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 Project Management

F01 Project Management 88433.indd 1 20/09/2021 15:36

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F01 Project Management 88433.indd 2 20/09/2021 15:36

 Project Management
Fifth Edition

Harvey Maylor
Neil Turner

Harlow, England • London • New York • Boston • San Francisco • Toronto • Sydney
Dubai • Singapore • Hong Kong • Tokyo • Seoul • Taipei • New Delhi
Cape Town • São Paulo • Mexico City • Madrid • Amsterdam • Munich • Paris • Milan

F01 Project Management 88433.indd 3 20/09/2021 15:36

 PEARSON EDUCATION LIMITED
KAO Two
KAO Park
Harlow CM17 9NA
United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0)1279 623623
Web: www.pearson.com/uk
_______________________________

First published in Great Britain in 1996 (print)

Second edition published 1999 (print)
Third edition published 2003 (print)
Third edition published 2003 with MS Project 2005 (print)
Fourth edition published 2010 (print)
Fifth edition published 2022 (print and electronic)

© Pearson Education Limited 1996, 1999, 2003, 2010 (print)

© Pearson Education Limited 2022 (print and electronic)

The rights of Harvey Maylor and Neil Turner to be identified as authors of this work have been asserted by them in accordance with the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

The print publication is protected by copyright. Prior to any prohibited reproduction, storage in a retrieval system, distribution or transmission
in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording or otherwise, permission should be obtained from the publisher or, where
applicable, a licence permitting restricted copying in the United Kingdom should be obtained from the Copyright Licensing Agency Ltd,
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All trademarks used herein are the property of their respective owners. The use of any trademark in this text does not vest in the author or
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Pearson Education is not responsible for the content of third-party internet sites.

ISBN: 978-1-292-08843-3 (print)

978-1-292-08847-1 (PDF)
978-1-292-08844-0 (ePub)

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

A catalogue record for the print edition is available from the British Library

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Maylor, Harvey, author. | Turner, Neil, 1970- author.
Title: Project management / Harvey Maylor, Neil Turner.
Description: Fifth edition. | Harlow, England ; New York : Pearson, 2022. |
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2021033340 (print) | LCCN 2021033341 (ebook) | ISBN
9781292088433 (paperback) | ISBN 9781292088471 (ebook) | ISBN
9781292088440 (epub)
Subjects: LCSH: Project management.
Classification: LCC HD69.P75 .M3796 2022 (print) | LCC HD69.P75 (ebook) |
DDC 658.4/04—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021033340
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021033341

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
26 25 24 23 22

Front cover image: wellsie82/Moment Open/Getty Images

Cover designed by Kelly Miller
Print edition typeset in 9.5/12.5pt Charter ITC Pro by Straive
Printed in Slovakia by Neografia

NOTE THAT ANY PAGE CROSS REFERENCES REFER TO THE PRINT EDITION

F01 Project Management 88433.indd 4 20/09/2021 15:36

 Brief contents

List of figures and tables xiii

Guided tour xviii
Preface xx
Acknowledgements xxi

Making sense of the project context 1

1 Introduction 2
2 Structures and frameworks 25
3 Projects and organisations 57

Managing the project process: the 4-D model 83

D1: Define it 83

4 Setting up for success 84

5 Planning for success 109

D2: Design it 143

6 Time planning and scheduling 144

7 Making time planning robust: Advanced Project Thinking (APT) 170
8 Building a business case for a project 195
9 Engaging stakeholders 222
10 Managing risks and opportunities 243

D3: Do it 269

11 Organising people in the project 270

12 Leading people in projects 295
13 Monitoring and controlling the project 317
14 Procuring, contracting, and working with supply chains 343
15 Problem-solving and decision-making 369

D4: Develop it 393

16 Completing projects and learning to improve 394

Index 430
Publisher’s acknowledgements 444

F01 Project Management 88433.indd 5 20/09/2021 15:36

F01 Project Management 88433.indd 6 20/09/2021 15:36
 Contents

List of figures and tables xiii

Guided tour xviii
Preface xx
Acknowledgements xxi

Making sense of the project context 1

1 Introduction 2
Introduction 3
1.1 Basic definitions 4
1.2 Importance of successful project management to an organisation
and to you 10
1.3 Project management past and present 14
Summary 19
Key terms 20
Project management in practice: Four managers with distinctly different roles 20
Topics for discussion 22
Further information 22
References 23

2 Structures and frameworks 25

Introduction 26
2.1 Describing the project context: high-level frameworks 27
2.2 Describing the project process: activity models 31
2.3 Describing the project management challenge: managerial complexity 42
Summary 46
Key terms 46
Relevant areas of the Bodies of Knowledge 46
Project management in practice: The rescue of Crossrail 50
Project management in practice: Using the 7-S approach in the review
of a real project 50
Topics for discussion 54
Further information 55
References 56

