 2.11 Comments 78

12. 2.12 Programming Style 83

13. 2.13 Reading Keyboard Input 85

1. Reading a Character 89
 2. Mixing Calls to nextLine with Calls to Other Scanner
Methods 89

14. 2.14 Dialog Boxes 93

1. Displaying Message Dialogs 93

2. Displaying Input Dialogs 94

3. An Example Program 94

4. Converting String Input to Numbers 96

15. 2.15 Common Errors to Avoid 99

1. Review Questions and Exercises 100

2. Programming Challenges 106

3. Chapter 3 Decision Structures 111

1. 3.1 The if Statement 111

1. Using Relational Operators to Form Conditions 113

2. Putting It All Together 114

3. Programming Style and the if Statement 117

4. Be Careful with Semicolons 117

5. Having Multiple Conditionally Executed Statements 118

6. Flags 118

7. Comparing Characters 119

2. 3.2 The if-else Statement 121

3. 3.3 Nested if Statements 124

 4. 3.4 The if-else-if Statement 128

5. 3.5 Logical Operators 134

1. The Precedence of Logical Operators 139

2. Checking Numeric Ranges with Logical Operators 140

6. 3.6 Comparing String Objects 142

1. Ignoring Case in String Comparisons 146

7. 3.7 More about Variable Declaration and Scope 147

8. 3.8 The Conditional Operator (Optional) 149

9. 3.9 The switch Statement 150

10. 3.10 Displaying Formatted Output with System.out.printf and

String.format 160

1. Format Specifier Syntax 163

2. Precision 164

3. Specifying a Minimum Field Width 164

4. Flags 167

5. Formatting String Arguments 170

6. The String.format Method 172

11. 3.11 Common Errors to Avoid 174

1. Review Questions and Exercises 175

2. Programming Challenges 181

4. Chapter 4 Loops and Files 189

1. 4.1 The Increment and Decrement Operators 189

1. The Difference between Postfix and Prefix Modes 192

2. 4.2 The while Loop 193

1. The while Loop Is a Pretest Loop 196

2. Infinite Loops 196

3. Don’t Forget the Braces with a Block of Statements 197

4. Programming Style and the while Loop 198

3. 4.3 Using the while Loop for Input Validation 200

4. 4.4 The do-while Loop 204

5. 4.5 The for Loop 207

1. The for Loop Is a Pretest Loop 210

2. Avoid Modifying the Control Variable in the Body of the for

Loop 211

3. Other Forms of the Update Expression 211

4. Declaring a Variable in the for Loop’s Initialization

Expression 211

5. Creating a User Controlled for Loop 212

6. Using Multiple Statements in the Initialization and Update

Expressions 213

6. 4.6 Running Totals and Sentinel Values 216

1. Using a Sentinel Value 219

 7. 4.7 Nested Loops 221

8. 4.8 The break and continue Statements (Optional) 229

9. 4.9 Deciding Which Loop to Use 229

10. 4.10 Introduction to File Input and Output 230

1. Using the PrintWriter Class to Write Data to a File 230

2. Appending Data to a File 236

3. Specifying the File Location 237

4. Reading Data from a File 237

5. Reading Lines from a File with the nextLine Method 238

6. Adding a throws Clause to the Method Header 241

7. Checking for a File’s Existence 245

11. 4.11 Generating Random Numbers with the Random Class 249

12. 4.12 Common Errors to Avoid 255

1. Review Questions and Exercises 256

2. Programming Challenges 262

5. Chapter 5 Methods 269

1. 5.1 Introduction to Methods 269

1. void Methods and Value-Returning Methods 270

2. Defining a void Method 271

3. Calling a Method 272

 4. Layered Method Calls 276

5. Using Documentation Comments with Methods 277

2. 5.2 Passing Arguments to a Method 279

1. Argument and Parameter Data Type Compatibility 281

2. Parameter Variable Scope 282

3. Passing Multiple Arguments 282

4. Arguments Are Passed by Value 284

5. Passing Object References to a Method 285

6. Using the @param Tag in Documentation Comments 288

3. 5.3 More about Local Variables 290

1. Local Variable Lifetime 292

2. Initializing Local Variables with Parameter Values 292

4. 5.4 Returning a Value from a Method 293

1. Defining a Value-Returning Method 293

2. Calling a Value-Returning Method 294

3. Using the @return Tag in Documentation Comments 296

4. Returning a boolean Value 300

5. Returning a Reference to an Object 300

5. 5.5 Problem Solving with Methods 302

1. Calling Methods That Throw Exceptions 305

 6. 5.6 Common Errors to Avoid 305

1. Review Questions and Exercises 306

2. Programming Challenges 311

6. Chapter 6 A First Look at Classes 317

1. 6.1 Objects and Classes 317

1. Classes: Where Objects Come From 318

2. Classes in the Java API 319

3. Primitive Variables vs. Objects 321

2. 6.2 Writing a Simple Class, Step by Step 324

1. Accessor and Mutator Methods 338

2. The Importance of Data Hiding 338

3. Avoiding Stale Data 339

4. Showing Access Specification in UML Diagrams 339

5. Data Type and Parameter Notation in UML Diagrams 339

6. Layout of Class Members 340

3. 6.3 Instance Fields and Methods 341

4. 6.4 Constructors 346

1. Showing Constructors in a UML Diagram 348

2. Uninitialized Local Reference Variables 348

3. The Default Constructor 348

 4. Writing Your Own No-Arg Constructor 349

5. The String Class Constructor 350

5. 6.5 Passing Objects as Arguments 358

6. 6.6 Overloading Methods and Constructors 370

1. The BankAccount Class 372

2. Overloaded Methods Make Classes More Useful 378

7. 6.7 Scope of Instance Fields 378

1. Shadowing 379

8. 6.8 Packages and import Statements 380

1. Explicit and Wildcard import Statements 380

2. The java.lang Package 381

3. Other API Packages 381

9. 6.9 Focus on Object-Oriented Design: Finding the Classes and

Their Responsibilities 382

1. Finding the Classes 382

2. Identifying a Class’s Responsibilities 385

3. This Is Only the Beginning 388

10. 6.10 Common Errors to Avoid 388

1. Review Questions and Exercises 389

2. Programming Challenges 394

7. Chapter 7 Arrays and the ArrayList Class 403

1. 7.1 Introduction to Arrays 403

1. Accessing Array Elements 405

2. Inputting and Outputting Array Contents 406

3. Java Performs Bounds Checking 409

4. Watch Out for Off-by-One Errors 410

5. Array Initialization 411

6. Alternate Array Declaration Notation 412

2. 7.2 Processing Array Elements 413

1. Array Length 415

2. The Enhanced for Loop 416

3. Letting the User Specify an Array’s Size 417

4. Reassigning Array Reference Variables 419

5. Copying Arrays 420

3. 7.3 Passing Arrays as Arguments to Methods 422

4. 7.4 Some Useful Array Algorithms and Operations

1. Comparing Arrays 426

2. Summing the Values in a Numeric Array 427

3. Getting the Average of the Values in a Numeric Array 428

4. Finding the Highest and Lowest Values in a Numeric Array

428

5. The SalesData Class 429

 6. Partially Filled Arrays 437

7. Working with Arrays and Files 438

5. 7.5 Returning Arrays from Methods 439

6. 7.6 String Arrays 441

1. Calling String Methods from an Array Element 443

7. 7.7 Arrays of Objects 444

8. 7.8 The Sequential Search Algorithm 447

9. 7.9 Two-Dimensional Arrays 450

1. Initializing a Two-Dimensional Array 454

2. The length Field in a Two-Dimensional Array 455

3. Displaying All the Elements of a Two-Dimensional Array 457

4. Summing All the Elements of a Two-Dimensional Array 457

5. Summing the Rows of a Two-Dimensional Array 458

6. Summing the Columns of a Two-Dimensional Array 458

7. Passing Two-Dimensional Arrays to Methods 459

8. Ragged Arrays 461

10. 7.10 Arrays with Three or More Dimensions 462

11. 7.11 The Selection Sort and the Binary Search Algorithms 463

1. The Selection Sort Algorithm 463

2. The Binary Search Algorithm 466

 12. 7.12 Command-Line Arguments and Variable-Length Argument
Lists 468

1. Command-Line Arguments 469

2. Variable-Length Argument Lists 470

13. 7.13 The ArrayList Class 472

1. Creating and Using an ArrayList Object 473

