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 Forsyth’s sharp exclamation had the effect of rousing Azimoolah’s captive from his swoon. The man raised himself on his elbow, and, grasping the situation, remained quietly watchful.

“And now, your Grace, before another word is said, let me shake you by the hand right here, and thank you for all the patient courage you have shown and all the danger you have incurred to baffle as waspish a gang as ever hailed from my side of the ditch,” said the Senator, suiting the action to the word, greatly to the embarrassment of the Duke, and provoking a scornful laugh from the fantastic figure in male attire.

“Why, he was one of us,” she sneered. “It was only when he found he had something to lose that he backed out.”

The Senator looked her up and down with a fine contempt.

“So much for a great reputation,” he said. “My good Lestrade, the warders who told me you were the cleverest woman in Sing-Sing must have made a grievous error, for a really clever criminal would never have been cornered by a brave man pretending to join the confederacy. The Duke has not tripped once all