3 Projects and organisations 57

Introduction 58
3.1 Organisational strategy and projects 59

F01 Project Management 88433.indd 7 20/09/2021 15:36

 viii Contents

3.2 Portfolios and programmes 64

3.3 Project roles and governance 70
Summary 75
Key terms 76
Relevant areas of the Bodies of Knowledge 76
Project management in practice: The Airbus A380 development 76
Project management in practice: Selecting a personal project 79
Topics for discussion 80
Further information 80
References 81

Managing the project process: the 4-D model

D1: Define it 83

4 Setting up for success 84

Introduction 85
4.1 Stakeholders: success and failure 86
4.2 Managing strategic choices 95
4.3 Benefits analysis, value and justification 100
Summary 102
Key terms 103
Relevant areas of the Bodies of Knowledge 103
Project management in practice: Managing stakeholders at European
transport infrastructure provider 104
Project management in practice: A new campus for the University
of Rummidge (with apologies to David Lodge) 105
Topics for discussion 107
Further information 107
References 108

5 Planning for success 109

Introduction 110
5.1 Models of planning 111
5.2 The planning process 116
5.3 Basic project landscapes: stages and gates, activities and maps 123
Summary 132
Key terms 132
Relevant areas of the Bodies of Knowledge 133
Project management in practice: Norway’s QA process for major
project procurement 134
Project management in practice: The Mini project – the brief and the PID 135
Topics for discussion 141
Further information 141
References 141

F01 Project Management 88433.indd 8 20/09/2021 15:36

 Contents ix

Managing the project process: the 4-D model

D2: Design it 143

6 Time planning and scheduling 144

Introduction 145
6.1 Deconstruction of a project 146
6.2 Constructing a time plan 150
6.3 Using Gantt charts 159
Summary 163
Key terms 164
Relevant areas of the Bodies of Knowledge 164
Project management in practice: The Balti Experience 165
Project management in practice: The mobile phone development 167
Topics for discussion 167
Further information 168
Reference 169

7 Making time planning robust: Advanced

Project Thinking (APT) 170
Introduction 171
7.1 Limitations of current approaches to project planning 172
7.2 Managing by constraints in projects 177
7.3 Using the APT approach 183
Summary 186
Key terms 187
Relevant areas of the Bodies of Knowledge 187
Project management in practice: A major road project delivered early –
success with APT 187
Topics for discussion 193
Further information 193
References 194

8 Building a business case for a project 195

Introduction 196
8.1 Basics of a cost planning process 198
8.2 Business case development 206
8.3 Challenges for the received wisdom 213
Summary 216
Key terms 217
Relevant areas of the Bodies of Knowledge 217
Project management in practice: Justify IT! 218
Topics for discussion 218
Further information 219
References 219
Appendix: Present value of £1 220

F01 Project Management 88433.indd 9 20/09/2021 15:36

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 x Contents

9 Engaging stakeholders 222

Introduction 223
9.1 The concept of quality and quality management 224
9.2 Quality performance and conformance 230
9.3 Towards quality improvement 236
Summary 238
Key terms 239
Relevant areas of the Bodies of Knowledge 239
Project management in practice: Adopting a standard for project
planning – useful discipline or unnecessary constraint? 240
Topics for discussion 241
Further information 241
References 242

10 Managing risks and opportunities 243

Introduction 244
10.1 The nature of risk and risk management 245
10.2 Qualitative and quantitative approaches 249
10.3 Opportunities management 258
Summary 259
Key terms 260
Relevant areas of the Bodies of Knowledge 260
Project management in practice: It’s a risky business 262
Topics for discussion 263
Further information 264
References 265
Appendix: PERT factor tables 266

Managing the project process: the 4-D model

D3: Do it 269

11 Organising people in the project 270

Introduction 271
11.1 Teams 272
11.2 Structures 279
11.3 Managing people 283
Summary 288
Key terms 289
Relevant areas of the Bodies of Knowledge 289
Project management in practice: Matrix management at Cardiff Bay
Development Corporation 290
Project management in practice: Alternative options for problem solving –
open innovation and crowdsourcing 291
Topics for discussion 292
Further information 293
References 293

F01 Project Management 88433.indd 10 20/09/2021 15:36

 Contents xi

12 Leading people in projects 295

Introduction 296
12.1 Leadership in projects 297
12.2 Leading and motivation 300
12.3 Leading and you 306
Summary 312
Key terms 313
Relevant areas of the Bodies of Knowledge 313
Project management in practice: Doesn’t time fly? 313
Topics for discussion 315
Further information 315
References 316

13 Monitoring and controlling the project 317

Introduction 318
13.1 The concepts of monitoring and control 319
13.2 Techniques of control 324
13.3 Limits of control 334
Summary 336
Key terms 337
Relevant areas of the Bodies of Knowledge 337
Project management in practice: The Lifter project 338
Topics for discussion 340
Further information 341
References 342