2. Using the Enhanced for Loop with an ArrayList 474

3. The ArrayList Class’s toString method 475

4. Removing an Item from an ArrayList 476

5. Inserting an Item 477

6. Replacing an Item 478

7. Capacity 479

8. Storing Your Own Objects in an ArrayList 479

9. Using the Diamond Operator for Type Inference 480

14. 7.14 Common Errors to Avoid 481

1. Review Questions and Exercises 481

2. Programming Challenges 486

8. Chapter 8 A Second Look at Classes and Objects 493

1. 8.1 Static Class Members 493

1. A Quick Review of Instance Fields and Instance Methods 493

2. Static Members 494

 3. Static Fields 494

4. Static Methods 497

2. 8.2 Passing Objects as Arguments to Methods 500

3. 8.3 Returning Objects from Methods 503

4. 8.4 The toString Method 505

5. 8.5 Writing an equals Method 509

6. 8.6 Methods That Copy Objects 512

1. Copy Constructors 514

7. 8.7 Aggregation 515

1. Aggregation in UML Diagrams 523

2. Security Issues with Aggregate Classes 523

3. Avoid Using null References 525

8. 8.8 The this Reference Variable 528

1. Using this to Overcome Shadowing 529

2. Using this to Call an Overloaded Constructor from Another

Constructor 530

9. 8.9 Enumerated Types 531

1. Enumerated Types Are Specialized Classes 532

2. Switching On an Enumerated Type 538

10. 8.10 Garbage Collection 540

1. The finalize Method 542

 11. 8.11 Focus on Object-Oriented Design: Class Collaboration 542

1. Determining Class Collaborations with CRC Cards 545

12. 8.12 Common Errors to Avoid 546

1. Review Questions and Exercises 547

2. Programming Challenges 551

9. Chapter 9 Text Processing and More about Wrapper Classes 557

1. 9.1 Introduction to Wrapper Classes 557

2. 9.2 Character Testing and Conversion with the Character Class

558

1. Character Case Conversion 563

3. 9.3 More String Methods 566

1. Searching for Substrings 566

2. Extracting Substrings 572

3. Methods That Return a Modified String 576

4. The Static valueOf Methods 577

4. 9.4 The StringBuilder Class 579

1. The StringBuilder Constructors 580

2. Other StringBuilder Methods 581

3. The toString Method 584

5. 9.5 Tokenizing Strings 589

6. 9.6 Wrapper Classes for the Numeric Data Types 594

 1. The Static toString Methods 594

2. The toBinaryString, toHexString, and toOctalString

Methods 594

3. The MIN_VALUE and MAX_VALUE Constants 595

4. Autoboxing and Unboxing 595

7. 9.7 Focus on Problem Solving: The TestScoreReader Class 597

8. 9.8 Common Errors to Avoid 601

1. Review Questions and Exercises 601

2. Programming Challenges 605

10. Chapter 10 Inheritance 611

1. 10.1 What Is Inheritance? 611

1. Generalization and Specialization 611

2. Inheritance and the “Is a” Relationship 612

3. Inheritance in UML Diagrams 620

4. The Superclass’s Constructor 621

5. Inheritance Does Not Work in Reverse 623

2. 10.2 Calling the Superclass Constructor 624

1. When the Superclass Has No Default or No-Arg Constructors

630

2. Summary of Constructor Issues in Inheritance 631

3. 10.3 Overriding Superclass Methods 632

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"We shall certainly expect you," answered Captain Ernscliffe, heartily,
as the carriage drove away to the beautiful mansion he had
prepared for his bride years ago.
A cablegram from England to his housekeeper had instructed her to
prepare the house for the reception of himself and wife.
Now, as they drew up before the grand marble steps, the front door
opened as if by magic, and the cruel woman who had turned
Queenie away homeless and friendless years before, appeared in the
hall, richly clothed in fine black silk, and smirking and smiling upon
her master and his beautiful bride as they came up the steps.
Queenie had told him of that cruel deed, and he looked sternly and
coldly upon the woman as she came up to them.
"Mrs. Purdy," he said, haughtily, "this is my wife. Look well at her,
and tell me if you have ever met her before?"
The housekeeper looked searchingly at the beautiful face, whose
blue eyes flashed lightning scorn upon her. In a moment it all rushed
over her mind.
That face was too lovely to be lightly forgotten. She grew pale, and
commenced to stammer forth incoherent apologies.
"Ah! I see that you remember me," said Mrs. Ernscliffe, curling a
scornful lip.
"Madam, I—pardon me," stammered the crestfallen woman, "you
were not then his wife. I thought you a stranger, a——"
"Silence!" thundered Captain Ernscliffe. "She was my wife then as
she is now. There is no excuse for your infamous conduct. She might
have died but for the kindness of strangers—she, my unfortunate
wife, turned from her own house without shelter for her friendless
head. Go, now, and never let me see you again. Even as you drove
her out I will drive you!"
"No—no," exclaimed Queenie, for she saw how utterly the proud,
overbearing woman was abashed. "No—no; I was very angry, but I
forgive her now, for I see how she is humbled at remembrance of
her fault. Let her stay, and this incident may teach her in future to
be guided by the golden rule."
 CHAPTER XXXV.
"Queenie, are you ready for your drive?" called her husband from
the foot of the stairway. "The phaeton is at the door."
A bright, bewitching face peeped down at him from above—a face as
sweet as a rose—with coral lips, and softly-tinted cheeks, and eyes
as brightly-blue as violets.
Directly she came fluttering down the stairs, and paused, with her
slender, white-gloved hand upon his arm.
"I am ready," she said. "Come, Lawrence, let us go. It is too lovely a
day to remain indoors."
"Darling, how lovely you are," he cried. "Let me kiss you once before
we start."
She smiled, and linked her arm fondly in his as they went down the
marble steps together.
"Lawrence," she said, half-gravely, half-fondly, "I almost begin to
believe in my happiness now. At first it seemed such a precious
thing, and I held it by so frail a grasp that I feared I might lose you
again and fall back into the terrible gulf of despair. But now months
have elapsed and nothing has happened to part us, so that it seems
possible for me to breathe freely and look forward to a happy future
with you."
"Darling, these trembling fears of yours have always seemed strange
and unnecessary to me. What could happen to part us now?" he
said, as he handed her into the lovely little phaeton, with its
prancing gray ponies, and sprang in beside her.
"I do not know. Nothing, I hope," she answered, with a quick little
sigh, as she took the reins into her hands and touched up the
spirited ponies. "Where shall we drive, Lawrence—in the park?"
"Yes, if you like," he answered, leaning back luxuriously.
It was a beautiful day in May, the air so balmy and delicious that it
was a luxury to breathe it.
As they flashed along the shady drives in the park many eyes
followed them admiringly, for Mrs. Ernscliffe was conceded by all to
be the fairest woman in the city.
To-day she wore a wonderful dress of mingled blue and cream-color,
and a hat of azure satin, with a streaming white feather set
coquettishly on her waves of golden hair.
The colors suited her bright blonde beauty exquisitely.
Her dark, handsome, dignified husband thrilled with pleasure and
pride as he noted the many admiring glances that followed his
beautiful and dearly-beloved wife.
"I have had news from England, Queenie," he said, presently.
"From England?" she said, and her delicate cheeks grew white. "Oh,
Lawrence, have they found out who murdered Sydney yet?"
"Not yet, dear, but the detective is very hopeful. He is on the villain's
track."
"Who was he? What is his name?" she asked, eagerly.
"I do not know. He writes very meagerly, though hopefully. He
merely says that he has found your maid, Elsie Gray, and that she
