Octavius turned on his heel without another word, and left the room. In the passage he met Mrs. Binter, hovering round in the hope of supper being ordered. She at once took Fanks in charge, and conducting him to the door, released him from prison with manifest reluctance.
Meanwhile Monsieur Judas, left alone, was leaning against the mantelpiece with a smile on his evil face.
"Eh! Monsieur Axton," he said to himself, in a whisper, "you gave me the insult. To-night I have paid the debt—in part! Wait, Monsieur Axton; wait, Meess Var-rlins; I hold you both. It is I, Jules Guinaud, that can strike—when I wish."
Extracts From A Detective's Note-Book
"I don't believe second thoughts are best. I always go by first impressions . . . My first impressions of Judas—I give him his nickname—are bad . . . He's a slimy scoundrel, very difficult to deal with . . . In our interview of to-night I had to tell him more than I cared he should know . . . But it was my only chance of finding out anything . . . What I did find out looks very bad for Roger Axton . . . He was at Ironfields, in spite of his denial . . . He stayed at Binter's boarding-house, and knew Melstane intimately . . . I learn from Judas that they quarrelled bitterly . . . This is very bad . . . Roger left Ironfields in a rage against Melstane . . . When next seen he is down at Jarlchester in the same house as Melstane . . . He has a grudge against Melstane, and while he is under the same roof Melstane dies . . . God forgive me if I should be suspecting my old schoolfellow wrongfully, but things look very suspicious against him . . . Another thing I learned from Judas, viz., that Miss Varlins corresponded with Roger at Jarlchester.
"Query! Can she know anything about the death?
"I have written to Axton, asking him to come down here and see me . . . If he refuses, I'm afraid my suspicions will be confirmed . . . I wish I could disbelieve Judas . . . He looks a secretive scoundrel . . . and yet his story against Roger is confirmed by my own experience . . . I think—no, I dare not think . . . I will wait to hear the other side of the story from Axton . . ."
[Chapter 7]
An Unwilling Bride
Francis Marson was one of the most prominent men in Ironfields, owing to his immense wealth, his clear head, and his personal attributes. His father, a keen man of business, had been born and bred in the little village from which Ironfields had sprung, and when the discovery of iron in the vicinity had laid the foundations of the present world-renowned town, Francis Marson the elder had been one of the first to profit by the discovery. He watched his opportunity, bought land (with borrowed money) on which he believed rich veins of iron ore might be found, and when they were found, built a foundry, turned over the money, paid back what he had borrowed, and was soon on the high road to fortune. When firmly established he sent his only son to college, and then took him into the business, which henceforward was known as that of Marson & Son. In the fulness of time he was gathered to his fathers, and Francis Marson the younger stepped into the enjoyment of unlimited wealth.