"But how come you into this matter, Miss Burnet?" asked Holmes.
"How can an English lady join in such a murderous affair?"
"I join in it because there is no other way in the world by which
justice can be gained. What does the law of England care for the
rivers of blood shed years ago in San Pedro, or for the shipload
of treasure which this man has stolen? To you they are like
crimes committed in some other planet. But WE know. We have
learned the truth in sorrow and in suffering. To us there is no
fiend in hell like Juan Murillo, and no peace in life while his
victims still cry for vengeance."
"No doubt," said Holmes, "he was as you say. I have heard that he
was atrocious. But how are you affected?"
"I will tell you it all. This villain's policy was to murder, on
one pretext or another, every man who showed such promise that he
might in time come to be a dangerous rival. My husband--yes, my
real name is Signora Victor Durando--was the San Pedro minister
in London. He met me and married me there. A nobler man never
lived upon earth. Unhappily, Murillo heard of his excellence,
recalled him on some pretext, and had him shot. With a
premonition of his fate he had refused to take me with him.
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