has put him on the track of the murderer."
"It is not possible that Elsie Gray was concerned in the murder of my
sister!" she exclaimed.
"Oh, no, she was a witness to the deed only—at least I gather that
much from his letter. I think she has been pursuing him ever since.
The detective says that we may expect startling developments
soon."
"God grant that the cowardly criminal may soon be discovered and
punished for his awful sin!" she exclaimed, shuddering.
"Queenie," he said, musingly, "have you ever thought that but for
the sin of this unknown man we should never, perhaps, have been
reunited in peace and happiness? To-day you might have been in the
lonely convent cell, while I, perhaps, should have raved in the chains
of a lunatic, for, Queenie, I was going mad with the horror of losing
you again."
"I have thought of it often," she said, gravely, "and I have thought
again and again that it was almost wrong to accept happiness that
was bought at so fearful a price to my poor Sydney. Her death lies
heavy on my heart."
"Queenie, we both did what we could to insure her happiness while
she lived. I married her because one very near to her hinted to me
that the poor girl was dying of a broken heart for my sake. I did not
love her, but I sacrificed myself to save her, as you afterward
sacrificed us both at her request. And yet those mutual bitter
sacrifices of ours availed very little to secure the end she sought. I
begin to believe that such terrible self-abnegations are wrong and
unjustifiable, and that they never work out good to any."
"It may be true," she answered, thoughtfully, and relapsed into
silence, her eyes downcast, her lips set in a half-sorrowful line, while
she unconsciously checked the speed of the horses and allowed
them to walk slowly along the drive.
Absorbed in thought she did not observe a handsome, fashionably-
dressed man coming along the side-path toward them, airily
swinging a natty little cane.
"I hope and trust, darling, that you will not allow any weak and
morbid fancies regarding Sydney to sadden and depress you,"
continued Captain Ernscliffe. "I know she would not wish it to be
so."
Queenie looked up at him gently with the words of reply just forming
on her lips.
But they died unspoken, and she uttered a low cry of fear and terror
commingled, while her whole form trembled violently.
She had caught sight of the man in the road who had just come
abreast of the phaeton.
At that moment the man, who had been observing her for some
moments, looked at her with a sardonic smile, lifted his hat, bowed
deeply, and murmuring familiarly:
"Good-evening, Queenie," passed insolently on.
Captain Ernscliffe grew ashen white. Something like an imprecation
was smothered between his firmly-cut lips.
"Good Heaven, Queenie!" he exclaimed. "Is it possible that you
know that man?"
She did not speak, she could not. She only stared at him
speechlessly, her lips parted in terror, her breath coming and going
in quick gasps like one dying.
"Do you know who and what that man is?" he reiterated, hoarsely.
"Queenie, it is Leon Vinton, the most notorious gambler and roue in
the city! And he dared to speak to you! What did he mean by it? You
surely do not know him. Tell me?"
Still she did not speak. It seemed to her that her tongue clove to the
roof of her mouth.
She had thought that her enemy was dead—had she not seen him
lying cold and still, with his heart's blood staining the snowy earth?
Yet there he walked, smiling, evil, triumphant. The horror of the
sight struck her dumb.
"You will not answer me," passionately cried her husband. "Very
well. I will wring the truth from that insolent villain! I will know why
he dared bow and speak to my wife. Drive on home, madam; I will
follow the villain and make him retract the insult!"
He sprang from the moving phaeton at the imminent risk of his
neck, and followed Leon Vinton with a quick stride down the road.
Like one in a fearful dream, Queenie gathered the reins in her
trembling hands and drove recklessly homeward through the
beautiful sunshine.
 CHAPTER XXXVI.
The angry husband followed Leon Vinton's leisurely steps, and
quickly overtook him.
Placing one hand on the villain's shoulder with a grasp like steel,
Captain Ernscliffe whirled him round face to face.
A malevolent sneer curved the lips of the handsome scoundrel as he
recognized his assailant. He tried to shake himself free from that
painfully tight grasp, but it was useless. He seemed to be held in a
vise.
"Unhand me, sir," he said, in a voice of angry expostulation.
"Villain!" exclaimed Captain Ernscliffe, in a low, deep voice of
concentrated passion. "How dared you speak to my wife? Apologize
immediately for the insult."
Leon Vinton's face assumed a blank stare of astonishment.
"Does she consider it an insult to be recognized by an old friend?" he
inquired, in a voice of mocking courtesy.
Captain Ernscliffe's brow grew as dark as night. He shook the
sneering scoundrel by the shoulder as though he would have shaken
the life out of him.
"How dare you claim her as an old friend?" he thundered. "You
whose acquaintance is a disgrace to any woman. You, the most
notorious and unprincipled villain in the city. Retract those words
before I kill you."
"Come, come," answered Vinton, coolly and maliciously, "I am but
speaking the truth. As for killing, let me remind you that two can
play at that game. I have a pistol in my pocket, and I believe I am a
better shot than you are. But your wife, as you call her, is not worthy
the shedding of an honest man's blood! I will keep my weapon in its
place, and all I ask you is to confront me with the lady whose honor
you are so zealously defending. I think she will not dare to deny that
once she claimed me as her dearest friend!"
Captain Ernscliffe drew back his hand to strike him in the face, but
something in his enemy's words and looks seemed to stagger him.
He hoarsely exclaimed:
"I will not pollute the pure air she breathes with your foul presence.
As for you, liar, beware how you assert things that you cannot
prove."
"Hard words break no bones," laughed Leon Vinton, seeming to take
downright pleasure in tormenting the other. "I'm determined not to
be angry with you, for I do not think the lady we are discussing is
worth the trouble. I can prove all that I assert, and more besides."
"How? How?" exclaimed Ernscliffe, in sheer amaze at his
unparalleled effrontery.
"I could prove it by the lady herself, but since you refuse to admit
me to her presence, come with me to my home, a few miles from
the city, and my housekeeper shall show you the elegant rooms Mrs.
Ernscliffe occupied when she was my dear friend and guest for a
year."
The cool, insolent assertion fell on Captain Ernscliffe's ears like a
thunderbolt. He staggered back and stared at the calm, smiling
villain in wonder mingled with indefinable dread.
"My God!" he muttered, half to himself, "you would not make such
an assertion unless you could prove it."
"I can prove every assertion I have made," was the confident reply.
"Queenie Lyle ran away with me the day her mother and sisters
went to Europe. She lived with me nearly a year. I can prove this,
remember."
"You married her!" gasped his adversary, his eyes starting, his face
as white as death.
Leon Vinton looked at that pale, anguish-stricken face, and laughed
aloud, the mocking laugh of a fiend.
"Married her?" he asked, sneeringly. "Oh, no, I am not one of the
marrying kind. She knew that, but she loved me, and was content to
live with me on my own terms."
There was a blank silence. Captain Ernscliffe dimly felt that the
agony he was enduring was commensurate with the pains of hell.
Leon Vinton enjoyed his misery to the utmost.
