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 images as two-dimensional arrays of pixel values. This extra coverage
will be particularly helpful for students taking an AP/CS A course
because of the heavy emphasis on two-dimensional arrays on the AP
exam.

Expanded self-checks and programming exercises. Many chapters have

received new self-check problems and programming exercises. There
are roughly fifty total problems and exercises per chapter, all of which
have been class-tested with real students and have solutions provided for
instructors on our web site.

Since the publication of our third edition, Java 8 has been released. This new
version supports a style of programming known as functional programming
that is gaining in popularity because of its ability to simply express complex
algorithms that are more easily executed in parallel on machines with
multiple processors. ACM and IEEE have released new guidelines for
undergraduate computer science curricula, including a strong
recommendation to cover functional programming concepts.

We have added a new Chapter 19 that covers most of the functional concepts
from the new curriculum guidelines. The focus is on concepts, not on
language features. As a result, it provides an introduction to several new Java
8 constructs but not a comprehensive coverage of all new language features.
This provides flexibility to instructors since functional programming features
can be covered as an advanced independent topic, incorporated along the
way, or skipped entirely. Instructors can choose to start covering functional
constructs along with traditional constructs as early as Chapter 6. See the
dependency chart at the end of this section.

The following features have been retained from previous editions:

Focus on problem solving. Many textbooks focus on language details

when they introduce new constructs. We focus instead on problem
solving. What new problems can be solved with each construct? What
pitfalls are novices likely to encounter along the way? What are the most
common ways to use a new construct?

Emphasis on algorithmic thinking. Our procedural approach allows us to

 emphasize algorithmic problem solving: breaking a large problem into
smaller problems, using pseudocode to refine an algorithm, and
grappling with the challenge of expressing a large program
algorithmically.

Layered approach. Programming in Java involves many concepts that

are difficult to learn all at once. Teaching Java to a novice is like trying
to build a house of cards. Each new card has to be placed carefully. If
the process is rushed and you try to place too many cards at once, the
entire structure collapses. We teach new concepts gradually, layer by
layer, allowing students to expand their understanding at a manageable
pace.

Case studies. We end most chapters with a significant case study that
shows students how to develop a complex program in stages and how to
test it as it is being developed. This structure allows us to demonstrate
each new programming construct in a rich context that can't be achieved
with short code examples. Several of the case studies were expanded
and improved in the second edition.

Utility as a CS1+CS2 textbook. In recent editions, we added chapters

that extend the coverage of the book to cover all of the topics from our
second course in computer science, making the book usable for a two-
course sequence. Chapters 12–19 explore recursion, searching and
sorting, stacks and queues, collection implementation, linked lists,
binary trees, hash tables, heaps, and more. Chapter 12 also received a
section on recursive backtracking, a powerful technique for exploring a
set of possibilities for solving problems such as 8 Queens and Sudoku.

Layers and Dependencies

Many introductory computer science books are language-oriented, but the
early chapters of our book are layered. For example, Java has many control
structures (including for-loops, while-loops, and if/else-statements), and
many books include all of these control structures in a single chapter. While
that might make sense to someone who already knows how to program, it can
be overwhelming for a novice who is learning how to program. We find that
it is much more effective to spread these control structures into different
chapters so that students learn one structure at a time rather than trying to
learn them all at once.

The following table shows how the layered approach works in the first six
chapters:

Control Programming
Chapter Data Input/Output
Flow Techniques
procedural
1 methods String literals println, print
decomposition
definite variables, local variables, class
2 loops expressions, constants,
(for) int, double pseudocode
console input, 2D
return
3 using objects parameters graphics
values
(optional)
conditional char pre/post conditions, printf
4
(if/else) throwing exceptions
indefinite
assertions, robust
5 loops boolean
programs
(while)
token/line-based file
6 Scanner file I/O
processing

Chapters 1–6 are designed to be worked through in order, with greater

flexibility of study then beginning in Chapter 7. Chapter 6 may be skipped,
although the case study in Chapter 7 involves reading from a file, a topic that
is covered in Chapter 6.

The following is a dependency chart for the book:

Supplements
http://www.buildingjavaprograms.com/

Answers to all self-check problems appear on our web site and are accessible
to anyone. Our web site has the following additional resources for students:

Online-only supplemental chapters, such as a chapter on creating

Graphical User Interfaces

Source code and data files for all case studies and other complete
program examples

The DrawingPanel class used in the optional graphics Supplement 3G

Our web site has the following additional resources for teachers:

PowerPoint slides suitable for lectures

Solutions to exercises and programming projects, along with homework

specification documents for many projects

Sample exams and solution keys

Additional lab exercises and programming exercises with solution keys

Closed lab creation tools to produce lab handouts with the instructor's
choice of problems integrated with the textbook

To access protected instructor resources, contact us at

authors@buildingjavaprograms.com. The same materials are also available at
http://www.pearsonhighered.com/cs-resources. To receive a password for this
site or to ask other questions related to resources, contact your Pearson sales
representative.

MyProgrammingLab
MyProgrammingLab is an online practice and assessment tool that helps
students fully grasp the logic, semantics, and syntax of programming.
Through practice exercises and immediate, personalized feedback,
MyProgrammingLab improves the programming competence of beginning
students who often struggle with basic concepts and paradigms of popular
high-level programming languages. A self-study and homework tool, the
MyProgrammingLab course consists of hundreds of small practice exercises
organized around the structure of this textbook. For students, the system
automatically detects errors in the logic and syntax of code submissions and
offers targeted hints that enable students to figure out what went wrong, and
why. For instructors, a comprehensive grade book tracks correct and
incorrect answers and stores the code inputted by students for review.

For a full demonstration, to see feedback from instructors and students, or to

adopt MyProgrammingLab for your course, visit the following web site:
http://www.myprogramminglab.com/

VideoNotes

We have recorded a series of instructional videos to accompany the textbook.

They are available at the following web site: www.pearsonhighered.com/cs-
resources

Roughly 3–4 videos are posted for each chapter. An icon in the margin of the
page indicates when a VideoNote is available for a given topic. In each video,
we spend 5–15 minutes walking through a particular concept or problem,
talking about the challenges and methods necessary to solve it. These videos
make a good supplement to the instruction given in lecture classes and in the
textbook. Your new copy of the textbook has an access code that will allow
you to view the videos.
Acknowledgments
First, we would like to thank the many colleagues, students, and teaching
assistants who have used and commented on early drafts of this text. We
could not have written this book without their input. Special thanks go to
Hélène Martin, who pored over early versions of our first edition chapters to
find errors and to identify rough patches that needed work. We would also
like to thank instructor Benson Limketkai for spending many hours
performing a technical proofread of the second edition.

Second, we would like to thank the talented pool of reviewers who guided us
in the process of creating this textbook:

Greg Anderson, Weber State University

Delroy A. Brinkerhoff, Weber State University

Ed Brunjes, Miramar Community College

Tom Capaul, Eastern Washington University

Tom Cortina, Carnegie Mellon University

Charles Dierbach, Towson University

H.E. Dunsmore, Purdue University

Michael Eckmann, Skidmore College

Mary Anne Egan, Siena College

Leonard J. Garrett, Temple University

Ahmad Ghafarian, North Georgia College & State University

Raj Gill, Anne Arundel Community College

Michael Hostetler, Park University

David Hovemeyer, York College of Pennsylvania

Chenglie Hu, Carroll College

Philip Isenhour, Virginia Polytechnic Institute

Andree Jacobson, University of New Mexico

David C. Kamper, Sr., Northeastern Illinois University

Simon G.M. Koo, University of San Diego

Evan Korth, New York University

Joan Krone, Denison University

John H.E.F. Lasseter, Fairfield University

Eric Matson, Wright State University

Kathryn S. McKinley, University of Texas, Austin

Jerry Mead, Bucknell University

George Medelinskas, Northern Essex Community College

John Neitzke, Truman State University

Dale E. Parson, Kutztown University

Richard E. Pattis, Carnegie Mellon University

Frederick Pratter, Eastern Oregon University

Roger Priebe, University of Texas, Austin

Dehu Qi, Lamar University

John Rager, Amherst College

Amala V.S. Rajan, Middlesex University

Craig Reinhart, California Lutheran University

Mike Scott, University of Texas, Austin

Alexa Sharp, Oberlin College

Tom Stokke, University of North Dakota

Leigh Ann Sudol, Fox Lane High School

Ronald F. Taylor, Wright State University

Andy Ray Terrel, University of Chicago

Scott Thede, DePauw University

Megan Thomas, California State University, Stanislaus

Dwight Tuinstra, SUNY Potsdam

Jeannie Turner, Sayre School

Tammy VanDeGrift, University of Portland

Thomas John VanDrunen, Wheaton College

Neal R. Wagner, University of Texas, San Antonio

Jiangping Wang, Webster University

Yang Wang, Missouri State University

Stephen Weiss, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Laurie Werner, Miami University