14 Procuring, contracting, and working with supply chains 343

Introduction 344
14.1 The supply chain 345
14.2 Purchasing and contracts 347
14.3 Modern approaches to supply chain management 355
Summary 360
Key terms 360
Relevant areas of the Bodies of Knowledge 360
Project management in practice: Heathrow Terminal 5 362
Topics for discussion 366
Further information 367
References 368

15 Problem-solving and decision-making 369

Introduction 370
15.1 Structuring problems 371
15.2 Problem analysis 377
15.3 Decision support 382
Summary 385
Key terms 386

F01 Project Management 88433.indd 11 20/09/2021 15:36

 xii Contents

Relevant areas of the Bodies of Knowledge 387

Project management in practice: The use of cause–effect–cause analysis 387
Topics for discussion 390
Further information 390
References 391

Managing the project process: the 4-D model

D4: Develop it 393

16 Completing projects and learning to improve 394

Introduction 395
16.1 Completion and handover 397
16.2 Reviews and learning 401
16.3 Improving and maturing 412
Summary 420
Key terms 421
Relevant areas of the Bodies of Knowledge 422
Project management in practice: IT all goes pear-shaped at VCS 423
Topics for discussion 428
Further information 428
References 429

Index 430
Publisher’s acknowledgements 444

F01 Project Management 88433.indd 12 20/09/2021 15:36

 List of figures and tables

Figures
1.1 Project characteristics 7
1.2 Volume versus variety and projects 9
1.3 Project organisational structure (for internal project) 12
1.4 Innovation and maintenance activities in project and line management 13
2.1 Describing the project environment: the 5-C model 28
2.2 The project as a conversion process 31
2.3 Four phases of project lifecycle 34
2.4 Graph showing how level of activity varies with time 35
2.5 Graph of cumulative expenditure against time – the S-curve 36
2.6 Project lifecycle example from IDeA in Armenia 39
3.1 Organisational strategy process 59
3.2 Traditional versus strategic approaches 60
3.3 Projects and organisational strategy 62
3.4 Arrangements of projects in programmes 69
3.5 Basic project governance structure 71
3.6 Relationship between the project and the project office 72
3.7 Comparative size of Boeing 747 and Airbus A380 77
3.8 Sourcing the components of the A380 78
4.1 Stakeholder groups 88
4.2 Stakeholder grouping for World Cup 2022 89
4.3 Power: interest stakeholder map 94
4.4 Trade-offs in project management 96
4.5 Time priority project 96
4.6 Quality priority project 96
4.7 Cost priority project 97
4.8 Time AND quality priority 97
4.9 Benefits map for PPM capability improvement 101
4.10 Stakeholder map 104
4.11 Outline structure – University of Rummidge 106
5.1 Initial planning 111
5.2 Concept development in NPD 112
5.3 Scope creep 114
5.4 Balancing costs and benefits (1) 116
5.5 Balancing costs and benefits (2) 118
5.6 Activity model using ICOMs 119
5.7 The project planning process 120
5.8 Stage-gate model of projects 124
5.9 Conventional approach to new product development 128
5.10 Effect of miscommunication on new product development 128
5.11 Engineering activity 128
5.12 Sequential versus concurrent models for new product development 129
5.13 The use of FFM/DFC in planning the introduction of a new coating material 131
5.14 Work breakdown structure 136
5.15 Four fields map 137
5.16 Gantt chart 140

F01 Project Management 88433.indd 13 20/09/2021 15:36

 xiv List of figures and tables

6.1 Core planning elements 147

6.2 Example of a work breakdown structure (WBS) 148
6.3 Organisational breakdown structure 149
6.4 Product breakdown structure 149
6.5 Task dependency 151
6.6 Logical activity linkages 152
6.7 Representing multiple dependencies (1) 152
6.8 Representing multiple dependencies (2) 152
6.9 Representing multiple dependencies (3) 153
6.10 Activity notation 153
6.11 Activity network with durations included 154
6.12 Results from the forward pass 155
6.13 Results of the forward and reverse passes 156
6.14 Completed network analysis including floats and highlighted critical path 156
6.15 Microsoft Project output 157
6.16 Schedule development process 158
6.17 Horizontal bar chart: Activity A starts at Time 1 and finishes at Time 3 159
6.18 Project plan in graphical form 160
6.19 Logical links indicated by arrows 161
6.20 Planning the launch of a new food project 166
7.1 Activity completion profiles – assumed and actual 173
7.2 Components of a time estimate 174
7.3 Activities completed in strict sequence 176
7.4 The effects of multi-tasking 176
7.5 Resource contention 179
7.6 Plan with resolved resource contention 180
7.7 Five focusing steps applied to projects 182
7.8 Buffering the feeder paths 185
7.9 APT implementation 188
7.10 Weekly project management process 191
7.11 Improvement effect throughout the project – Months 0–3 192
7.12 Improvement effect throughout the project – Months 6–9 192
8.1 Top-down and ground-up approaches to costing 199
8.2 Learning curve effects on time taken 203
8.3 Elements of cost 204
8.4 Cost build-up 205
8.5 NPV profile 210
8.6 NPV profile: large discount rate range 210
8.7 Multiple benefit and payment points 211
9.1 Bridge model of project quality management 226
9.2 Trade-off options 229
9.3 Quality planning process 231
9.4 RACI matrix 233
10.1 Risk management schema 246
10.2 Probability impact chart 250
10.3 Examples of the use of Monte Carlo analysis 253
10.4 Network showing optimistic, most probable and pessimistic times 254
10.5 Distribution of estimated times for an activity 255
11.1 Management silos 272
11.2 Classic hierarchical pyramid 273
11.3 Effectiveness profile of team lifecycle 276
11.4 Spectrum of team/group performance 278
11.5 Project organisation 279
11.6 Mixed organisational structure 282

