her choice of the Calcutta route, and the inner nature of her
projected enterprise.

"A woman in her position, easy as to fortune, will stoop to none
of the arts of the blackmailer; she could choose a life of soft
luxury, for she is yet in the bloom of vigorous early womanhood.
To her the personality of Hugh Fraser is surely nothing. There
are but two objects of attack--his proposed social elevation, the
nattering title, and the peace of mind and future of the daughter,
this lovely veiled Rose! Love, a natural love, even for the stranger
child, would ward away the blow; but only an unslaked vengeance
would point the shaft! The reproduction of her sister's face seemed
to touch her to her very bosom's core. There is some fixed purpose
in this cold-hearted woman's coming! Not a lingering annoyance, but
some coup de main, a bolt to be launched at Hugh Johnstone alone!"

"I do not know how I can break her lines, unless she shows me
some weak point," he mused. "But either her fortune or Johnstone's
shall yield me a heavy passing toll. And, there is always the girl!
There, I would have to meet Berthe Louison as a determined enemy!"
In recognizing the fact that his employer must make the game at
last, that she must lead out and so uncover herself, he saw his
own masterly position between the two prospective foes.

"I can play them off the one against each other, at the right time,
and, if they fight each other, with the help of Justine Delande,
I may even make a strong running for the girl. I think I now see
a way!" He felt that his wandering days were over. The dark days
of carking cares, of harassing duns, of frequent changes of base,
driven onward by the rolling ball of gossip and innuendo.