 Dianna Xu, Bryn Mawr College

Carol Zander, University of Washington, Bothell

Finally, we would like to thank the great staff at Pearson who helped produce
the book. Michelle Brown, Jeff Holcomb, Maurene Goo, Patty Mahtani,
Nancy Kotary, and Kathleen Kenny did great work preparing the first edition.
Our copy editors and the staff of Aptara Corp, including Heather Sisan, Brian
Baker, Brendan Short, and Rachel Head, caught many errors and improved
the quality of the writing. Marilyn Lloyd and Chelsea Bell served well as
project manager and editorial assistant respectively on prior editions. For
their help with the third edition we would like to thank Kayla Smith-Tarbox,
Production Project Manager, and Jenah Blitz-Stoehr, Computer Science
Editorial Assistant. Mohinder Singh and the staff at Aptara, Inc., were also
very helpful in the final production of the third edition. For their great work
on production of the fourth edition, we thank Louise Capulli and the staff of
Lakeside Editorial Services, along with Carole Snyder at Pearson. Special
thanks go to our lead editor at Pearson, Matt Goldstein, who has believed in
the concept of our book from day one. We couldn't have finished this job
without all of their hard work and support.

Stuart Reges

Marty Stepp
Break through
To Improving results

MyProgammingLab™
Through the power of practice and immediate personalized feedback,
MyProgrammingLab helps improve your students' performance.

Programming Practice
With MyProgrammingLab, your students will gain firs-hand programming
experience in an interactive online environment.

Immediate, Personalized Feedback

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their code submission and offers targeted hints that enables students to figure
out what went wrong and why.

Graduated Complexity
MyProgrammingLab breaks down programming concepts into short,
understandable sequences of exercises. Within each sequence the level and
sophistication of the exercises increase gradually but steadily.
Dynamic Roster
Students' submissions are stored in a roster that indicates whether the
submission is correct, how many attempts were made, and the actual code
submissions from each attempt.

Pearson eText
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For more information and titles available with MyProgrammingLab, please
visit www.myprogramminglab.com.

Copyright © 2016 Pearson Education, Inc. or its affiliate(s). All rights

reserved. HELO88173 · 11/15

LOCATION OF VIDEO NOTES IN THE TEXT

www.pearsonhighered.com/cs-resources

Chapter 1 Pages 31, 40

Chapter 2 Pages 65, 74, 89, 97, 110
Chapter 3 Pages 141, 156, 161, 167
Chapter 3G Pages 197, 215
Chapter 4 Pages 243, 251, 278
Chapter 5 Pages 324, 327, 329, 333, 356
Chapter 6 Pages 396, 409, 423
Chapter 7 Pages 458, 465, 484, 505
Chapter 8 Pages 535, 547, 555, 568
Chapter 9 Pages 597, 610, 626
Chapter 10 Pages 672, 677, 686
Chapter 11 Pages 716, 729, 737
Chapter 12 Pages 764, 772, 809
Chapter 13 Pages 834, 837, 843
Chapter 14 Pages 889, 896
Chapter 15 Pages 930, 936, 940
Chapter 16 Pages 972, 979, 992
Chapter 17 Pages 1037, 1038, 1048
Chapter 18 Pages 1073, 1092
Brief Contents
1. Chapter 1 Introduction to Java Programming 1

2. Chapter 2 Primitive Data and Definite Loops 63

3. Chapter 3 Introduction to Parameters and Objects 137

4. Supplement 3G Graphics (Optional) 196

5. Chapter 4 Conditional Execution 238

6. Chapter 5 Program Logic and Indefinite Loops 315

7. Chapter 6 File Processing 387

8. Chapter 7 Arrays 443

9. Chapter 8 Classes 530

10. Chapter 9 Inheritance and Interfaces 587

11. Chapter 10 ArrayLists 662

12. Chapter 11 Java Collections Framework 715

13. Chapter 12 Recursion 754

14. Chapter 13 Searching and Sorting 832

15. Chapter 14 Stacks and Queues 884

16. Chapter 15 Implementing a Collection Class 922

17. Chapter 16 Linked Lists 965

18. Chapter 17 Binary Trees 1017

19. Chapter 18 Advanced Data Structures 1071

20. Chapter 19 Functional Programming with Java 1107

1. Appendix A Java Summary 1149

2. Appendix B The Java API Specification and Javadoc Comments 1164

3. Appendix C Additional Java Syntax 1170

Contents
1. Chapter 1 Introduction to Java Programming 1

1. 1.1 Basic Computing Concepts 2

1. Why Programming? 2

2. Hardware and Software 3

3. The Digital Realm 4

4. The Process of Programming 6

5. Why Java? 7

6. The Java Programming Environment 8

2. 1.2 And Now—Java 10

1. String Literals (Strings) 14

2. System.out.println 15

3. Escape Sequences 15

4. print versus println 17

5. Identifiers and Keywords 18

6. A Complex Example: DrawFigures1 20

7. Comments and Readability 21

3. 1.3 Program Errors 24

1. Syntax Errors 24
 2. Logic Errors (Bugs) 28

4. 1.4 Procedural Decomposition 28

1. Static Methods 31

2. Flow of Control 34

3. Methods That Call Other Methods 36

4. An Example Runtime Error 39

5. 1.5 Case Study: DrawFigures 40

1. Structured Version 41

2. Final Version without Redundancy 43

3. Analysis of Flow of Execution 44

2. Chapter 2 Primitive Data and Definite Loops 63

1. 2.1 Basic Data Concepts 64

1. Primitive Types 64

2. Expressions 65

3. Literals 67

4. Arithmetic Operators 68

5. Precedence 70

6. Mixing Types and Casting 73

2. 2.2 Variables 74

1. Assignment/Declaration Variations 79
 2. String Concatenation 82

3. Increment/Decrement Operators 84

4. Variables and Mixing Types 87

3. 2.3 The for Loop 89

1. Tracing for Loops 91

2. for Loop Patterns 95

3. Nested for Loops 97

4. 2.4 Managing Complexity 99

1. Scope 99

2. Pseudocode 105

3. Class Constants 108

5. 2.5 Case Study: Hourglass Figure 110

1. Problem Decomposition and Pseudocode 111

2. Initial Structured Version 113

3. Adding a Class Constant 114

4. Further Variations 117

3. Chapter 3 Introduction to Parameters and Objects 137

1. 3.1 Parameters 138

1. The Mechanics of Parameters 141

2. Limitations of Parameters 145

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Her breast rose and fell stormily, and Gerald looked at her as
amazed as was her husband. Never before had the meek ogress
behaved in this fashion, although on several occasions she had tried
to assert herself. But having turned, she left no room for doubt as to
what she meant. Looking at the transformed woman, who had been
goaded into revolt, Haskins thought of Balzac's remark, which was
now excellently illustrated: "There is nothing more horrible than the
rebellion of a sheep."

"Wait; only wait."