F01 Project Management 88433.indd 14 20/09/2021 15:36

 List of figures and tables xv

11.7 The nine team roles 285

12.1 The role of leadership and management 298
12.2 Main theories of work motivation 301
12.3 Maslow’s hierarchy of needs 303
12.4 Effects of time management on the behaviour of individuals 309
13.1 Basic model of cybernetic control 320
13.2 Instability 322
13.3 Stable system 322
13.4 Hierarchy of control systems 323
13.5 Buffer penetration 329
13.6 Bar chart showing work completed 333
13.7 Control limits applied to progress in budget spend 334
13.8 A summary of the project against the baseline set on 31 August 2020 339
13.9 Cost control curves for Lifter project 340
14.1 Scope of influence of purchasing, materials management and supply
chain management 346
14.2 Example of a purchasing process for materials 348
14.3 Establishment of contracts 354
14.4 BAA’s approach to risk 363
15.1 Systematic problem-solving model 372
15.2 Pareto analysis 378
15.3 Ishikawa/fishbone diagram applied to late delivery problem 379
15.4 Entity A 381
15.5 IF A THEN B 381
15.6 IF A THEN B AND C 381
15.7 IF A AND B THEN C 381
15.8 Logic diagram for Bill’s performance 381
15.9 Decision tree: project X versus project Y 382
15.10 Force-field analysis on standing for election 384
15.11 Current reality tree 388
15.12 Future reality tree: selling effectiveness 389
16.1 Project knowledge framework (adapted from Turner et al., 2014) 402
16.2 Process improvement 403
16.3 Performance groups 414
16.4 The three pillars of change 416
16.5 Complex information flow around systems 419
16.6 Simplified information flow through system 419

Tables
1.1 Accidental profession or profession of choice? 11
1.2 Project versus general management 12
1.3 Historical development of project management 15
2.1 The 7-S of project management 30
2.2 The four phases of project management 35
2.3 Development of the project lifecycle 37
2.4 Supply of a management information system to a hospital project 37
2.5 Comparison of approach (adapted from Dybå and Dingsøyr, 2008) 41
2.6 The complexity framework 44
2.7 Assessing project complexity 45
2.8 The APM Body of Knowledge 7th edition (2019) and the relationship
with topic coverage in this text 47
2.9 The PMI Body of Knowledge and the relationship with topic coverage
in this text 48

F01 Project Management 88433.indd 15 20/09/2021 15:36

 xvi List of figures and tables

3.1 Strategy deployment table 63

3.2 Definitions of ‘programme’ (PMI ‘program’) 68
3.3 Strategy matrix 70
3.4 PMO roles 73
3.5 Relevant areas of the APM Body of Knowledge 76
3.6 Decision matrix 80
4.1 Stakeholders, requirements and measures 86
4.2 Input, process and outcome requirements 90
4.3 New product development (NPD) metrics 90
4.4 Conventional versus participatory project monitoring and evaluation 91
4.5 Conformance versus performance: attributes of time, cost and quality 98
4.6 Relevant areas of the APM Body of Knowledge 103
4.7 Relevant areas of the PMI Body of Knowledge 103
5.1 Stage gate questions based on the IDeA Foundation 125
5.2 Relevant areas of the APM Body of Knowledge 133
5.3 Relevant areas of the PMI Body of Knowledge 133
5.4 Risk assessment and management 140
6.1 The nature, role and accuracy of estimate types 151
6.2 Relevant areas of the APM Body of Knowledge 164
6.3 Relevant areas of the PMI Body of Knowledge 164
6.4 Project activities, precedence and duration 168
6.5 Project activities, precedence and duration 168
7.1 Relevant areas of the APM Body of Knowledge 187
8.1 Improvement over time 204
8.2 Recommended cost uplift for different project types 215
8.3 Relevant areas of the APM Body of Knowledge 217
8.4 Relevant areas of the PMI Body of Knowledge 217
Present value of £1 220
9.1 Perspectives on quality management 227
9.2 Manufacturing and service approaches to quality 231
9.3 Management of expectations and perceptions 235
9.4 Communication plan 235
9.5 Quality cost categories 236
9.6 Relevant area of the APM Body of Knowledge 239
9.7 Relevant areas of the PMI Body of Knowledge 239
10.1 Numerical analysis 251
10.2 Sensitivity analysis 252
10.3 Three-point estimates for tasks 255
10.4 Three-point estimates and variances for tasks 257
10.5 Probabilities of completing tasks 257
10.6 Relevant areas of the APM Body of Knowledge 260
10.7 Relevant areas of the PMI Body of Knowledge 260
10.8 Simple risk management table 262
PERT factor tables 266
11.1 Team lifecycle 276
11.2 Requirements of team structure 278
11.3 Relating project structures to project objectives 281
11.4 Relevant areas of the APM Body of Knowledge 290
11.5 Relevant areas of the PMI Body of Knowledge 290
12.1 Time usage analysis 310
12.2 Techniques to keep to a plan 311
12.3 Relevant area of the APM Body of Knowledge 313
12.4 Relevant area of the PMI Body of Knowledge 313

