'You are now on your own responsibility, my friend,' said Vandeloup
to Pierre, as he stood at the window of the carriage; 'for we must
part, though long together have we been. Perhaps I will see you in
Melbourne; if I do you will find I have not forgotten the past,'
and, with a significant look at the dumb man, Vandeloup lounged
slowly away.
The whistle blew shrilly, the last goodbyes were spoken, the guard
shouted 'All aboard for Melbourne,' and shut all the doors, then,
with another shriek and puff of white steam, the train, like a long,
lithe serpent, glided into the rain and darkness with its human
freight.
'At last I have rid myself of this dead weight,' said Vandeloup, as
he drove along the wet streets to Craig's Hotel, where he intended
to stay for the night, 'and can now shape my own fortune. Pierre is
gone, Bebe will follow, and now I must look after myself.'
CHAPTER XVIII
M. VANDELOUP IS UNJUSTLY SUSPECTED
'It never rains but it pours' is an excellent proverb, and a very
true one, for it is remarkable how events of a similar nature follow
closely on one another's heels when the first that happened has set
the ball a-rolling. Madame Midas believed to a certain extent in
this, and she half expected that when Pierre went he would be
followed by M. Vandeloup, but she certainly did not think that the
disappearance of her husband would be followed by that of Kitty
Marchurst.
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