It was Geary who spoke, but he spoke without conviction, since he

felt rather than saw that his rule was at an end. It is ever thus with
tyrants. They browbeat those who are willing to serve them, for
many years, and the milder the servant the greater burden does the
master impose. Mrs. Geary had labored like a horse, doing more
than was required of her. Still, the negro had not been pleased, and
therefore had beaten and kicked his beast of burden, never
dreaming of any revolt. But the measure was filled to the brim: the
last straw had stiffened the camel's back rather than broken it; and
Mrs. Geary had risen to assert the right of a human being. Adonis
blustered and threatened, but he knew that never again would his
wife submit to his domination.

"With your domestic affairs I have no need to meddle," said Gerald,

raising his hand to stop Mrs. Geary's speech and her husband's
growling. "I think you are right to leave that brute, and if you need
money I shall supply you with all you wish."

"Thank you, sir," said Mrs. Geary, dropping a curtsey; and glared at
her husband. The drink was dying out of her, but she still fought, as
she was supported by Haskins' presence. "You hear that, Adonis?"

"I'll go to law, sah," growled Geary, "you make my wife fight."

"You shall have more law than you bargain for," said Gerald coldly. "I
can promise you that. Go on, Mrs. Geary, tell your story."
She placed her big arms akimbo, and spoke steadily. "When Geary
went after you on that night, sir, I knew he was up to some deviltry,
since he almost stripped himself and used all the oil in the cruet
stand to rub over himself. I spoke to the Major--that is, I went in to
speak to him here, and ask what Geary was up to. But the Major
was gone."

"Gone?" echoed Gerald. "Then he went immediately after I left?"

"Not exactly, sir. It was quite an hour after Adonis followed you that
I came in here. Then Adonis came back wounded, and I bound up
his arm. He asked if his old master was in, and when he heard that
the Major had gone out he followed."

"Followed where?"

"I followed to the Pixy's House," said Adonis hoarsely, "you may as
well know dat what I know, sah. I hab noting to do wid de murder. I
went ober de hills for de Major, and I found him coming back----"

"At what time was that?"

"After midnight," cried Mrs. Geary, "it was two o'clock before the
Major and Adonis returned."

"And Bellaria was murdered--according to the medical evidence--

about midnight," murmured Haskins. "So you went to the Pixy's
House?"

"No, sah, I no go dere. I meet de Major coming back. He say dat he

had gone to see if you, sah, had been visitin' de house, after you
went from here. Den I tole him dat I tried to kill you, for I hear that
you wished to make trouble for de Major. De Major berry angry wid
me, and we come home. Den, in the morning, we hear ob de
murder."

"Didn't the Major tell you that he had found Bellaria stabbed?"
"No, sah. Him say noting: I ask noting. Dat's all."

"If Major Rebb was in the Pixy's House at midnight, he either

stabbed Bellaria himself, or he knows who stabbed her," said Gerald
deliberately, and rose. "Is this all you have to tell me?"

"Dat all," growled the man sullenly. "But de Major did not kill.
Bellaria asked for my big knife, 'cause she was feared."

"Did you know what she feared?"

"No, sah. De Major, he know, but he no tell me."

There was nothing to be done but to wait and see Rebb, so as to

question him on this unexpected information, which Mrs. Geary had
forced her cowed husband to give. Haskins slipped a sovereign into
the woman's hand, and walked to the door. "If you follow me again
to knife me, Adonis," he remarked, "remember I have a revolver."

The negro pointed to his useless right arm. "I can do noting," he
said, and his eyes flashed as he added: "I should like to."

Mrs. Geary pushed past her husband. "No, you can do nothing with
that arm. It has beaten me often enough. Geary," she pointed a
finger at him, "now I leave your house with my children; this very
moment I leave. I shall never see you again."

"You have nowhere to go, you fool gal."

"I can tramp with the children to Leegarth and there a friend of mine
can put me up for the night. I have this sovereign the young
gentleman has given me, and to-morrow I take the train back to my
mother."

"I think you are wise, Mrs. Geary," called back Gerald, and began his
return journey to Silbury, leaving the negro and his wife to settle
their private affairs as they best could. But he felt certain that Mrs.
Geary meant what she said, and would leave the Devon Maid at
once. She feared, now that she was more sober, and Gerald was
gone, lest she should again succumb to the tyranny of the negro.

The next morning Gerald received a letter from Tod, saying that he
was going with Arnold to Belldown, a village on the hither side of
Leegarth, and some ten miles distant. Haskins wondered why his
friend and the tutor should go to such a secluded place. Probably
Tod had found some evidence which took him there, for examination
of the same. But his letter was most unsatisfactory, as he gave no
hint of what Arnold had explained. Gerald felt somewhat in the dark.
However, it was useless to conjecture. When Macandrew had done
what he wanted to do at Belldown--whatever that might be--he
would come to Silbury with Mr. Arnold and explain himself.
Meanwhile Gerald possessed his soul in patience, and wished that
Rebb would come down to the Pixy's House.

When he descended to breakfast, and Mrs. Jennings entered with

her budget of gossip, he learned that Major Rebb had driven through
Silbury early that morning on his way to Leegarth. "He came down
by the night train I hear, sir," said Mrs. Jennings.

Haskins was very well satisfied, as this arrival provided him with
work for the day. Apparently Rebb had seen Mrs. Crosbie on the
previous day, and had learned what took place from the widow, or
her mother. And it was possible that he had come to the Frederick
Street chambers to ask Haskins what he meant by meddling with the
case. There he would learn that the marplot--as he regarded
Haskins--had gone on to Devonshire, and so had come down post-
haste by the next train he could catch. All this argued a guilty
conscience, and Gerald took his way to Leegarth later in the morning
to have it out with his enemy. It occurred to him that Rebb was
guilty after all.

The day was not so hot as the previous one had been, so Haskins
walked to Leegarth. He could have obtained a horse, or a bicycle, as
on the two former occasions, but preferred to use his legs. The
country was very beautiful, and the air most exhilarating, so he
enjoyed the journey, and arrived at Leegarth without unduly
hurrying himself. When he came in sight of the Pixy's House he felt
in his hip pocket to make sure that his revolver was safe. Rebb was
a desperate man, and might make an attack after the fashion of
Geary; therefore it was as well to be on the safe side. Thus ready for
any emergency, he rang the bell at the big gates, which were again
closed and bolted. In less time than he expected the gates were
thrown open by the mild-faced valet of Rebb whom Haskins had last
seen in London.

"My master is expecting you, sir," said the valet, stepping back to
permit the visitor to enter, "in fact, sir, he came down here
immediately after you for an interview. I have been watching at the
gates all the morning."

"How did Major Rebb know that I was in Devonshire?" asked Gerald,
and received the expected reply--that Rebb had inquired at his
Frederick Street rooms. While following the valet up the narrow
path, which wound between saplings and jungly grasses, Gerald
looked hard at him, wondering if this man, like Geary, knew of
Rebb's affairs. But the mild face of the valet betrayed nothing. He
looked like a sheep, and probably was one. Major Rebb did not care
for over-clever servants. Probably he had learned a lesson when
pensioning off Geary, who knew far too much.

The old place looked very beautiful in the warm golden light, and
Gerald caught a glimpse of the lawn whereon Mavis had danced. He
sighed to think of what had happened since that wonderful night. A
gulf had opened between the girl and the world which could only be
bridged by an open confession by Rebb as to the truth of the
murder.

But Haskins had very little time to cogitate, for the valet led him
swiftly through the archway, and into the house. He preceded the
visitor up a shallow staircase, and along a spacious passage on the
first floor. On knocking at a door, and being bidden to enter, he
introduced Gerald into a large room, with no less than five windows
looking out on to the tangled avenue and rough lawns and riotous
shrubberies. This was Mavis' apartment--as Gerald had been told,
when he came to see Inspector Morgan--and it was luxuriously
furnished, so as to be a pleasant prison for the unfortunate girl. Bad
as Rebb was, he had done his best to make Mavis' voluntary
captivity endurable--that is, it could be called voluntary, since the
Major had told her that all English girls were brought up in seclusion,
and she had acquiesced.

"How are you, Haskins?" said the Major, when his man had shut the
door and they were alone together in the splendid room. "I have
been expecting you."

"So I have been given to understand by your valet," replied Gerald

coolly, and sat down to take out his pipe. "You don't object to my
smoking, I presume?"

