"A deed's to be done. There is sin in the doing.

Oh, see how the mother her child is pursuing!

She smites¹ him unknowing. Oh, mother, blind mother,

Thy son thou hast slain--not the son of another!

The deed thou hast done bodes² a life-time of rueing;

Thy son thou hast slaughtered³, as Cain did his brother!"

 

 

It was on Friday morning that Mrs. Belk had her fatal interview with Maxwell--fatal indeed to her son, to benefit whom that same interview had been sought for. Had she not been of such a secretive disposition⁴ she would have told Samson of the finding of the jewel and how she intended to obtain money thereon as a clue to the assassin of Sir Rupert, in which case he would doubtless have prevented her doing so.

 

Anxious, however, to surprise Samson with a piece of good news, she had refrained from taking him into her confidence, and thus inadvertently placed him in a situation of extreme peril⁵. Ignorant of this, however, she left Maxwell with the fifty pounds in her purse and joy in her heart, thinking she could now give her son a chance of making money by his physical strength. Determined⁶ to see for herself what rivals he would have in the event of his entering the arena⁷ as "a strong man," on Friday night she went to Totahoop's Music Hall, where "The New Milo" was exhibiting his world renowned⁸ feats⁹ of strength. After witnessing his performance, she was satisfied that her son had nothing to fear in the way of comparison, and on Saturday night went to a rival variety entertainment to see "The Modern Hercules." This gentleman, in Mrs. Belk's opinion proved equally disappointing; so the next day, which was Sunday, she departed for Deswarth with the full conviction that her son, aided by the fifty pounds obtained from Maxwell, would only have to appear before a London audience to easily distance both the Milo and the Hercules.

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