"We lived together a year," he went on, after a moment. "At first we
were very loving and very happy, but well—you know how such
cases always terminate—we wearied of each other. She was a spit-
fire and a termagant. She pushed me into the river and tried to
drown me. She thought she had succeeded, and ran away home.
Her family kept her fatal secret, and married her off to you."
"This is horrible if true!" ejaculated the listener.
"Come," said Leon Vinton, "go home with me. My carriage is outside
the gate. I merely chose to saunter in the park. You shall see her
letters to me, you shall hear what my housekeeper knows about the
matter."
"I will go with you," said Captain Ernscliffe, rousing himself as from a
painful dream. "But if I find that you have lied to me, Vinton, I will
kill you!"
 CHAPTER XXXVII.
"My poor Queenie, my poor child, you erred greatly in the deception
you practiced in the beginning. It was wrong to desert your home
and family as you did, but I cannot upbraid you now. Your
punishment has been bitter enough. May God help you, my little
one!" said Robert Lyle, smoothing the golden head that lay upon his
knee with a gentle, fatherly caress.
Queenie had come back from that ride which had begun so happily
and found her Uncle Robert waiting for her in the drawing-room. He
had declined her invitation to make his home with her, and taken
quarters at a hotel, but there were very few days when he failed to
visit her. To-day when she came staggering in, looking so fearfully
white and death-stricken, he saw at once that some fearful thing
had happened to her, and started up in alarm.
"Queenie, my dear, what is it? Are you ill?" he exclaimed, going to
her, and taking her cold, nerveless hand in his.
She looked up at him, and Robert Lyle never forgot the tearless
despair, the utter agony of her white face and wild, blue eyes. They
haunted his dreams for many nights after. Yet she tried to smile, and
the smile was sadder than tears.
"I—I—yes, I believe I am ill," she said, dropping down into a great
arm-chair. "I will sit here and rest, Uncle Rob! I shall be better
presently."
"Let me get you some wine," he said. "It will revive you."
"No, no, I will not have anything!" she said. "Nothing could help
me."
The tone made his heart ache, it was so hopeless.
He bent over her and removed her hat and gloves as deftly and
tenderly as a woman could have done.
His anxious looks, his tender solicitude made her think of her father.
The tender recollection broke down the barriers of stony calm she
was trying to maintain. Bowing her face on her hands she wept and
sobbed aloud.
Mr. Lyle was greatly shocked and distressed at her vehement
exhibition of grief. He brought a chair, and sitting down beside her,
put his kindly old arm about her heaving shoulders.
"Tell your old uncle what grieves you, pet," he said. "Perhaps I can
help to set it right."
And after a little more passionate weeping she answered, without
looking up:
"It is one of those troubles that nothing can set right, Uncle Rob, but
I will tell you the truth, for perhaps you may hear it from other lips
than mine soon."
She stole one hand into his and nestled her bright head against his
shoulder.
"Promise not to hate me, Uncle Rob," she whispered through her
tears. "I have only you now. Father, mother, sisters, husband—I have
lost them all. In all the wide world I have but you to love me!"
"My dear, you talk wildly," he said, in wonder. "It is true that your
mother and sister have shown hearts harder than the nether mill-
stone to you, but you have the noblest and most loving husband in
the world!"
"He will not love me any longer when he has heard all that I am
going to tell you, Uncle Rob," she murmured through her choking
sobs.
And then she told him the shameful story of that missing year of her
life as she had told it to Sydney a few months before; but it was not
so hard to tell now, for instead of her sister's scornful looks and cruel
words, she had a listener as tender and pitying as her own father
had been—a listener whose tears fell more than once on the golden
head bowed meekly on his shoulder.
And when it all had been told and the weary head had slipped down
to his knee, he had no reproaches for the suffering young heart that
had already been so cruelly punished. He could only repeat:
"My poor little one, my poor little one, may God help you!"
"And you'll not desert me, Uncle Rob—not even if—if he does?" she
murmured.
"No, never," he answered, fondly. "I'll stand by you, Queenie, if all
the world forsakes you. You never meant to do wrong, I know that,
and I will not scorn you because a devil in human shape has made
desolate the fair young life that opened with such sweet promise. If
Lawrence deserts you, we will go away together—you and I, pet—
and wander around the world, restless and lonely, and yet not
altogether desolate, for we shall still have each other for comfort
and support."
"But, oh, Uncle Rob, I love him so, I love him so. How can I give him
up now, when I have been so happy with him? It is more than I
could bear. He had as well plunge a knife into my heart and lay me
dead before him as to leave me now," cried the wretched young
wife, giving way to a very abandonment of grief.
Uncle Rob could only say:
"My poor Queenie, my poor darling, let us hope for the best!"
He did not know how to comfort her, for he could not tell what
course Captain Ernscliffe would pursue after hearing Leon Vinton's
garbled version of Queenie's early error. He hoped for the best; but
he feared the worst.
He could not bear to leave her in her sorrow, so he remained with
her until the luncheon hour, hoping that Captain Ernscliffe might
return while he—her uncle—was present, that he might defend her
from his possible reproaches. But the hours passed slowly by, and
dinner was announced, yet he failed to come.
They made no pretence at eating—these two sorrowing ones. They
remained in the drawing-room alone, talking but little, and both on
the alert for Captain Ernscliffe's coming. But the lovely, starry night
had fallen, and the lamps were lighted before a strange step ran up
the marble steps, and a letter was handed to Queenie.
"It is from Lawrence," she said, tearing it open with a sinking heart.
"Madam," her husband wrote, "I have heard the whole disgraceful
story of the year you were supposed to have been absent in Europe
from the lips of Leon Vinton and his housekeeper. I need not ask you
if he told the truth. Your looks when you met him to-day were
sufficient corroboration of his story. No wonder you looked so
ghastly at the reappearance of the man you thought you had
murdered. Oh, God! to think of it. You whom I have loved so madly,
whom I thought so true and pure—you, a sinner, with a soul as black
and unrepentant as a fiend in Hades!
"To-morrow I shall institute proceedings for a divorce. I can no
longer lend the shelter of my name to one who has so basely
deceived and betrayed me!"
 CHAPTER XXXVIII.
The letter dropped from Queenie's shaking hand, and she fell heavily
into a seat, her slender form trembling with great, tearless emotion.
"Oh, God!" she moaned, "it is indeed a bitter cup that is pressed to
my lips! A disowned daughter and sister, and a divorced wife!"
"What does he say, Queenie?" inquired her uncle, pausing in his
weary march up and down the room.
She silently pointed to the letter that lay upon the carpet, where it
had fallen from her hands.
He picked it up and read it, then turned his kindly blue eyes upon
her with an expression of pity and distress.
"The scoundrel Vinton must indeed have traduced and maligned you
to have elicited such a scathing letter from your devoted husband.
