'Are the doors all locked ?'

'Yes, they're all fastened; but they'll break them in. O, speak to them, Mr. Richard; speak to them, and tell them it's not my fault!'

'You'd better get Mr. Bruff to speak to them,' I said coldly. 'They're worse against him than me. O, they'll kill us both!' A tremendous hoot or roar, and a thundering noise against the back and front doors, a shower of pebbles against the windows. Hannah flung herself on her knees, and wrung her hands.

'I'll speak to them,' I said, after a moment's thought, and went up-stairs, and opening one of the first-floor windows, put my head out and shouted Halloo!'

There was a

It was not so dark outside as within the house. full moon; and though the moon itself was not visible, it shed a strange diffused light over the scene. A man who seemed to be a ringleader among them held up his hands, when he saw my head at the open window, as a signal for silence; a silence that was pretty well kept by the men, although the voices of the women still ran on in a shrill treble.

'What do you want,' I shouted, 'attacking a quiet house like this?'

'Are you Master Hargrave?' said the speaker.

'Yes, I am.'

'We don't mean any harm to ye. We want Bruff and the

woman Hannah.'

There was a general chorus of approbation at this announcement.
'Look here,' I cried, as soon as the roar had died away.
'Well, master ?'

'You may do what you like with the man, but you sha'n't have the woman.'

The man turned round as if to take the opinion of the crowd. The women's voices were raised in loud and shrill dissent. Bring her out!' they cried; bring her out!' And I heard a voice, too,

above them all-a determined female voice- We'll fettle her.' 'You hear, master ?' said the spokesman. We mun have 'em both.'

I shook my head, shut the window, and returned to where Hannah was still kneeling, crying and shivering.

You hear what they say. What more can I do, Hannah ?' 'O, save me, Richard! save me!' she cried; they will kill me.' 'I don't think they'll harm you much; they'll give you a duck-. ing, and there'll be an end of it.'

'O, but it isn't fit for me; it will kill me indeed, Master Richard;' and she whispered something into my ear.

'The deuce!' I said, under my breath; well, I must do what

The horse is in the stable, Bruff's horse and trap?' 'Yes, sir; and the lad's there too.'

The stable and coach-house, and a paved yard in front, were enclosed by high walls with chevaux-de-frise on the top of them, and wide folding-gates opened into the street. A side door led from the house into the stable-yard, from which there was no exit save by the gates. These gates were guarded by the crowd, but they had not possessed themselves of the stable-yard, which indeed was sufficiently defended by its walls and the chevaux-defrise.

I walked out into the stable, roused the lad, who was quietly sleeping in the straw through all this turmoil, and bade him put the horse into the dog-cart. It was a fine spirited animal—a black horse-the property of Mr. Bruff. Too good a horse, you would have said, for a small country lawyer; but Bruff did a little horsedealing as well as will-making, and always kept a good one.

I told Hannah to put her cloak and bonnet on, and then went to the cellar-stairs and called to Bruff; but he had hidden himself, and would not answer a word. There was no time to be lost, as the factory lads had scrambled up to the upper windows, had found one unfastened, and were dropping in one by one. I drew Hannah into the yard where the horse and dog-cart were standing, the horse rearing and plunging, and half mad with excitement and eagerness. I pushed Hannah into the dog-cart, jumped up at the other side, seized the reins, and bade the boy throw open wide the gates.

We were greeted with a roar of astonishment and defiance from the crowd, and the horse, frightened by the unaccustomed sight and sound, turned away from the gate, and bade fair to wreck the dog-cart against the stable-wall. But I gave him a couple of lashes across his flanks that sent him madly forward; the crowd shrank away, and involuntarily opened a path for us to pass. Some one-a woman-made a wild snatch at the horse's head, but she fell, and the wheels passed over her. In another moment we were speeding along the Slapton road.

I was obliged to trust to the instinct of the horse, for I could not see a yard before me, and feared every moment that we might dash against some obstacle in our wild career, and be left helpless on the road, at the mercy of the pursuing mob, who were howling fiercely in our rear. We dashed on, however, without accident, and presently the cries of the populace sounded faint and fainter in the distance.

I drove on, without saying a word, mile after mile, till the lamps of Slapton appeared, twinkling in the distance.

'You'll go to Bruff's, I suppose ?' I said, looking down at my travelling companion. She nodded acquiescence, and I said no more to her until we stopped at Bruff's house, a long low building with offices at one end, the entrance to which latter was by an outside stair. Hannah got out at the door, and I drove the horse into the stable-yard. There was no one there to receive the horse, and I took it out of the shafts, and put it into the stable. There was a light in the office, and I thought that I had better tell Bruff's clerk to look after the horse.

Perhaps I ought to have given the alarm about the riot to the police at Slapton; but I thought that it was no business of mine. They might wreck the house and duck Mr. Bruff as much as they pleased; neither would affect me. I felt that I had been robbed and cajoled by the fellow, and the thought of his possible misfortunes was pleasant to me.

I had wrapped myself up, as we came along, in a great blue cloak that I had found in the dog-cart; and as the night was cold, and I had a cough upon me, I gathered its folds closely about my throat as I went up-stairs. An elderly clerk in spectacles was sitting in the outer office, busily writing, his nose close to his paper. To my surprise, as I entered the door, he sprang to his feet, and went to open an inner door that led into another office. Here he briskly stirred the fire into a blaze, lit the gas, placed a chair at the writing-table, and held the door of the room whilst I entered, smiling a bland unmeaning smile. Evidently the man was purblind, and took me for his master.