Rebb smiled grimly. "No," he rejoined deliberately, "you may need

soothing before our conversation ends."

"Dear me, that sounds threatening. Are you going to murder me, or
drop me into an oubliette. If so, I advise you to think twice about it.
The police at Silbury know that I am here. I told a young constable
in the High Street where I was going."

"I don't see why you should do that?" said Rebb sharply.

"I do," rejoined the young man calmly. "You are a dangerous man,
Rebb, and you are being driven into a corner. However, if you think
to silence me by violence, you will only get yourself into difficulties."

"You are afraid," taunted the Major sneeringly.

"Oh, not at all," retorted Haskins, although his fair face flushed a
trifle; "there is no question of that. The mere fact that I come here
alone is enough to prove that I do not fear you." He lighted his pipe
carefully and looked along the stem at his host. "Fire away."

Rebb sat down in a comfortable chair with his back to the window,
probably so that Haskins should not read his face too easily. He was
neatly dressed in a maroon-colored smoking-suit, and looked as spic
and span as though he had just stepped out of a band-box; but then
Rebb, being something of a lady-killer, had always been attentive to
his personal appearance. He suited the room very well, as he looked
high-bred and bland, and dangerously amiable.

"What do you wish me to say?" he asked quietly.

"That is for you to judge," answered Haskins lazily, but very attentive
to Rebb's slightest movement. "You say that you expected me. Well,
I presume that means you have something to say."

"You have called to see me without an invitation," retorted Rebb, "so

that shows you have a few questions to ask me."

"You are right--I have. But you are not hospitable, Rebb. I am dry
after that long walk from Silbury. What about beer?"

"Are you not afraid of my poisoning you?" asked the Major, rising
and going to a sideboard.

"Not at all; you would like to, so as to silence me for ever. Had I
come here without anyone knowing my whereabouts you would
doubtless try to get rid of me in some way or another. But the game
in this case is not worth the candle. The Pixy's House has a bad
reputation for one murder, Major, and I don't think you would care to
have another committed either by yourself or your tool, Geary."

"I did not set Geary on to you," snapped Rebb, discomposed by this
cool chatter, and returning to the central table with a tray.
"So I understand. Geary told me so last night."

"You have seen him?"

"Oh yes; and his wife also. She rather gave you away, Major, and I
may tell you that she has left her husband, having had enough of his
brutality. The children, I believe, are with her."

"I don't know what you mean about that woman having given me
away," said the Major, trying to control himself, "there is nothing in
my life but what will bear inspection."

"Even by the law?"

"Even by the law. Will you have hock or claret?"

"Hock, please, and some seltzer. I congratulate you on your

courageous conscience, Major. Few people, even the best of us, can
stand having their secret lives looked into."

Rebb passed along a glass foaming with the drink, and shrugged his
shoulders as he took up the claret jug. "Did you come here to
preach platitudes?" he asked cynically.

Gerald took a long drink, and set down his glass with a laugh. "No. I
came to ask you where Mavis Durham is hiding."

"How should I know? She may be dead for all I can tell. And,
indeed," added Rebb to himself, "I believe she is dead, else she
would have been discovered long ago. Have you any idea of her
whereabouts?"

"If I had would I ask you?" fenced Gerald coolly. "I stopped on the
night of that poor girl's flight at the Prince's Head, as you will find if
you ask Mrs. Jennings.

"I have asked her already, and I know that."

"Ah! Then you did suspect me of having a hand in the murder."

"I fancied that you might, since you loved Mavis, and wanted to get
her away from here. I hope you are satisfied with your work."

"With my work. What do you mean?" Haskins sat up.

"Simply this, that nothing has gone right since you found that
infernal cylinder, and pryed into my private affairs." Rebb glared. "If
it was the old days of dueling, Haskins. I should call you out."

"I quite believe it. But as dueling days are past you will have to
silence me in another way."

"Why should I silence you?"

"Because, Rebb, I know too much. After I left you on that night at
the Devon Maid you came here, and----"

"I did not," interrupted Rebb fiercely.

"You came here. Mrs. Geary says so. And I believe from my soul that
you killed Bellaria, and put the blame on Mavis to secure her
money."

Rebb started to his feet. "You infernal liar!" And he flung his glass at
the young man.

CHAPTER XXII.

A CONFESSION.
The glass skimmed past Haskins' head, and smashed against the
wainscoting. By this time both men were on their feet; Rebb glaring
and furious, but Gerald perfectly calm. A few drops of the claret had
sprinkled his face, and he wiped these off quietly. "There is nothing
to be gained by your losing your temper, Rebb," he remarked.

"Don't tell me what to do or what not to do," raged the Major,

striding towards the door, which he locked. "You are in my power
here."

Haskins sat down again with a contemptuous laugh. "So much so

that, if you opened that door to let me out, I should refuse to go.
Don't be a fool, Rebb. One would think you were a melodramatic
actor. Do you think that I am afraid of you or of a dozen like you? Sit
down and let us talk quietly over the matter."

Rebb walked forward, and flung himself into a chair, gnawing his
moustache, somewhat taken aback by Haskins' aplomb. Usually,
when he asserted his undeniably strong will, his opponents sat down
and obeyed. But the Major recognized readily enough that he had a
determined man to deal with, and, moreover, knew that he could not
get the better of him by treachery, since the Silbury police were
aware of Haskins' whereabouts. The Pixy's House already had an
unpleasant reputation, and Rebb did not wish an inexplicable
disappearance to take place there. He would willingly have got rid of
this man, who so persistently crossed his path, but the risk was too
great. And as man to man, Gerald was more than able to hold his
own. Rebb was no fool, and, for the moment, he mentally confessed
himself beaten.

"I ask your pardon for losing my temper," he said, wiping his
forehead, "but no man can sit quietly and hear himself accused of
woman murder."
"Defend yourself then," said Gerald, relighting his pipe, which had
gone out during the episode.

"There is no need for me to make a defence," snarled the other.

"I think there is. Geary may hold his tongue, since he appears to be
devoted to you, but his wife, having left her husband, will certainly
speak out."

"What can she say?" asked Rebb, taking another glass of claret.

"That you went to this place on the night, and about the time, of the
murder. You went away some time after I left, and did not return
until two in the morning."

Major Rebb sat moodily looking at the tips of his slippers. He saw
well that Gerald was right, and if the young man--as he probably
would--supported Mrs. Geary in making trouble, very unpleasant
questions might be asked. "Why the devil do you interfere in my
business?" he asked, between his teeth.

"Because I love Mavis Durham."

"She is dead."

"You can't be sure of that."

"Then you know!" cried the Major, starting to his feet.

"Now how should I know anything when you have exonerated me

from complicity in her flight?" argued Gerald, dexterously skirting the
subject. "If I had run away with Mavis she would be my wife by this
time."

"And would have passed her honeymoon in prison?" growled Rebb,

quite convinced by Gerald's quiet tone.
"I think not. I should have fought for my wife. And I intend to search
for her and fight for her still."

"You'll never find her. If she were alive she would have been
captured long ago."

"Ah, it would please you, no doubt, to see her hanged."

"No! on my soul, no!" cried the Major, beginning to walk to and fro,
"I only want to see her happy. She was happy here," he added, as
Gerald laughed unpleasantly. "She was happy until you came and
disturbed her poor brain."

"Her very clever brain!" contradicted the young man acidly. "Pshaw!
Major, am I a fool that you should talk to me in this way? Whatever
you may state to the outside world, for the sake of your illegal
income, you know perfectly well that Mavis is perfectly sane."

"She is not! Would she have killed Bellaria if sane?"

"Oh, you are trying to keep up that fiction also?"

"It is not fiction," insisted Rebb, obviously in earnest. "I will admit
that the girl's brain was stronger than I chose to tell anyone outside
this room. All the same, I believe that, weary of being shut up, she
tried to escape on that night. Bellaria came to stop her, and Mavis
then must have stabbed her. Remember, Bellaria had Geary's knife."

