and no doubt, when they understood each other's lawless point of
view, both felt they must join forces. A tolerable bad dame, I'm
afraid, Mark; but she knew how to love all right; and nobody doubts
that bad women can love as well as good ones--often a great deal
better.

"They settle down and the supposed death of Michael Pendean blows
over. Jenny plays widow but spends as much time as she wants in her
husband's arms all the same; and together they plan to put out poor
Ben. He'd never seen Pendean, of course, which made the Doria
swindle possible. And a great point--that only Michael himself can
clear--is the intended order of his murders. That puzzled me a bit,
because before Robert Redmayne appeared at Princetown and the
reconciliation between him and his niece and her husband was
affected, he must already have got the appointment of motor boatman
to Bendigo and known that he was going there presently under a false
name and character. I incline to think that he meant to begin with
the old sailor and that, when Robert turned up unexpectedly on
Dartmoor, he altered his plans. That accident opened the way to his
first performance if I'm not wrong; but he'll throw light on that
assumption later and show what really did pass through his mind.

"Now we come to the preliminary steps at 'Crow's Nest' which ended
in the death of the second brother. What plan was to be taken we
cannot be sure, but your second visit to Dartmouth--a surprise
visit, remember--quickened it. You offered just the starting point;
and before you left on that rough, moonlight night, Pendean had
recreated the forgery of Robert Redmayne and appeared before you in
that character. And not content with this, he kept the part going
for all it was worth. As Robert Redmayne, he broke into Strete Farm