F01 Project Management 88433.indd 16 20/09/2021 15:36

 List of figures and tables xvii

13.1 Project overrun data 318

13.2 Tasks and budgets 326
13.3 Weekly plan 331
13.4 Weekly review 332
13.5 Relevant areas of the APM Body of Knowledge 337
13.6 Relevant areas of the PMI Body of Knowledge 337
14.1 Examples of supply chains 346
14.2 The advantages of centralised and localised purchasing 349
14.3 Adversarial versus partnership relationships 356
14.4 Relevant areas of the APM Body of Knowledge 361
14.5 Relevant areas of the PMI Body of Knowledge 361
15.1 The use of mathematical modelling techniques 378
15.2 Supplier selection using unweighted attributes 383
16.1 Review and audit criteria 410
16.2 Elements of quality cost 412
16.3 Project management maturity stages 414
16.4 Key change issues 416
16.5 Lean principles applied to project management 418
16.6 Relevant areas of the APM Body of Knowledge 422
16.7 Relevant areas of the PMI Body of Knowledge 422

F01 Project Management 88433.indd 17 20/09/2021 15:36

 Guided tour

Each part opening page contains a part diagram

Making sense of the
mapping the structure of the book, which allows you
project context
to get a clear picture of how the book is set out and
how each part and chapter in the book relates to
each other.
Making sense of the project context

1 Introduction
2 Structures and frameworks
3 Projects and organisations

Managing the project process: the 4-D model

D1: Define it
4 Setting up for success
5 Planning for success

D4: Develop it D2: Design it

16 Completing projects and learning to 6 Time planning and scheduling
improve 7 Making time planning robust: Advanced
Project Thinking (APT)
8 Building a business case for a project
9 Engaging stakeholders
10 Managing risks and opportunities

D3: Do it
11 Organising people in the project
12 Leading people in projects
13 Monitoring and controlling the project
14 Procuring, contracting, and working with
supply chains
15 Problem-solving and decision-making

A list of Principles sets forth and defines

M01 Project Management 88433.indd 1 30/07/2021 14:09 the fundamentals of what will be covered
in the chapter.

Introduction 3

1
Sustainable Development Goals

Introduction
In 2015 the United Nations Member States adopted
17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).1 These

A chapter diagram
replaced the Millennium Development Goals, and
focused on major worldwide targets to be achieved
by 2030 as part of the Agenda for Sustainable

serves as a reminder of Development. These include ‘No poverty’, ‘Zero

hunger’, ‘Gender equality’, ‘Clean water and
sanitation’, ‘Affordable and clean energy’, ‘Sustainable

where you are in the book Making sense of the

project context
‘Life is one big project.’ The trick is in managing it.
cities and communities’, ‘Responsible consumption and production’, ‘Climate action’ and ‘Peace,
justice and strong institutions’.
The UN call these goals a ‘universal call to action’, and they represent a huge challenge for the
and the relation of the Managing the project process:
Principles
1 What is and is not a project needs to be defined so that we know
planet in a relatively short period of time (15 years). Few would argue that these are incredibly
important issues, yet the action necessary requires coordinated policies and implementation
the 4-D model

chapter to the other parts

whether the practices known as ‘project management’ (PM) are across the globe. The Sustainable Development Goals Report (2019)2 showed that progress was
D1: relevant. being made in some areas, but the UN Secretary General warned bluntly that, ‘It is abundantly
2 Project management has a fundamental role in modern organisations clear that a much deeper, faster and more ambitious response is needed to unleash the social

of the book.
and the careers of the people working in them. and economic transformation needed to achieve our 2030 goals.’
D4: D2: 3 The past 70 years of PM development should be understood to help Projects can range from the small and relatively mundane, to those that impact the very fab-
Develop it Design it understand the current state and the opportunities for the future. ric of our civilization. Getting them right matters. If your new kitchen is late or over budget,
that is exasperating, but it is unlikely to be life-threatening. The SDGs, on the other hand, are a
D3: Learning objectives different order of magnitude entirely, both in terms of significance, and difficulty. Despite the
Do it
By the time you have completed this chapter, you should be able to: obvious differences, both have similarities. We are looking to take our aspiration, be it a home