"Do you really believe this?" asked Gerald, quite puzzled.

"I swear that I do! Come, Haskins, let us talk plainly, since there is
no one to hear us. Don't you believe it yourself?"

"No, I do not! You, if anyone, killed Bellaria."

"Why should I?"

"Because you knew that I would take the girl away and marry her.
To put her presumed insanity beyond all doubt you murdered
Bellaria, and placed the crime on the poor girl's shoulders. In this
way, should she be found, you secure her income for life, since she
cannot marry."

"That would have been a clever thing for me to do," said Rebb, in a
quiet way, "but I had not the brains to conceive such a plot, much
less the cleverness to carry it out. I might, in a fit of rage, kill a man
capable of defending himself. I certainly should never raise my hand
to stab a defenceless woman, whatever provocation I might have."

"You were here about the time of the murder?" said Haskins, and he
wrinkled his brow in perplexity. Rebb spoke very earnestly.

"I was--since Mrs. Geary has let the cat out the bag I may as well
confess, and you will see how groundless your suspicions are. It was
long after ten o'clock when I left the Devon Maid, and I took a
lantern with me."

"Why did you go at all?"

"To search for your confounded canoe. Geary told me about it, and
so did Bellaria, who learned where it was hidden from Mavis."

"Yes. I told Mavis. Well?"

"Well, I wanted to find it and break it up, so that you should no

longer get across the pool and climb the wall. I walked over the hills,
and lost my way for a time. It was close upon twelve o'clock when I
got to the pool. I searched for the canoe and could not find it. I
heard a shriek inside the grounds of this house----"

"And you went to see what it was?"

"Not at the moment. I knew that Bellaria, being always terrified, for
reasons you need not know----"
"Pardon me, I know all about the Tána Society."

Rebb looked astonished, but made no comment, being too occupied

in exonerating himself. "Then you know that she suffered greatly
from nerves, and was afraid of being discovered and killed. Often
she shrieked at night, as Mavis told me, and at times, when here
late, I heard her myself. I therefore merely thought that Bellaria was
in one of her mad fits and went on searching. About one o'clock I
climbed the bank and, crossing the stream by the bridge to
Leegarth, I went to the gate of the Pixy's House, wondering if you
had dared to come there, after seeing me. I found the gates opened
and Bellaria dead. As I was stooping over the body, Geary came
running from the house. He said that he had followed me to tell
about your shooting him in the arm, and on finding Bellaria's body
he had gone to look for Mavis. She had vanished. I searched the
house also, and could not find her. I therefore came back to
Denleigh with Geary, making him promise to say nothing of our
midnight visit."

"Why?" asked Gerald straightly.

"Why?" echoed the Major, looking surprised, "when you were

meddling with my affairs? Had you known of that visit at the time,
you would have denounced me to the police, and I should have had
great difficulty in clearing myself. I held my peace. And I tell you
that I really believed, as I believe now, that Mavis had stabbed
Bellaria, so as to get her liberty."

"Why did you not believe that some emissary of the Tána Society
had found out Bellaria's hiding place and had killed her?"

"You mean Venosta?" said Rebb hurriedly; "well I own that, after the
first shock of surprise, I did suspect Venosta, as Mrs. Crosbie had
shown me the coral hand, and had told me the use she put it to."

"Did she know about the society?" asked Gerald. "She declared that
she was ignorant of its existence."
"So she was. But I knew about the society at Naples fifteen or
sixteen years ago, when I rescued Bellaria from its clutches. No; I
don't believe Venosta killed Bellaria, although he would have done
so, I am sure, had he known where she was hiding. But he did not,
and who could have told him? Not Mrs. Crosbie--although you
mentioned Bellaria's name and whereabouts, confound you!--as Mrs.
Crosbie knew nothing of the Tána Society. Well, Haskins, you must
see now that I am innocent."

"It looks like it, I admit. But everything fitted in so well with your
plans that I naturally thought you guilty."

"Then you see that I am not," snapped Rebb, much ruffled. "If I
were, would I confess my midnight journey to you?"

"Seeing that Mrs. Geary is about to make it public, I think you would
have had to in the long run," retorted Gerald sharply.

"She mustn't do that," muttered Rebb, still walking and becoming

much agitated, for he was beginning to realize his danger.

"She will, now that her husband can no longer terrorize her. You are
in a very awkward position. My advice to you--if you are really as
innocent as you pretend to be--is to search out Mavis and hand over
her income. After all, by the will, you need not account for what you
have spent up to date, and you have had a long run for your
money."

"You say that, because you want the income yourself."

"I could do with it, and when I marry Mavis I shall certainly insist
upon justice being done to her. I would take her without a penny, as
you well know, but I am not such a fool as to refuse six thousand a
year along with a pretty, clever wife."

"Well then, find Mavis, and we shall see," cried Rebb, quite out of
temper, and throwing himself into a chair.
"For you to accuse her when she is found? No, thank you. First I
want to prove her innocence."

"You will find that difficult."

"Not with your help, Major."

Rebb grew violent. "Damn you. I say that I believe the girl may be
innocent, and surely I have exonerated myself."

"I may think so, but the public----"

"The public need never know anything about it. See here, Haskins,
you love this girl, and you seem to think that she is still alive. Good.
I make a bargain with you. Give me three thousand of this six
thousand a year belonging to the Durham estate, and you can marry
Mavis quietly, and take her to America, or the Colonies. No one will
think to find the notorious Mavis Durham in Mrs. Gerald Haskins.
Thus everything will be settled, and I can marry Mrs. Crosbie--as I
greatly want to--with a quiet heart. What say you?"

"I refuse your offer," said Gerald calmly. "Mavis shall have her
character cleared, and shall have nothing or all of her income."

Rebb rose and snapped his fingers. "Do your worst," he said, trying
to suppress his anger. "Find Mavis and marry her. But be prepared
for me to have her condemned for Bellaria's murder and shut up in
an asylum."

"I hope to prove her innocence," said Haskins quietly.

"Even if you do," snarled Rebb, becoming reckless when he found

himself so beset, "you may lose the money."

"That is impossible: it belongs to Mavis."

"To the real Mavis."

Gerald rose, guessing that Rebb referred to the other twin. "What do
you mean by that, Rebb?"

"Mavis has a sister. Yes, you may look, but Charity Bird is the real
Mavis--or at least I can prove it to be so."

"There is a likeness between the girls, I admit," said Gerald,

pretending ignorance, "but it is ridiculous to say that they are
sisters."

"They are twin sisters. Sit down and I'll tell you all about it. But that
you can make so much mischief I should not say a word; but when
you know the truth, for your own sake you may hold your tongue
and give me half the income."

Without a word Haskins resumed his seat, marveling at thus having

been able to force Rebb's hand, without revealing his suspicions.
The Major hastily swallowed another glass of claret, and began to
speak in a hurry.

"I was in a Goorkha regiment in India some twenty-five years ago----

"

Gerald interrupted: "I thought you were in a West Indian Regiment."

"Later, later!" said Rebb testily. "Don't interrupt. I exchanged to

Jamaica a few years later. But in India I had a brother officer, who
was my greatest friend. His name was Julian Durham, and he had
six thousand a year against my six hundred. He was not very strong,
and always said that, as he had no relatives, he would make me his
heir. Then he married a silly, flirting girl, with whom he quarreled,
and my hopes were thus dashed to the ground."

"Did you aid the quarrel?" asked Gerald delicately.

"Yes," replied Rebb shamelessly. "The wife stood in the way of my

getting a fortune from Julian, and I tried to part husband and wife. I
succeeded; for more than a year after the marriage, Mrs. Durham
went to Bombay, with the intention of living apart from her
husband."

"What a scoundrel you are, Rebb," said Haskins, astonished at the

cold-blooded way in which the man recounted his villainy.