At once the impulse seized me to take advantage of his mistake. I walked into the inner office, seated myself at the writing-table. If there were any hidden conspiracy to defraud me of my father's property, here was my one chance of detecting it. Dismissing all scruples of conscience, I set resolutely to work to search all the drawers and receptacles that were unlocked. All without result. There were no papers with the name of Hargrave on them. Indeed, it was hardly likely that Bruff would have left any written. evidence of his guilt, if guilty he were. There was this one chance, however. Bruff was not a methodical man clearly in the matter of letters. Evidently he carried them about in his pockets, and when his pockets were full, he emptied them upon the mantelshelf; for that was crammed with letters creased and soiled and worn at the edges, and huddled up into all sorts of folds.

Rapidly I examined these letters one by one. At last I was rewarded here was a letter in my father's handwriting—a letter dated about a year ago, and with reference to a will then preparing. But, alas, it contained only instructions in complete accordance

with the will produced at the funeral, and it was written in terms so clear and vigorous, that there could be no doubt that he was in full possession of his faculties. I desire,' he said, at the conclusion, that my son should suffer for his neglect and insolence to the very end of his days.'

I turned away with a groan of weariness and disappointment. To complete my confusion, I beheld Mr. Bruff there watching me, his face pale and menacing.

'What!' he cried; 'I have come back just in time to stop thee. Here, Mr. Inspector, come in here; here's the ringleader of them all robbing my office.'

To explain Mr. Bruff's appearance it is necessary to revert to the scene of the riot at Halton. It seemed that after I had driven away, the crowd, believing that those of whom they were in search had escaped, suddenly dispersed, leaving one of their number -a woman, who had been most active in the riot-lying on the ground with a broken leg.

The local police, who now ventured to appear, had taken possession of this woman, and Mr. Bruff had put himself under their protection. With a view to the safe custody of the riotous female, as well as to place Mr. Bruff in safety, a vehicle had been driven over to Slapton, containing the police inspector, Bruff himself, and the woman, who was no other than my old friend Sarah, whom I had unwittingly injured by driving over her.

There's no doubt,' said Mr. Inspector, looking gravely at me. and shaking his head, 'that it's a very suspicious case. You were seen in conference with this woman, sir; the riot seems to have been got up in your interests; you take advantage of it to get away, and ransack Mr. Bruff's office. Really, sir, if Mr. Bruff insists

'I do insist!' shouted Mr. Bruff. Take him into custody, Mr. Inspector.'

'You insist!' cried a high-pitched female voice, and Hannah appeared in the doorway, pale with suppressed passion. 'You cowardly rascal! you'd leave me to be torn to pieces. Yes, glad enough you'd have been-after insuring my life, you wretch !—and that young hussey down-stairs! O, you villain !'

Hannah made a desperate dart at her husband-for such he was —who clung to the inspector for protection.

Baffled of her spring, Hannah turned to me. 'Ah, Master Dick,' she cried, 'you're worth a dozen of such scoundrels. I'll right you though, my boy. Here,' she said, drawing a paper from her pocket- here's the true will your father made just before he died, written with his own hands, and testified by me and Bridget.' Bruff made a snatch at the paper, but I was too quick for him, and already had the document in my possession. Bruff gnashed his teeth in rage and terror.

'Well, you fiend,'

he cried, addressing Hannah, 'it was you who tempted me to do it; you who drew me on to marry you; you who turned the old man's mind against his son with your false tales; you who got him to make his will; you who brought me over when the young man had come back, and his father's heart had softened to him, and set me to watch for his death, that we might steal the new will from the box.'

It

Here the police inspector put an end to farther confidences. seems to me that there's a pair of you,' he cried; but it isn't my place to listen to you. I sha'n't take your charge against this young gent; but if he asks me to take you into custody for purloining his father's will, I'll do it.'

At this Bruff broke down at once; he threw himself on his knees before me, and begged of me to forgive him, promising that he would make amends in every way; but I refused to listen to his prayers, and he was removed in custody. Indeed, I knew that if he had been left alone with Hannah, there would have been murder done that night.

Then I made my way with the precious paper to the house of Polkhorn, the other lawyer, my father's old friend. To him I quickly explained the circumstances, and showed the paper Hannah had given me. It was a short will, dated on the day before Hannah had come to Slapton to fetch Mr. Bruff. It revoked all former wills, and left all his property unreservedly to me, his son.

It's as right as ninepence,' said Mr. Polkhorn, grasping me by the hand; and even if there were any informality in the willand it's a dangerous practice to make wills without a lawyer-but, if it were informal, the revocation is complete. It nullifies all former wills; and as you're the heir, you're right, any way.'

The

Mr. Bruff was prosecuted and convicted for stealing my father's will, the circumstantial evidence being too strong to break down, although we were precluded from calling Hannah, a wife's evidence being invalid. It appeared that Mr. Bruff and Hannah had obtained complete ascendency over my father, and had persuaded him to make the will that had been propounded after his death. clause which my father had insisted upon, making void the bequest in case of Hannah marrying after his decease, they had eluded by a secret marriage during his life. Mr. Bruff had succeeded also in insuring the life of his wife for five thousand pounds to secure his interest in her annuity. My return and reconciliation with my father had upset all their plans, and the making of the new will had driven ther to desperation. My father was too much afraid of his housekeeper to openly defy her, and he had written his will with his own hands, and had called Hannah and Bridget (the housemaid) to witness his signature, without telling her of the real nature of the document. But Hannah had detected his purpose, and had