A bulleted list of ➔ identify the definitions of a project and the task of management within
a range of projects
improvement or ensuring quality primary school education, and turn it into reality. Individuals,
organisations and governments turn ideas into reality through projects.
➔ demonstrate the importance of successful project management to

Learning Objectives individuals, organisations and economies

➔ recognise the development of the modern subject along with some of
Introduction
will enable you to
the challenges and limitations.

Contents The Sustainable Development Goals represent an enormous challenge, yet it is difficult to bring

focus on what you can Introduction 3

1.1 Basic definitions 4
1.2 Importance of successful project management to an organisation
together the relevant stakeholders without such a guiding set of goals and ways to track progress. At
the time of writing the latest report still makes it clear that there is significant work to do, but ongoing
data points highlight successes and shortfalls. Of course, none of this is easy. More straightforward

expect to learn from the and to you 10

1.3 Project management past and present 14
Summary 19
pieces of work regularly fail, and the press internationally usually carries a plentiful supply of pro-
ject failure stories. It would be tempting to believe that all projects fail. Indeed, there are well-cited
studies, notably Standish Group’s Chaos reports,3 that show how the majority do not meet their
chapter. Key terms 20
Project management in practice: Four managers with distinctly
different roles 20
initial objectives. Yet this ‘project’ approach to carrying out work continues to gain in popularity for
individuals, corporations and governments.
Topics for discussion 22 The SDGs illustrate some of the features that we will see as being applicable to a wide range of other
Further information 22 projects. They have a finite duration, with an end date of 2030. They involve a vast array of interlinked
References 23 activities carried out by an incredible array of people. There are measurable outcomes, but success
is dependent as much on perception as reality – what people believe about the SDGs matters. All the
work has to be carried out while countries face their own particular challenges. The consequences of
failure are frightening, but human beings naturally focus on the here-and-now far more easily than
the far away or life decades hence.

M01 Project Management 88433.indd 2 30/07/2021 14:09M01 Project Management 88433.indd 3 30/07/2021 14:09

For quick and easy reference, a brief Contents Short Case Studies explore the topics
list of the topics covered within each chapter with introduced in the chapter and enable
corresponding book page numbers is provided. you to put the information into context.

F01 Project Management 88433.indd 18 20/09/2021 15:36

 Guided tour xix

Real World boxes show how the theory To help you consolidate your learning, the
discussed in the chapter relates to and can Summary section reflects on what the chapter has
be applied to cases in the real world. covered and provides an important revision tool.

8 Chapter 1 Introduction 46 Chapter 2 Structures and frameworks

emergence and uncertainty) or the means by which it is delivered (through a temporary

organisation, which is a social construction involving integration). Further exploration of Summary
the means for delivery shows that this is rarely entirely random and that managers use
combinations or systems of activities, people and organisations to deliver the project. Such
■ The world in which projects operate grows in complexity. This places additional chal-
a system of delivery is termed a process. The process is the main unit of analysis here.
lenges on project leaders in delivering and at the same time has increased expectations
about delivery. It is no wonder, perhaps, that stories of ‘failed projects’ seem to have such
A project as a process presence in the media. Having frameworks or mental models enables us to make sense of
complexity. This is not to say that we can ever completely describe something that is very
The characteristics described above are useful to determine what is and is not a project.
complex, just as in the common aphorism: ‘All models are wrong. Some are useful.’ This
Further description of a project comes from analysing the system of delivery, including
is the utility this chapter has sought to provide in an attempt to facilitate the objective
consideration of how activities in the project are identified, planned and executed, and
identified at the start – get the thinking right.
how issues such as change and uncertainty are handled by the project team.
There are significant advantages to considering projects in this way (see Real World box).
A basic classification of processes considers volume and variety.6 Volume is the quan- Key terms
tity of throughput for that process. For a petrochemical plant, this is very high, whereas for
a chauffeur service, it is low. The variety is the number of different variations of process 4-D p. 35 emergent complexity project/product lifecycle
possible. For instance, a petrochemical process is likely to have relatively little flexibility, 5 Cs p. 27 models p. 44 p. 39
while for a small operation such as the chauffeur service, the process will have far more 7-S p. 29 framework p. 29 sense-making p. 26
flexibility to respond to the needs of individual passengers. change p. 26 ICOM p. 33 socio-political complexity
The relationship between volume and variety is shown in Figure 1.2. As you can see, integrator p. 33 p. 43
Competitiveness p. 29
there is generally an inverse relationship between volume and variety. For example, a issues p. 26 structural complexity p. 43
Completeness p. 29
noodle bar has a high-volume, low-variety process – it provides a high volume of products
complexity p. 42 managerial challenge p. 42 structures p. 29
with very limited variety in the process for preparing the noodles and serving the custom- subjective p. 45
context p. 28 model p. 31
ers. A strategic management consultancy, meanwhile, may operate at the other end of the
Customer focus p. 29 PESTEL p. 28
scale, providing a low volume of services, with the process tailored to the needs of each
client, and is therefore a high-variety process.

