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42 simply continue to act as an assistant to a selfish and unscrupulous blackguard who evidently did not intend that I should get out of his clutches, or I had—the word must be faced, Laurence—to murder him!

My transient infatuation for Ella had long ago disappeared, and the death of her father would be no great loss to her.

Yes, I decided to do it. It was the only way!

So I took a stroll in the sunshine and thought out my method of procedure. I should have no difficulty in getting a cultivation of the diplococcus. There were several in my friend's laboratory, and I had the free run of that. But I must make an opportunity to inoculate the respirator.

I started next day by calling on Featherson at his hotel.

"I am sorry," I said, with an appearance of contrition, "that I so foolishly lost my temper yesterday. I hope you'll shake hands over it all, and we can then be friends once more."

"Jolly glad to do so, my boy," said the old reprobate with the hearty laugh which he could produce at will; "I feel certain that we thieves cannot afford to fall out. Now