The Major laughed harshly. "I only tell this to you, and you don't
matter," he retorted. "Outside, if you say anything, I shall deny all,
and who will believe you, Haskins? However, to continue. We were
stationed in the far north of India, and I escorted Mrs. Durham to
Bombay, where she intended to embark for England. At Bombay she
was taken ill, and died giving birth to twins. I didn't want a couple of
girls on my hands, as I knew that Julian could not live long, so I paid
the nurse to take one of the children--the eldest, mind you--to
Simla, and to get rid of it somehow. She sold it, I believe, to a
juggler's wife, and afterwards Mrs. Pelham Odin, then on tour,
bought the child in Calcutta, to bring up. That child is Charity Bird."

"Can you prove this?"

"Yes! Be quite certain of that. The ayah and the juggler's wife are
still alive. Well, then, that disposed of one twin. I brought the other
back to the north of India to her father, and she was christened
Mavis. Julian was very ill, so made a will in my favor and in favor of
his child. I was to be her guardian, and to enjoy the money until she
married. Then I was to hand it over, without accounting for what I
had spent. In this way Julian hoped to satisfy me for his old promise
to make me his heir, and of course I agreed."

"And you said nothing of the other twin?"

"No. Why should I? One brat on my hands was enough. Afterwards

Julian came home to Brighton and died. It was at Brighton that he
made his will, as you know. I came back from India with Mavis, and,
to cut off all association with those who knew her and Durham, I
exchanged into a West India regiment, and took her to Jamaica. I
sold out fifteen or sixteen years ago, and brought the child here,
after a tour in Italy. It was in Naples that I found Bellaria. She was a
singer, and had betrayed some man belonging to the Tána Society. I
don't know the exact story, but she was in danger of death, so I
took her by stealth to Devonshire and made her nurse to Mavis."

"And Geary?"

"He was my servant in Jamaica. In Devonshire, at Barnstaple, he

met with his wife, and, as I wanted someone to watch the Pixy's
House, I established him at the Devon Maid, making him a present
of the freehold."

Gerald rose. "And you paid for it out of Mavis' money?"

"Of course I did--only you mistake, the money doesn't belong to

Mavis until she is married."

"She will be married to me the moment that I can find her," said
Gerald grimly, stalking to the door.

"Wait a bit," called out Rebb, "if you marry her without promising me
the three thousand a year I shall prove the identity of Charity, and
she will get the lot. When she marries Tod Macandrew--he's in love
with her, you know--you will get left."

"You cannot take the money from Mavis. Her name is mentioned in
the will," said Gerald coolly, and tried the door, which was locked. "I
say, open this, confound you!"

Major Rebb flung the key across the room, and Haskins fitted it into
the lock. Before he could open the door Rebb continued: "Don't be a
fool in your own interests, Haskins. I shall swear that Charity is
Mavis, and your beloved will lose all."

"You can scarcely do that, in the face of the story you will have to
tell. Mrs. Pelham Odin and the juggler's wife and the ayah can prove
that Charity is the missing twin. And I daresay Mavis' baptismal
certificate can be found. Her name in the will makes her the
heiress."

"Then I'll tell about Charity and prove her identity," cried Rebb,
starting furiously to his feet, "and she will at least get half."

"I don't care if she does," retorted Gerald, flinging open the door.

"But you had better give the money to me, and then I'll be silent as
to Charity being Durham's daughter."

"No, Major. I don't care for your crooked ways. I'll find Mavis and
marry her. Probably she will be quite willing to halve the income with
her twin. Three thousand a year will be enough for her and for me.
Good-day, Major, find some other man who is willing to become such
a blackguard as you are."

Rebb caught the decanter and slung it across the room. It only
crashed against the closed door. And when Rebb ran forward to
pursue the man who flouted him he found the door locked on the
outside.
 CHAPTER XXIII.

TOD'S DISCOVERY.

On returning to the Silbury Hotel. Gerald sat down to think over the
important conversation with Rebb. To all appearances the master
was as innocent as the man. Nevertheless, according to the Major,
Geary had been to the Pixy's House on the fatal night, in spite of his
denial. On the face of it, the negro had no reason to kill Bellaria, and
Rebb had sworn that the murder was neither committed nor
prompted by him. If this were so, it appeared strange that Rebb
should have found Geary, not only in the grounds of the Pixy's
House, but in the mansion itself, when he arrived. Seeing that Geary
was thus first in the field, it was not improbable that he had caught
a glimpse of the assassin. Whether he had, and had told his master,
it was of course impossible to say. But Haskins determined to have
another interview with the landlord of the Devon Maid, and force
him to disclose the whole truth, which he assuredly had not told in
his wife's presence.

One important thing Gerald had learned from Rebb, and that was
the truth of his surmise regarding Charity. She was--as he had
always supposed--the twin sister of Mavis, and Haskins
congratulated himself on guessing this before Rebb had spoken out.
Still, it was just as well that rage had made the Major thus candid,
and the matter was put beyond all doubt. Haskins was pleased also
by the discovery, as, guided by him, Mavis would be quite willing to
divide the income, and then Lady Euphemia would not be angry at
Tod's runaway marriage. So far everything was right.
But the mystery of the crime had still to be solved. Until it was,
Mavis must continue, not only to be an outcast and a fugitive from
justice, but must remain unable to claim her rights as Julian
Durham's heiress. Apparently Geary and Rebb and Signor Venosta,
as an emissary of the Tána Society, were all innocent. If so, who was
the guilty person? Gerald wondered, if the letter to which Mavis had
referred could be found, as he firmly believed that it would afford a
clue to the identity of the criminal. In his own mind he constructed
the manner in which the crime had been committed. Bellaria had
received this mysterious letter, which for some reason overcame her
fears sufficiently to make her venture out at night. To meet the
writer of the letter she had opened the gates, and then had been
stabbed by her own knife--Geary's weapon--which had been wrested
from her in a hand-to-hand struggle. The wonder was that the
struggle had not attracted attention. As it was, Rebb swore that he
had heard only one scream, and that might have been uttered by
Mavis when she found the dead body of the nurse. Bellaria therefore
was in all probability slain unawares.

However, it was useless to build up theories, which were all

moonshine, so Gerald resolved to wait until Tod and Arnold arrived.
According to Macandrew's letter, they would come to Silbury early
the next day, so Gerald had a good many hours to himself. He had
half a mind to see Inspector Morgan, and learn all details concerning
the inquest, as some possible evidence might have been obtained,
likely to throw light on the darkness. But Haskins refrained from
doing so, as he did not wish to arouse Morgan's suspicions and
reopen the case. For Mavis' sake the quieter he moved in the matter
the better it would be. Gerald wondered, after hearing Rebb's
acknowledgment of Charity's birth, if he had any idea of the scheme
by which the girls had been made to change places. But, after
reflection, he decided that it was impossible, as Mrs. Pelham Odin
had managed very cleverly. Also Rebb was unaware that the twin he
had got rid of was now Mrs. Macandrew, and, since that young lady
was at Amsterdam, there would be no chance of her being met by
Mrs. Berch and her daughter, when in Switzerland.
Bearing in mind what Mrs. Crosbie had told him of her projected tour
abroad, Gerald was greatly surprised when he met the widow and
her mother driving up the Silbury High Street from the railway
station.

She saw him at once, as he stood thunderstruck on the pavement,

and beckoned for him to come to the side of the landau.

"You are surprised to see us here," she said, with a gay smile. "This
is not Switzerland, is it?"

"You said nothing about coming down here yesterday," he answered.

"No, because neither I nor my mother had any intention of coming.

It was this way, Gerald. Michael--Major Rebb, you know--came in
almost as soon as you had left, and we told him all that had taken
place."

"Why did you do that?" asked Haskins imperatively.

"Don't bully, Gerald," said Mrs. Crosbie tartly. "I told Michael because
I have no secrets from Michael, and he was very angry that you
should have spoken to me as you did."

"I was perfectly polite, permit me to remind you, Madge."

"Don't call me by my Christian name," she said as usual, "well then,

Michael went away to have an explanation with you, and later
telegraphed to me that you had gone to Devonshire and that he
intended to follow at once. He also asked us to come down that we
might see the Pixy's House, as we intend to repair it when we
marry."

"Do you indeed?" muttered Haskins ironically.

