"Quite dead. God punished him. Do listen, my own. Waterloo fought, not only for his life but for the necklace. But Ruck, as you know, is a big man of great strength. He dragged him along the passage and strove to strangle him. Waterloo tried to use his knife, but could not do so at first. Then Ruck secured the necklace, and Waterloo made a violent effort to strike. To escape the wound, Ruck threw him as far as he could along the passage. Waterloo struck against the brickwork, and tried to rise. But the passage as you know, Beatrice, was in bad repair; the blow loosened the earth overhead where it was not bricked in, and a mass of earth fell which buried Waterloo under it. Then Ruck, seeing that the villain was punished, entered the counting-house and found you insensible. He did not wait to revive you, as he knew that the police were on his track; he simply left on the desk the certificate of his marriage with Maud Orchard, and bolted."
"Where has he gone?"
"I can't tell you that. But he vanished, and his wife Maud has vanished also. They managed to get a boat at Brighton, and rowed out at night to a passing tramp. It seems that the captain was in the pay of the Black Patch Gang to take the stolen goods abroad. However, the steamer was waiting off-shore, and Ruck escaped with his wife and the necklace in that way. Nothing has been heard of him up to date, and I don't expect anything ever will be heard of the two. Maud is clever, and so is her rightful husband, so I expect, now that they have money, they will live in some tropical clime in the odour of sanctity. At all events, my darling, they have passed out of our lives."
"Thank God for that!" said Beatrice fervently. "And Waterloo?"
"Durban came back and tried to revive you. I returned with the constable, and saw that something terrible had taken place. While Durban and Dinah took you back to Convent Grange, I and the constable searched. We went down the secret passage, as we found the trap in the counting-house open. We heard groans, and got some men to dig Waterloo out. He was taken to the Brighton Hospital, and Inspector Jones--who had to do with the inquest, you remember?--was sent for. Waterloo made a full confession."
"About Alpenny's murder?"
"Yes, and about the doings of the Black Patch Gang. You were right, my dear. Waterloo was the member Ruck called the executioner, and I will not shock your feelings by telling you how many people the wretch murdered. But he killed Alpenny almost in the way he accused me of killing him. That is, he went back to The Camp and there met Ruck. They entered through the large gates, and Alpenny, dressed for his flight, came out. He cried for mercy, but Waterloo cut his throat."
Beatrice shivered. "Don't tell me any more."
"Only this, darling--that Waterloo gave Ruck my handkerchief, and he placed it near the body to incriminate me. Ruck walked to Brighton after making an ineffectual search for the necklace--which was the real reason for the crime; and Waterloo escaped by the secret passage and loafed up to London as a tramp."
"And Durban?"