Let me go and bring Lawrence to you, Queenie, that you may
vindicate yourself."
But she shook her head sorrowfully yet firmly.
"No Uncle Rob; he asks for no defense from me; he tacitly accepts
all that Vinton has told him as the truth. He will hear nothing from
you or me. There is nothing left me but to hide myself somewhere in
the great cruel world and die," she said, with inexpressible
bitterness.
"Queenie, let me entreat you not to throw away your happiness
thus. Let me explain everything to Lawrence as you have told it to
me. He could not be hard upon you then. He would see how cruelly
you had been wronged, and how much you had suffered for it. If he
loves you as much as he has seemed to do he could not but forgive
you."
She took the letter from his hand and glanced over its brief contents
again.
"No, no, his love must have been dead indeed before he could write
to me so cruelly as this. Let him think what he will, Uncle Rob. The
best is bad enough; so why should I try to vindicate myself? He shall
have his freedom since he wants it so much."
"But, my dear, surely you will not permit the divorce without
contesting it? Think what a terrible thing it would be to remain silent
in such a case. A divorced woman is always a disgraced woman in
the eyes of the world, no matter how unjustly the verdict was given
against her. It must not be permitted. We must engage a lawyer to
defend your case. I do not believe that your husband could obtain a
divorce from any court in the land if the truth of the matter were
rightly known."
"Do you think that I would belong to him and bear his name against
his will?" she exclaimed, with all the passion and fire of tone and
gesture that had won her fame and fortune on the tragic stage. "No,
never, never! I will not raise my hand to stay the divorce. I will be
silent, whatever they lay to my charge. His quick unkindness, his
readiness to believe evil against me, has been the bitterest of all to
bear, but I will not speak one word to let him know it. My heart shall
break in silence!"
He gave up the point, seeing that it was utterly useless to urge it
upon her.
"Since you are determined to sacrifice yourself thus on the altar of
Vinton's fiendish revenge," he said, "tell me what I can do for you,
my poor child. You will not wish to remain at Ernscliffe's house, of
course?"
"Of course not," she answered.
Then after a moment's thought, she said, abruptly:
"Why, Uncle Rob, I shall have to go upon the stage again. I had
forgotten until this moment that I am poor, that I have nothing at all
to live upon. When I gave up my theatrical career and returned to
my husband, I deeded away, with his consent, all my earnings on
the stage to build a free church for the poor of London."
"You shall never go upon the stage again with my consent," he
answered. "I have enough for us both to live in luxury all our lives. It
is true I have lost a few thousands recently by the failure of a bank,
but that is a mere nothing. I am a very wealthy man yet. You shall
be my dear and honored daughter so long as I live, Queenie, and
my heiress when I die."
She thanked him with a silent, eloquent glance.
"And now," he continued, "it will not do for you to remain in
Ernscliffe's house any longer than to-morrow. Let your maid pack
your trunks for you to-night, and to-morrow I will take you away to
some health resort—the mountains or the seashore—anywhere you
like, so that I get you out of this city."
"And I shall never see my husband again," she said, clasping her
hands with a gesture of despair. "Oh, how fleeting and evanescent
was my dream of happiness! How can I live without him now, when
I have been so happy with him?"
Uncle Robert took her tenderly in his arms, and kissed her white
forehead.
"It is hard, dear," he said, "but we learn after awhile to do without
the things that have been dearest to us on earth. I lost the darling
of my heart many years ago. It was very hard to bear at first, but
after awhile I learned patience and resignation."
"You have loved and lost?" she said, looking at him in great surprise.
"Yes, pet. Did you think I was a crusty, forlorn old bachelor from
choice? No, no; I was betrothed to a sweet and lovely girl in my
early youth, but she went away to live with the angels, and I have
been true to her memory ever since."
"Poor uncle! I did not know you had so sad a secret in your life," she
said, with the dew of sympathy shining in her beautiful blue eyes.
"Every heart knoweth its own bitterness," answered the kind, old
man, sadly.
The next day he took her away to the seashore, hoping that the
change of air and scene might divert her mind from its sorrows.
It was a vain hope. Her terrible trouble was too deeply graven on
her mind. She became ill the day they took possession of their
cottage, and for several weeks lay tossing with fever, closely
attended by a skillful physician and two careful old nurses, while Mr.
Lyle veered to and fro, his gentle heart nearly broken by this
unexpected stroke of fate.
But at length, when they had almost begun to despair of her
recovery, her illness took a sudden turn for the better.
She began to convalesce slowly but surely, and one day she turned
the nurses out of the room and sent for her Uncle Robert.
"I want to ask you something," she said, putting her feverish,
wasted little hand into his strong, tender clasp.
"I am listening, dear," he answered, kindly.
"Has—has that divorce been granted yet?" she inquired, flushing
slightly.
"Oh, no, my dear. Your husband has applied for it, but they have
been waiting since your illness to know what steps you will take in
the matter—whether or not you would engage a lawyer and contest
the divorce. I would not give them any satisfaction while you were
sick, for I thought you might change your mind."
"I have changed my mind, Uncle Rob," she said. "I mean to contest
the divorce. There is a reason now" (she blushed and drooped her
eyes from his perplexed gaze) "why I should try to save my fair fame
as much as I can. Not that I wish to live with Lawrence again,
whether there is a divorce or not, but I wish to defend my own
honor and leave behind me as pure a name as I can. You will secure
an able lawyer for me, will you not, Uncle Robbie?"
"Yes, darling, you shall have the best counsel that money can
procure," he answered, deeply moved at her earnest words.
 CHAPTER XXXIX.
Captain Ernscliffe sat alone in the spacious library of his elegant
mansion.
The windows were raised, and the rich curtains of silk and lace were
drawn back, admitting the bracing October air.
The playful breeze lifted the dark, clustering locks from his high,
white brow, and wafted to his senses the delicate perfume of roses
and lilies that filled the vases on the marble mantel.
The evening sunshine lay in great, golden bars on the emerald-
velvet carpet.
But none of these beautiful things attracted the attention of the
master of this luxurious mansion.
He sat at his desk with an open book before him, and a half-smoked
cigar between his white, aristocratic fingers; but the fire had died
out on the tip of his prime Havana, and the idle breeze turned the
leaves of his book at its wanton will.
He sat there, perfectly still and silent, in his great arm-chair, staring
drearily before him, a stern, sad look on his handsome face, the fire
of a jealous, all-consuming passion smouldering gloomily in the
beautiful dark eyes, half veiled by their sweeping lashes.
He had been trying to read, but the strange unrest that possessed
him was too great to admit of fixing his attention on the author, yet
now he slowly repeated some lines that caught his eye as the light
breeze fluttered the book leaves:

"Falser than all fancy fathoms, falser than all songs

have sung."
"Ah! she is all that, and more," he exclaimed, bitterly, showing by
those quick words where his thoughts were.
A slight cough interrupted him. He looked up quickly and saw Robert
Lyle standing within the half-open door. The old man moved forward
deprecatingly.
"Pardon my abrupt entrance, Captain Ernscliffe," he said; "I knocked
several times without eliciting a reply, so I ventured to enter through
the half-open door."
Captain Ernscliffe arose and shook his visitor's hand with a cordiality
tempered by an indefinable restraint.
"Pray make no apologies, sir," he said. "They are quite unnecessary."
He placed a chair for the visitor, then resumed his own seat, gazing
rather curiously at the pleasant-looking, kindly old gentleman, who
reminded him so much of his wife's father.
What had brought him there, he wondered, with some slight
nervousness at the thought.
Mr. Lyle looked a little nervous, too. He wiped the dew from his fine
old forehead, and remarked that it was a warm day.
"I suppose so," assented the host in a tone that seemed to say he
had not thought about it before.
"I have come on a thankless mission, Lawrence," Mr. Lyle said, with
some slight embarrassment. "At least on an unsolicited one. I wish
to speak to you of—of Queenie."
Captain Ernscliffe flushed crimson to the roots of his hair, and then
grew deathly pale.
"I must refer you to my counsel, then," he answered, after a pause.
"I have nothing to say about her myself."
"Lawrence!"
The gently rebuking tone in which the one word was uttered made
the hearer start. He looked up quickly.
"Well, sir?"
"Do you know that you are treating my niece very unfairly in this
matter. It is cruel to condemn her with her defense unheard."
"She condemned herself, Mr. Lyle, without a word from anyone else.
Her guilt and shame were written all too legibly on her face the
moment she looked upon Leon Vinton."
"Let us grant that she had reason to be ashamed of his
acquaintance, Lawrence. Still may there not be some extenuation for
her fault?"
"None, none! The more I think of it the blacker her dreadful sins
appear. Oh, my God, to think of her with her face as lovely as an
angel's, and her heart all black with sin! To think how I trusted and
loved her, and how basely she repaid my confidence! How cruelly
she deceived and betrayed me!" exclaimed the outraged husband,
rising from his seat and pacing the floor excitedly.
"I cannot effect any compromise, then?" said Mr. Lyle, irresolutely.
"You are bent on a divorce, I suppose. A separation would not
content you?"
"Did she send you to ask this?" angrily exclaimed Captain Ernscliffe,
pausing in his restless tramp to glare furiously at the would-be
peacemaker.
"No, Lawrence, I told you I came on an unsolicited mission. Queenie
knows nothing of my coming, and would not thank me for having
asked that useless question. She asks no favors from you, but she
means to defend her honor, and fight the divorce which would brand
her with shame."
"My counsel and hers will settle that affair. In the meantime, why
this useless dallying for long months on the pretence of illness? Why
does she shirk appearing at court in answer to the summons? If not
guilty, why does she not hasten to protest her innocence?"
"Queenie is ill, Captain Ernscliffe—has been ill for months. But we
hope now that she may soon be able to appear at court and
confront her accusers."
"Why does she not instruct her lawyer to manage the case without
her if she is unable to be present herself? This suspense is
unendurable. If this delay is continued much longer, I shall endeavor
to push the matter without her. I am tired of this dilly-dallying!"
They looked at each other a moment in silence. Then the elder man
said, with a repressed sigh:
"That is one thing I came to ask you, Lawrence. Grant us this much
grace, my poor, unfortunate Queenie, and her fond, old uncle. Do
not push the matter for a little while. Wait until she can come into
court and tell her own story before her fiendish accusers."
"But, Mr. Lyle, I am growing too impatient to wait longer. I chafe at
the bonds that bind me to that beautiful deceiver."
"They will not bind you much longer," Mr. Lyle answered, sadly.
"Either death or the law will soon sever your hated fetters."
Captain Ernscliffe started and looked at the speaker wildly.
"Death," he said, with an uncontrollable shudder. "Why do you talk
of death? What is this mysterious illness that has held her in its
chains so long? She used to be strong and well. She never talked of
weakness."
"I cannot tell what ails her, Lawrence," said Mr. Lyle, rising as if the
conference were ended, "but I have the word of her physician to tell
you that within a month she will either be able to appear in court,
and do what is necessary to defend her rights, or she will be in her
grave. In either case you will be free."
The words fell coldly on Lawrence Ernscliffe's hearing, chilling the
hot and passionate tide of resentment that hurried through his
heart.
He thought with an uncontrollable pang of all that bright, fair beauty
he had loved so long and so fondly lying cold in the grave—those
lips that had kissed him so tenderly sealed in death, the white lids
shut forever over the heaven of love in those soft blue eyes.
"Will that content you, Lawrence?" asked the old man, wistfully,
pausing with his hat in his hand. "A month is not so very long."
"That depends on the mood one is in," was the unsatisfactory reply.
"But you will wait?" Mr. Lyle said, almost pleadingly.
There was a minute's pause, and then the answer came, coldly:
"I will wait."
"Thanks—and farewell," said Mr. Lyle, passing silently out of the
room.
The outraged husband was alone once more, the red glow of the
sunset shining into the room and touching with its tender warmth
his pallid, marble-like features.
He could not rest. Mr. Lyle's words re-echoed in his ears, turning his
warm blood to an icy current that flowed sluggishly through his
benumbed veins.
"In a month she may be in her grave—oh! the horror of that
thought," he said, aloud.
Yes, it was horror. He thought he hated her—she had deceived him
so bitterly—he thought he was anxious to sever the tie that bound
them together; he thought he never wished to look upon her
beautiful, false face again.
And yet, and yet those words of Mr. Lyle's staggered him. He reeled
beneath the suddenness of the blow. He asked himself again as he
had asked Mr. Lyle:
"What is this mysterious illness that holds her in its chains?"
He did not know, he did not dream of the truth. If he had known it,
he must surely have forgiven her and taken her back. He could not
have hated her longer, even though she had sinned and deceived
him. For he had loved her very dearly, and she was his wife.
But he said to himself:
"Why should I care if she dies? She deceived me shamefully. She can
never be anything to me again. In either case, as that old man said,
I shall be free. What will it matter to me, then, if she be dead or
alive; I shall never see her again!"
And then when he began to understand that she might die before
her testimony was given before the court in her own defense, he
became conscious of a vague feeling of disappointment. He knew
now that he had been very anxious all along to hear what his wife
would say when she stood face to face with her accuser. Perhaps,
after all, she could vindicate herself. If not, why was she so anxious
to make the attempt?
"Have I wronged her?" he asked himself, suddenly. "Should I have
condemned her without hearing her version of that villain's story?
Ah! he would not have dared deceive me!"
 CHAPTER XL.
Suddenly a serving-man entered with a card in his hand.
"A gentleman to see you, sir," he said.
Captain Ernscliffe took the bit of pasteboard in his hand and looked
at it.
He started with surprise as he did so.
"C. M. Kidder," was the name he read.
It was the famous London detective whom he had employed to hunt
down Sydney's dastardly murderer.
"What is he doing here in America—in this city?" thought Captain
Ernscliffe, in surprise.
"Show the gentleman into this room," he said to the man.
Mr. Kidder came briskly in a moment after.
He was a shrewd-looking little man, well-dressed and gentlemanly.
"You are surprised to see me here," he said, after they had
exchanged the usual greetings.
"Yes," admitted the host. "Do you bring news?"
The little man's black eyes sparkled.
"The best of news," he answered, blithely. "I have run the game
down."
"That is indeed the best of news," said his employer, his face lighting
up. "But I don't quite understand why you are here, in the United
States."
"You don't?" said Mr. Kidder, with a good-natured laugh. "Well, I am
here because my man is here. I have followed him across the seas."
"Is it possible?" exclaimed the listener, with a start.
"Yes, it is true. I have had a weary hunt for him, but I have
unearthed him at last, thanks to Elsie Gray."
"Elsie Gray! Ah, yes, I remember, she was my wife's maid who
disappeared so strangely the night of the murder. You say she
helped you. Where is she now?"
"She crossed the ocean with me. She is here in this city, and will be
the chief witness in the prosecution. She witnessed the murder, and
recognized the criminal at that moment as a former lover of your
present wife. She pursued him, and was on his track when I found
her."
"It has been almost a year since that dreadful night," said Captain
Ernscliffe. "He must have been very clever to evade justice so long."
"He was a cunning, accomplished villain," said Mr. Kidder. "I followed
him for weary months, but he managed to elude me every time
when I began to think I had run him to earth. I lost him altogether
for awhile, and then I discovered that he had left the country and
sailed for the United States. I at once secured my witness, Elsie
Gray, and followed him."
"But he may elude you here as he did in Europe," said Captain
Ernscliffe, looking disappointed.
"It is not at all likely," said Mr. Kidder, laughing, "for I have already
had him arrested and lodged in prison. No, do not thank me," he
added, as his employer poured out a torrent of praises and thanks.
"Rather thank Elsie Gray. But for her indefatigable exertions, and the
valuable information she gave me, I might never have succeeded in
my undertaking."
"She shall have my thanks, and something more substantial beside.
The reward shall be doubled, and she shall share it equally."
"She has already promised to go shares with me," said the detective,
so significantly and demurely that Captain Ernscliffe could not fail to
understand his meaning.
"So she will marry you?" he said, smiling, and then, gazing curiously
at the happy, little man, who was not more than thirty years old, he
added: "Pardon me, but you are quite young, and Mrs. Ernscliffe's
maid was quite middle-aged, was she not?"
"Oh, no, she was quite young and pretty," said the detective,
laughing his happy, good-humored laugh.
"But surely——" began the listener.
"Mrs. Ernscliffe's maid was in disguise, both as to name and
appearance," said Mr. Kidder, interrupting him. "Perhaps a bit of her
history might interest you, sir, seeing that she has served you a good
turn."
"I should like to hear it," said Captain Ernscliffe. "But wait a
moment, Kidder, until I ring for lights. It is growing dark."
When the gas was lighted, and the curtains dropped over the
windows, he turned back to his visitor and said:
"Go on, Kidder, let me hear Elsie Gray's history."
"Well, sir, Elsie Gray's true name is Jennie Thorn, and she is not
more than twenty years old.
"She was a poor farmer's daughter when this man whom she has
tracked to his doom deceived and ruined her under a pretense of
marriage.
"The poor girl went home to her parents, but her honest father
drove her away with curses when he discovered her condition and
learned her sad story.
"Her mother secretly befriended her, and found her a place to stay in
hiding until her child was born.
"Fortunately for the poor girl it was born dead, and then she set out
upon a mission which she had sworn to accomplish—her revenge
upon the man who had betrayed her.
"In the meanwhile her enraged father had shot the deceiver, and
thinking him dead had fled the country.
"But the wicked deceiver was proof against his enemy's bullet. He
was born to be hung, you see, sir, and he was proof against
anything else.
"So he got well, and was clear out of the country before poor Jennie
was on her feet again. She was sorely disappointed, but she bided
her time."
Captain Ernscliffe began to look as if he took an interest in the
history of the farmer's pretty daughter.
"She sought for him everywhere as far as her money would carry
her," went on the detective, "but she never saw or heard of her
enemy.
"At length her mother came to the city with her, and together they
continued their unrelenting quest, for they both had sworn to take a
terrible revenge upon the destroyer of innocence."
He paused a moment, and Captain Ernscliffe, half forgetful of his
own troubles in this sorrowful story, exclaimed:
"Go on, Kidder. I am very much interested in Jennie Thorn's sad
story."
"One night they went to the theater," continued the detective, "and
there they saw upon the stage the beautiful lady that is now your
wife."
"Ah!" exclaimed Captain Ernscliffe, with a start.
"Yes, sir; you begin to get an inkling of things now," said Kidder.
"Well, to go on, Jennie Thorn recognized the lady. She had seen her
before, and knew that the man who had wronged her was an enemy
of Madame De Lisle. She knew that they hated each other, and that
he had sworn to take a terrible revenge upon her. Well, sir, in that