REAL WORLD Benefits of the application of process thinking Relevant areas of the Bodies of Knowledge

It is now possible to build a McDonald’s drive-through restaurant in Two Bodies of Knowledge are referenced throughout this book as they are used by many
just 24 hours. One project went from ‘clear site’ to ‘open for business’ organisations as the basis for their own project management systems and as a knowledge
in less than 48 hours, including foundations. Whatever your views of base for accrediting their people. For instance, in some UK government organisations they
the proliferation of these outlets, they do represent a good case of require project managers to be licensed – that is to have passed a basic knowledge test of
what can be achieved when the true level of uniqueness of a project project management, such as those from the APM.
is assessed. The contractors who actually build the outlets are Yorkon
Source: Mark Richardson/Alamy

The standards do not set out to be comprehensive about everything that is known
and Britspace, and they have done so over 300 times in the UK alone.
about project management; rather they provide guidance on some of the common ground
If each one had been considered to be a unique project, then we could
reasonably expect the build time to be very long – months would be
between projects that covers ‘most projects most of the time’. PMI’s Standard17 (American
completely normal for such a space to be constructed. Recognising that National Standards Institute) is Part 2 of its Guide to the Project Management Body of
this was likely to be Knowledge – generally referred to as ‘the pimbok guide.’ The guide itself is relatively
a project that was extensive compared with the APM version, but both are valuable and very widely-used
repeated meant that resources.
it was worth the companies investing in finding ways to improve Written by committee, one feature is that they tend to be focused on aspects of first-time
the process. So, instead of trying to build a unique store on projects (see Chapter 1) rather than the vast majority of project management activity that
Source: Alex Segre/Alamy

each site, the firms considered the opportunities for making the takes place in ‘as . . . but . . . ’ and ‘painting by numbers’ projects. They also assume that the
building modular and manufacturing the modules off site. One relationship between the party carrying out the project and the ‘customer’ is contractual.
store typically consists of six modules and these are shipped to
Many projects are not ‘direct revenue earners’, instead being change projects (reorganis-
the site and ‘assembled’ on site, rather than involving traditional
ing a firm, a merger or acquisition, or an individual undertaking a course of study, for
building techniques. Each time it was done, the processes for
instance). As a result of these factors, the application of the Bodies of Knowledge is a long
carrying this out could be improved.
way from universal. However, both are associated with professional qualifications and

M01 Project Management 88433.indd 8 30/07/2021 14:09 M02 Project Management 88433.indd 46 30/07/2021 14:12

The Key Terms list is another useful revision aid and

helps you create a bank of essential terminology.
Project Management in Practice boxes at the end
of the chapter provide you with a practical function of Topics for Discussion offer a set of useful questions
the points learned throughout the chapter. and tasks for self-assessment and revision.

References 141
50 Chapter 2 Structures and frameworks

Topics for discussion

PROJECT MANAGEMENT IN PRACTICE
The rescue of Crossrail 1 Why would creativity be essential in a personal 7 Why is it important to know the customer for a pro-
project, such as an assignment or dissertation? How posal document?
might this be incorporated into your plan of work?
The brief was nowhere near this simple for Crossrail, 8 What is the benefit to be gained from mapping
but at one level this was what was required. The pro- 2 Why should the plan be viewed as a value-adding a process before proceeding with the detailed
ject team needed to just: activity? planning?