"Of course," said Mrs. Crosbie, with an airy flutter of her laces, "and
I may tell you, Gerald, that I came down the more willingly, since I
do not want you and Michael to quarrel. That is why we are here."

"To see the house, and to prevent a quarrel," said Gerald coolly. "I
am greatly obliged to you for the trouble you have taken, Mrs.
Crosbie, but I have already seen the Major."

Mrs. Berch, who had hitherto kept silence, looked up sharply. "Have
you had a quarrel?" she demanded eagerly.

"Yes and no. Rebb was slightly difficult to deal with, but we now
understand one another."

Mrs. Crosbie asked: "What about?"

"About various things," answered Haskins carelessly. He was

determined not to answer her questions, as he had a vague idea
that she was not so honestly his friend as she pretended to be.

"And you parted amiably, I hope?" said Mrs. Berch.

Haskins laughed as he remembered the parting, and how he had

locked Rebb in the room. "I think that the Major would gladly see
me tarred and feathered," he said lightly.

"There!" cried Mrs. Crosbie, with a childish pout. "I knew you had
quarreled, and I did so wish you to be friends. I want you to come
to the Pixy's House when I marry Michael and see the
improvements. I have already arranged what to do."

"Have you been down here before then?" asked Gerald, astonished.

"Yes--over two years ago. Michael asked me down when we were

first engaged. I saw that poor Bellaria, but not Mavis."

"Why did you not see Mavis?"

"Because Michael said her mental state was so sad, that she might
be dangerous. She was shut up on the day I went over the house,
and, as I was only there for an hour, she knew nothing of my visit. I
and mother were stopping in the neighborhood--it was when I was
learning to drive a motor, Gerald. I would have taken that poor girl
out for drives, as I got to know the country so thoroughly, but it was
too dangerous."

"Where did you stop?" asked Gerald, still lingering, although Mrs.
Berch seemed inclined to cut short her daughter's chatter.

"At a village miles away, called Belldown. Why do you start?"

"A mosquito stung me," answered Haskins readily: but his real
reason for starting was that Belldown happened to be the place
where Mr. Arnold and Tod were now stationed. "There are heaps of
mosquitoes here, Mrs. Crosbie. You will be stung."

"Ah, well, we are only here for a couple of days--at the Pixy's House,
that is. I merely want to look round, and now that the poor mad girl
has gone I can explore at my leisure. Good-day. I wish I could ask
you to come over, but Michael might object. So stupid of you to
quarrel with my future husband, when we are such friends."

She gave the signal to the driver of the landau to move on, and both
she and her mother bestowed friendly smiles on the young man, as
he took off his hat. Gerald watched the carriage climb up the long
street and vanish over the crest of the hill. Then he walked back
again to the hotel, wondering why Mrs. Crosbie was so anxious to
retain his friendship when she became Mrs. Rebb. He knew that
Madge was a flighty woman, although much cleverer than she
pretended to be, and was sure that she had some reason for all this
friendliness and chatter.

However, he had more important things to think about than Mrs.

Crosbie's airs and graces, and spent a wakeful night building up
theories and knocking them down again. By dawn he had arrived at
the conclusion that Geary was the criminal. "I expect," thought
Haskins, while taking his bath, "that Geary found his hold over Rebb
was getting lax, so he deliberately killed Bellaria, knowing that the
Major had gone to the Pixy's House, in the hope of getting blackmail
by threatening to throw the blame of the murder on his master. And
by the murder he secured to Rebb an income out of which large
sums could be paid. Yes. I really believe that Geary will prove to be
the guilty person. But how am I to fix the crime on him?"

This was a hard question to answer, and Gerald waited for the arrival
of Tod to put it to him, since two heads are better than one. The
solicitor arrived at midday, along with Arnold, having come from
Belldown--so they explained--by railway. Tod looked anxious, and
not so healthy as he had done in London, but Haskins put this down
to the man's unavoidable fretting after his bride. Arnold had not
changed in the least, and appeared to be as tiny and gnome-like as
ever. First and foremost the two men, being hungry, had dinner, and
then Gerald conducted them both to the hotel drawing-room--a
gorgeous apartment, which had been placed at his disposal by Mrs.
Jennings, for an extra pound on the bill. Having the apartment to
themselves, the three men saw that the door was closed, and then
sat down to talk. Gerald immediately asked the question which had
been trembling on his tongue from the moment he set eyes on his
friend.

"In the first place, Tod," he said impatiently, "what took you and
Arnold to Belldown?"

"That is a long story," said Tod leisurely.

"Then tell it as shortly as you can."

"One moment, let us do things in order. First let me know your

doings here, Jerry."

"But----" began Haskins with irritation.

Tod cut him short. "See here, Jerry," said he firmly. "I am supposed
to be your solicitor, and it is my place to conduct the business. I
want things done in order. First your story and then mine. Both will
be extremely interesting, I have no doubt."

Gerald stared. "Why should you think that I have anything to tell?"

"Well," observed Macandrew jocularly, "a little bird--Mrs. Jennings by

name--whispered to me that two London ladies had come down on a
visit to Major Rebb, who is camping--so to speak--at the Pixy's
House."

"Yes. Mrs. Crosbie and her mother. What of that?"

"I shall tell you when I have heard what you have to say about
them."

Arnold uttered a grunt and raked his long beard with lean fingers.
Haskins looked from one to the other quite mystified. "Has what you
have to say anything to do with those ladies?"

"A great deal to do with them, Jerry."

A light broke in on Haskins' clouded brain. "Mrs. Crosbie said that

she had stopped at Belldown--that is where you have been."

"Hum," said Tod, glancing at Arnold. "I didn't think she would have
admitted so much."

"Tod," Gerald caught his friend's arm, "don't worry me with your
hints and looks. Has Mrs. Crosbie anything to do with this crime?"

"I can't say," rejoined the solicitor stolidly, "and I shan't speak until
you tell me how you got along with Rebb."

Haskins threw himself back in his chair and made the best of a
Scotsman's obstinacy. "I have something very important indeed to
tell you," he said seriously. "You know the likeness between the
girls?"
Macandrew nodded. "I told Mr. Arnold here all about it, and about
your idea of the two beings twins."

"My idea has proved to be correct. They are twins."

Tod jumped up, scattering his papers, and with his red hair almost
standing on end. "Do you mean to say that Rebb----"

"Yes. Sit down. Toddy, and listen," said Gerald vigorously, and when
his legal adviser became quiet he related the whole of the
conversation with Rebb.

"Well I'm blessed," muttered Tod, rubbing his head, when the
narrative was ended, "what a wonderful thing! There is something in
your intuitions after all, Jerry."

"I don't think it needed much intuition to guess at a possible

relationship, seeing how marvelously alike Mavis is to Charity. The
wonderful part consists in my getting Rebb to give himself away."

"Ah," said Arnold significantly, "the military gentleman is beginning

to see that the wheel of fortune is turning the wrong way with him."

"And quite right too," said Tod meditatively. "What a scoundrel the
man is, to be sure! Well, Jerry, important as what you have told us
is, I am more interested in the movements of Mrs. Crosbie and her
mother. When you tell me about them I can explain what Mr. Arnold
and myself have discovered at Belldown."

"There is little to tell about them. Rebb came down after me, and
they came down after Rebb. He asked his future bride here to have
a second look at her future home."

"Oh, so she had been here before?"

"Yes--so she says--some time ago. This is her second visit."

"Her third, more like," muttered Arnold, in his beard.

"We can't be sure of that," said Tod rapidly.

"For Heaven's sake, tell me what you mean," cried Haskins, jumping
up in his turn, "my nerves are wearing thin with all this suspense."

"Well then," began Macandrew, shuffling with his papers, "it's this
way. Mr. Arnold here was going about the country in his caravan,
selling books, and reached Belldown on the same day that Mavis
fled."

"Mavis fled at night."

"Well, well," cried Macandrew testily, "you know what I mean. Arnold
was at Belldown on the day of the night when Mavis fled and the
murder was committed. Is that plain enough?"

"Yes. Go on, Toddy. Don't be a silly ass."

