Calvert remained behind to attend to the wounded man, but Tracey, whose blood was up because of the stratagem of which he had been the victim, dashed after Jasher, revolver in hand. He plunged into the cold mist, running wildly. His foot caught in the stump of a tree, and he fell at full length. In the blinding fog it was useless to attempt pursuit, but Jasher, without coat and hat, could not run far without being questioned by a policeman. The recent crime in Troy had made the police wary, and Jasher would certainly be detained. With this idea, Tracey rose and limped back to the house.
Meanwhile Jasher, who knew the ground well, turned to the left and ran across the meadow. He slipped his weapon into his pocket, and raced hard through the mist. By chance he came against the fence at the back of the manor-house, and saw above the yellow light of Mrs. Baldwin's bedroom. Jasher knew that she slept there, as for reasons of his own he had made himself acquainted with all that went on in the house. He had heard that his wife was rich because of the rise of land, and had intended to come back with an apology for having taken the diamond necklace. But the chance offered by the murder of Mrs. Brand to get a large sum of money out of Bocaros proved too tempting, and thus Jasher had remained away. Now that he was a fugitive and with--so far as he knew--Calvert and Tracey on his track, he thought he would take refuge with the wife he had treated so badly. He also knew that without hat and coat he would be stopped by the police, and when he dashed out of the professor's house it was his intention to make for the abode of his wife.
After listening intently and hearing nothing but the steady rain, Jasher, cursing his bad luck, climbed over the fence. He walked up the lawn and mounted the terrace which ran before the windows of Mrs. Baldwin's bedroom. At the middle window he knocked softly. He heard a cry within, and applying his eyes to a hole in the blind, he saw that his wife was alone, reading in bed. She had half-started up, and had her hand under the pillow.
"Who is there?" asked Mrs. Baldwin sharply.
"Maria. It's me--Rufus. Let me in. I am in danger!"
"Never! Never! Go away, or I'll alarm the house."
"Jasher pleaded, and swore, and did all he knew to make her alter her decision. But she would not. He was drenched by the rain, shivering, and hatless. The bloodhounds were on his track. He lost his head, and with a furious oath dashed his whole weight against the window. The frail structure broke inward, and, half blinded, he burst through the curtain. As in a dream he saw his wife wild with terror start from the bed. She raised her hand, and the next moment there came a stunning report. With a yell Jasher threw up his hands and fell. Mrs. Baldwin's shrieks aroused her daughter, the children, and the servants. They rushed into the room, and found the dead man and the frantic woman.
"A burglar--a burglar cried Mrs. Baldwin. I've killed him." Then she threw up her hands wildly. "Out of my life at last--out of my life!"
The next moment she was lying senseless by the side of the husband she had shot.