minute Jennie Thorn began to see what would be her own best
chance to find her betrayer again."
Captain Ernscliffe was growing too excited to keep his seat. He rose
and paced up and down the room, his arms folded over his broad
breast, his burning gaze fixed on the detective's shrewd, intelligent
face.
"She knew that the man would follow Madame De Lisle like her evil
genius, and she determined to keep near the beautiful actress. The
next day she disguised herself as an elderly woman, changed her
name, and went into your wife's service as her maid."
Captain Ernscliffe gazed at him silently. He began to comprehend
now.
"There's little more to tell, sir. Jennie left her mother in the United
States and followed Madame De Lisle across the ocean.
"At first the actress had an old couple of actors with her—the same
that adopted her and taught her their profession—but they both
died.
"The old man sickened first and died, and his wife soon followed him
to the grave.
"Then the actress grew attached to Jennie, and would not have
parted with her for anything.
"Her middle-aged appearance was a protection to the young lady
who was so beautiful and so lonely, and she never suspected that
her elderly maid was other than what she seemed.
"Jennie was contented to remain with her; but though she followed
her like a shadow she never saw her base betrayer until the night of
the murder.
"That night a small boy came to the dressing-room with that fatal
letter.
"It was so unusual an occurrence that Jennie stealthily followed him
out and saw where he had gone.
"Hidden behind the curtains of a window, she watched the man
outside the western door.
"Almost at the moment that she recognized him she saw him spring
to the door.
"She parted the curtains and saw the steel flashing in his hand, to
be buried the next moment in the heart of the woman coming up to
him."
He paused a moment at Captain Ernscliffe's hollow groan; then
continued:
"Jennie told me that the wild scream of anguish that rose the next
moment nearly broke her heart.
"She thought it was her dear, kind mistress whom he had killed, and
she was filled with the fury of the tigress.
"She sprang over the fallen body, and followed the murderer, who
was hurrying away.
"She caught him by the arm, and fastened her teeth in his arm.
"He shook her off and ran away. She sprang after him.
"She followed him to a house, but he escaped from it, or eluded her
somehow, and she took quarters in the vicinity, and was watching
the place when I found her.
"With the information she gave me I succeeded in tracing him
further, and finally we tracked him down.
"He is at this moment in prison, and if he gets his dues he will swing
from the gallows right speedily. A blacker-hearted villain never
walked upon the earth."
There was silence for a time, and then the detective added:
"When I landed herein this city, with Jennie in my charge, we found
that her mother was dead.
"The poor girl has not a friend on earth, and she has promised to
marry me to-day, and after the trial is over she will return to England
with me.
"She is a good, sweet, true girl, and I don't bear any grudge against
her because she has suffered from the arts of a villain through her
too confiding innocence."
"You have my congratulations, my fine fellow," said Captain
Ernscliffe, heartily. "But do you know that you have forgotten to tell
me the name of the man who murdered my poor Sydney?"
"Why, really, have I neglected to mention his name? You must
excuse me, Captain Ernscliffe, for it is one of the traits of my
profession to be chary of mentioning names. The man belongs right
here in this city, and is a notorious gambler and rogue. He is as
handsome as a prince, as wicked as the devil, and his name is Leon
Vinton."
 CHAPTER XLI.
"If there be any whom you have not yet forgiven; if there be any
wrong you yet may right, let not the sun go down upon your wrath,
my son, for verily, you must forgive as you would be forgiven. Upon
no less terms than these can you win the pardon and absolution of
Heaven."
It was the voice of the solemn, black-robed priest, and he stood in
the gloomy cell of a convicted murderer, who, before the sunset of
another day was to expiate his terrible sin by a felon's death.
Even now from the gloomy prison-yard outside could be heard the
awful sound of the hammers driving the nails into his scaffold.
Upon the low, cot bed reclined the handsome demon whom we have
known in our story as Leon Vinton.
Wasted and worn in his coarse prison garb and clanking fetters,
there was still much of that princely beauty left that had lured youth
and innocence to their deadly ruin.
But the reckless, Satanic smile was gone from his pallid, marble-like
features now, and a glance of anguished terror and dread shone
forth from his hollow, black eyes.
Like many another wretched sinner in his dying hour, Leon Vinton
was afraid of the vengeance of that God whom he had despised and
defied all his wicked life.
All day the priests had been with him, praying, chanting, exhorting,
and now the chilly, gloomy December day was fading to its close,
and the long, dreary night hurried on—his last night upon the
beautiful earth, through which he had walked as a destroying
demon, scattering the fire-brand of ruin and remorse along his evil
pathway.
 "And now he feels, and yet shall know,
In realms where guilt shall end no gloom,
The perils of inflicted woe,
The anguish of the liar's doom!
He hears a voice none else may hear,
It bids his burning spirit pause;
It bids thee, murderer! appear
Where angels plead the victim's cause!"

Almost a year had passed since the tragic death of unhappy Sydney
Lyle. Now outraged justice was about to avenge her death.
Conviction had followed swiftly upon the murderer's arrest and
imprisonment.
When he had left poor Jennie Thorn, his betrayed and ruined victim,
fainting upon the floor, with his demoniacal words ringing in her
ears, he had little dreamed how and when he should meet her
again.
Perhaps he thought she would pass silently from his life as other
wronged ones had done, and never be seen or heard of again.
Not the slightest premonition of evil had come to tell him that the
hatred he had stirred to life in her once loving heart would pursue
him to the scaffold.
Yet so it was, and Jennie Thorn had stood up in the witness-box and
given, under oath, the testimony that had cost him his life—had
given it gladly, triumphantly, without one thrill of pity or regard for
the man she had once loved and trusted.
Well, it was all over now—the trial was a thing of the past—to-
morrow the sentence of the law would be carried out and his neck
would be broken upon the scaffold.
Many a time when he thought of it now with a sick and shuddering
horror, he recalled the angry words that Queenie Lyle had spoken to
him years ago:
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