"I am your solicitor just now and not your pal," said Tod, with great
dignity; "well then, while wandering about Belldown, Arnold saw two
ladies in a motor car. One was driving and one was being driven."

"And they were----"

"Mrs. Berch and her daughter, whom we, Jerry, supposed to be at

Bognor. I never knew that Mrs. Crosbie could drive a motor."

"Oh yes. I taught her a trifle myself, and she is quite an expert at
the business. She mentioned to-day, when I stood by her carriage,
how she had motored over every inch of the country. But what was
she doing down hereabouts, when----"

"When she was supposed to be at Bognor? That is what I want to

ask her, and I am glad that she is on the spot."
Gerald thought for a few moments. "How did you recognize these
ladies, Mr. Arnold?"

"Major Rebb once showed me a colored photograph of the lady to

whom he was engaged, and I recognized Mrs. Crosbie when she
passed in her motor. A severe-looking old lady in black was with her,
and Mr. Macandrew tells me that she is Mrs. Berch, the mother. I
may tell you that the two ladies wore motor goggles and veils."

"Then how did you recognize them?" asked Gerald again.

"Mrs. Crosbie's veil was up as they passed, and she pulled it down
when she saw that I was looking earnestly at her. The motor was
going very slowly at the moment because a hay wain was in front
blocking the road."

"I see. Well, what happened?"

"The motor went to the inn at Belldown. It was about six o'clock,
and the two ladies had dinner. They were at the inn when I left
Belldown in my caravan on the way to Leegarth where I hoped to
rescue Mavis."

"Yes! yes! yes!" cried Tod, impatient at the slow way in which Arnold
was speaking, "and late that night--about ten o'clock--he passed the
motor on the road between Belldown and Leegarth. It had broken
down, and Mrs. Crosbie was tinkering with the machine."

"I shouldn't think she could mend a broken motor, Tod."

"Oh, I don't expect anything very serious was the matter. Probably
her driving--she drives furiously, as a woman always does--had put
the gear out of order. However, Arnold passed them and camped
some distance outside Leegarth, so that the villagers, who knew his
face, would not recognize him. Then, some time after eleven, he
saw the motor coming along, also skirting the village. The two
women were in it, and he thought that they had lost their way. And
then again he fancied that Mrs. Crosbie was going to the Devon
Maid to see Rebb. At all events the motor passed out of sight in the
darkness. I may tell you that its lamps were not lighted, so Mrs.
Crosbie ran the risk of police interference. Rather foolish, I think,
seeing she did not want to be seen."

"Well! well," said Gerald, after a pause, "and what does all this
mean?"

"Arnold," went on Tod cautiously, "did not attach much importance

to this motor car business, but when he told me I fancied that Mrs.
Crosbie had to do with the murder."

"I don't see how----"

"I do. She didn't want to be recognized: she had no lamps, so that
she could slip along easily, and--as we learned at Belldown--she did
not return through the village. If she did not come down to murder
Bellaria, why was she in this neighborhood, and why did she lie to
you about Bognor?"

"It's a mare's nest you have found, Tod. Mrs. Crosbie has no motive
to murder Bellaria, and she certainly hasn't the nerve."

"I'll ask her myself," said Tod, rising. "Come on over to Leegarth."

CHAPTER XXIV.

THE SECOND MARRIAGE.

In his anxiety to prove his theory, Tod would then and there have
taken his friend and Arnold over to the Pixy's House. But Gerald,
more cool-headed than the impetuous Scotsman, pointed out that
he had not sufficient grounds upon which to accuse the widow.

"If you ask her to explain her movements on that night she will only
refuse to gratify your curiosity," said Haskins positively.

"The police could make her speak."

"The police could not arrest her without a warrant, and there is not,
to my mind, sufficient evidence to obtain a warrant. And certainly
the police cannot ask questions about anyone's private affairs until
some reason can be given to show why such questions should be
asked."

"Those ladies said that they were at Bognor, when they really
intended to come to Devonshire," observed Arnold, who seemed to
side entirely with Macandrew.

"It is a woman's privilege to change her mind, Mr. Arnold. And I ask
you, what possible motive could Mrs. Crosbie have had to journey all
the way to Devonshire to commit an unnecessary murder."

"Unnecessary?" snorted Tod, displeased. "Seeing that the murder is

ascribed to Mavis, who may thus be shut up, to provide Rebb with
an income, I cannot see that it is unnecessary."

"Ah, but Mrs. Crosbie did not know that the Major's income
depended upon the seclusion of Mavis," said Haskins rapidly. "I did
not tell her, as there was no reason why I should. And I am quite
certain that Rebb himself would not explain. If Mrs. Crosbie had
known that his income was so uncertain she would have refused to
marry him."

"Perhaps she will do so now," said Arnold hopefully.

"No! She has come down to see about the repairs to the Pixy's
House," answered Gerald, "and Rebb loves her too well to let her go.
I believe, Tod, that Geary is the man who committed the murder."

"It sounds plausible enough," grumbled Macandrew, "and a case

could easily be built up against him. But the presence of Mrs.
Crosbie on the spot has to be explained."

Gerald rose and walked up and down the room, thinking. "I tell you
what, Tod," he said abruptly. "I am getting tired of poking about in
the dark. I believe, as you do, and Arnold does, that Mavis is entirely
innocent. Hitherto we have kept her in hiding, so as to prove her
innocence, since she may be arrested if she is discovered. Well then,
I think it would be best to let her be arrested."

Both Arnold and Macandrew jumped up wrathfully! "What?" they

exclaimed, and Tod continued: "What is the use of Charity's sacrifice
if you intend to hand over Mavis to the law?"

"Tod," said Gerald seriously, "as things stand now, we are not able to
force either Geary or Mrs. Crosbie or Rebb to speak. If Mavis is put
on her trial they can be called as witnesses, and then the truth may
come out. Also Mavis can be examined by two doctors--I shall insist
upon that--when her sanity will certainly he proved beyond all doubt.
If she is proved to be sane, then Rebb will find himself in Queer
Street and will be hard put to it to prove his innocence."

"We could have done all this in the first case," said Arnold irritably.

"No," replied Haskins sharply, "for then we did not have the evidence
to hand that we have now. Rebb, Geary, and Mrs. Crosbie are all
implicated, and we may also be able to place Venosta in the witness-
box. But the proof that Mavis is responsible for her acts, and has
been shut up in the Pixy's House, while Rebb enjoyed her income,
will gain the sympathy of everyone, and will go far to show her
innocence. I shall support her throughout the case."
"She is Rebb's ward, and is under twenty-one," said Tod crossly; "so
the Major may not allow you to support her."

"I propose to take her out of the Major's keeping by making her my
wife forthwith," said Gerald coolly.

"But if you do, sir," cried Arnold, much upset, "Mavis will be arrested.
Indeed I doubt if you will find any clergyman who will marry her to
you, seeing that she is said to be a lunatic."

"That's all right," rejoined Haskins easily. "I have arranged that in my
own mind. There is an old college chum of my late father's who can
see both sides of the question, and I can trust him utterly. To-day I
am going to London to repeat your experience and get a special
license, Toddy. Our marriages are expensive matters, old boy, aren't
they?"

Tod grunted, and kicked the carpet. "When you are married, what do
you intend to do?"

"I shall bring my wife down here within three days, and we shall all
go over to the Pixy's House. Mrs. Crosbie will not have left by that
time, as, from the quantity of luggage she brought, I fancy she
intends to remain for a week or so. Then we can confront her and
Rebb, and, if possible, Tod, I wish you to bring Geary on the scene.
Thus all the actors in this tragedy of real life--as Mrs. Pelham Odin
would call it--will be together, and we can bring about the fall of the
curtain."

"With Mrs. Gerald Haskins in gaol," said Arnold gloomily. "Mavis will
be arrested on Rebb's information, at once."

"That is highly probable. But whether Mavis appears early or late she
will have to stand her trial, seeing that she is accused. Also she will
have to be examined as to her sanity. But in both these ordeals, I
intend to be beside her as her husband." There was a pause. "Well?"