The Black Moth

"Miss Betty, you are marvellously good. I vow I can never thank--"

"Bless the boy! And what about yourself, pray? I shudder to think ofwhat might have happened to Di if you had not come up! 'Tis we can neverthank you enough."

Jack reddened boyishly and uncomfortably.

"Indeed, you exaggerate--"

"Tut, tut! Well, go to sleep, and never worry about anything till Ireturn. And you won't try and get up?"

He shook with laughter.

"I swear I will not! Even an you never return, I will lie here, wastingaway--" But he spoke to sp

ace, for with a delighted laugh she had leftthe room.

It was not until late that afternoon that O'Hara arrived, and he wasconducted, after a brief conversation with Diana and her father, to mylord's room, where Miss Betty received him with her cheery smile andjerky curtsey.

"You'll not excite Mr. Carr?" she said, but was interrupted by my lord'svoice from within, weak but very gay.

"Come in, Miles, and never listen to Miss Betty! She is a tyrant anddenies me my wig!"

O'Hara laughed in answer to Miss Betty's quizzical smile, and strodeover to the bed. He gripped my lord's thin hand and frowned down at himwith an assumption of anger.

"Young good-for-nought! Could ye find nought better to do than to smashyourself up and well-nigh drive your man crazy with fright?"

"Oh, pshaw! Did you find Jim?"

O'Hara looked round and saw that Miss Betty had discreetly vanished. Hesat gingerly down on the edge of the bed.

"Ay. I took the mare over as soon as I had your letter--and a fine scareyou gave me, Jack, I can tell you! She recognised him, and I accostedhim."

"I'll swear you did not get much satisfaction from Jim!" said my lord."Did he look very foolish?"

"To tell ye the truth, I thought the man was half daft, and wonderedwhether I'd been after making a mistake. But in the end I got him tobelieve what I was trying to tell him, and he has taken the mare, andwill bring your baggage along this evening. By the way, John, I told himof our little meeting, and of your pistols being unloaded. He said 'twashis fault, and ye never saw aught to touch his face! Put out was not theword for it."

"I suppose so. Look here, Miles, this is a damned funny affair!"

"What happened to you exactly?"

"'Tis what I am about to tell you. After I had left you, I rode on quitequietly for about an hour, and then came upon Miss Beauleigh's coachstopped by three blackguards who were trying to drag her to anothercoach belonging to the gentleman who conducted the affair. So, ofcourse, I dismounted, and went to see what was to be done."

"You _would_ be after poking your nose into what didn't concern ye. Fourmen, and ye had the audacity to tackle them all? 'Tis mad ye areentirely!"

"Of course, if you had been in my place you would have ridden off inanother direction--or aided the scoundrels?" was the scathing reply.

O'Hara chuckled.

"Well, go on, Jack. I'm not saying I don't wish I had been with ye."

"'Twould have been superb. I suppose Miss Beauleigh has told you most ofthe tale, but there is one thing that she could not have told you, forshe did not know it: the man I fought with was Belmanoir."

"Thunder and turf! Not the Duke?"

"Yes. Tracy."

"Zounds! Did he know ye?"

"I cannot be certain. I was masked, of course, but he said he thought hedid. 'Twas at that moment he fired his pistol at me."