1 Dig a tunnel under the centre of London, of course 3 Identify the costs and potential negative effects of 9 From a project with which you are familiar, how
avoiding all the existing infrastructure (water the misuse of plans. might providing gates and gate criteria have helped in
mains, train tunnels, sewers, burial grounds, its management?
4 Why is getting scope ‘sign-off’ so important?
reclaimed land,) whether or not we know they are
10 Should the activities in a project be run sequen-
there. 5 To whom does the project manager have to ‘sell’ a
tially or concurrently? Choose a project and analyse
2 Fit the tunnel out with stations, interchanges, rails, proposal?
power, signalling. Make sure the signalling is up to the options for the outline plan.
the latest safety standards. 6 When is it important for the brief to be highly pre-
3 Get some trains that will run on the system, work Source: Guy Corbishley/Alamy Stock Photo cise and when should it be left as loose as possible?
with the signalling to the east of London, the underground, and the west (all completely different).
4 And do not run late or over-budget.
Further information
How hard can it be?
As it turns out, it was ridiculously hard. This is a case study worth following as it has been a saga that
has claimed reputations, careers and vast amounts of public and private money. It is, of course, nowhere Andriopoulos, C., Gotsi, M., Lewis, M.W., and Ingram Papke-Shields, K.E. and Boyer-Wright, K.M (2017)
near as good in this regard as the Sydney Opera House or the Canadian Gun Control Register (also A.E. (2017) ‘Turning the Sword: How NPD Teams Cope ‘Strategic planning characteristics applied to project
with Front-End Tensions’, Journal of Product Innovation management’, International Journal of Project
worth looking up).
Management, Vol. 35, No.3, pp. 427–445. Management, Vol. 35, No. 2, pp. 169–179.
The case came to one of its many crunch points in 2018. The costs of the scheme had already risen
Cooper, R.G. and Edgett, S.J. (2012) ‘Best Practices PMI (2006) Practice Standard for Work Breakdown
from the previous estimate by £2.8 billion to £17.6 billion. It was due to open in late 2018. However, in the Idea-to-Launch Process and Its Governance’, Structures, 2nd edition, PMI, Upper Darby, PA.
during the summer of 2018, it became clear that this was not going to happen. Following a review, the Research-Technology Management, Vol. 55, No. 2, Sobek, D.K. II, Liker, J.K. and Ward, A.C. (1998)
developing company, Crossrail Limited, had to admit that even up until July 2018 this had been hugely pp. 43–54. ‘Another Look at How Toyota Integrates Product
optimistic. They ‘reset’ the schedule to ‘between October 2020 and March 2021’. As of March 2021, this Cooper, R.G. and Sommer, A.F. (2016) ‘The Agile- Development’, Harvard Business Review, July–August,
is now looking more like ‘sometime in 2022’. Stage-Gate Hybrid Model: A Promising New Approach pp. 36–49.
and a New Research Opportunity’, Journal of Product
Points for discussion Innovation Management, Vol 33, No. 5, pp. 513–526. Websites
The following aspects of this case are worth exploring further: Drucker, P.F. (1998) ‘The Discipline of Innovation’, https://www.axelos.com/best-practice-solutions/
1 Just how optimistic were the original forecasts for schedule and budget? Harvard Business Review, November–December, prince2/prince2-templates – downloads of PID
pp. 149–157. documents. See also prince2.wiki
2 Why did this optimism prevail in Crossrail Ltd.?
www.teamflow.com – FFM/DFC software.
3 Who is to blame for this? Is it Transport for London, the UK Department for Transport, Crossrail Ltd.,
the contractors or individual leaders?
4 What approach should the project have taken, that might have contributed to a better outcome? References
5 Will the problems be remembered once it is open and operating?
1 Nonaka, I. (1990) ‘Redundant, Overlappping and Pfizer’s at https://www.pfizer.com/science/
Organisation: A Japanese Approach to Managing the drug-product-pipeline
Innovation Process’, California Management Review, 4 Von Hippel, E. et al. (1999) ‘Creating Breakthroughs at
Spring, pp. 27–38. 3M’, Harvard Business Review, September–October,
PROJECT MANAGEMENT IN PRACTICE 2 Much fuller discussion of this can be found in pp. 47–57 and interview with 3M VP Innovation.
Maylor, H. and Blackmon, K. (2015) Researching 5 See www.prince2.com
Using the 7-S approach in the review of a real project21 Business & Management, 2nd edition, Palgrave 6 National Audit Office https://www.nao.org.uk/report/
Macmillan, London, Chapter 2. national-audit-office-strategy-our-strategy-2019-
3 GSK’s pipeline can be seen at https://www.gsk.com/ 20-to-2021-22/
The Arson Task Force (ATF) was the name given to a 24-month project to reduce the incidence of arson en-gb/research-and-development/our-pipeline/ 7 Variously attributed to Admiral Lord Nelson and
in one area. During the project, the incidence of arson there declined and the team built an extensive General Eisenhower.
knowledge base of cases of arson, its impact, effects and, most importantly, the causes and patterns of
occurrence.

M05 Project Management 88433.indd 141 30/07/2021 14:26

Further Information and References suggest books,

M02 Project Management 88433.indd 50 30/07/2021 14:12

websites and journals that may be of interest to you;

information about the references used throughout the
chapter is brought together here.

F01 Project Management 88433.indd 19 20/09/2021 15:36

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was blowing from the village, but even that did not wholly explain
the phenomenon, since the various noises were so markedly distinct.
Finally, Vernon concluded, and no doubt was correct in his
conjecture, that the narrow gorge acted as a kind of telephone,
which, with the aid of the steady wind blowing up its length,
conducted the sounds accurately. The discovery amused the young
man, and he sat where he was for a considerable time trying to
distinguish between the several noises. Later in the day he decided
to get Lucy to sit on the dam and then from the bottom of the gorge
a mile away to call out and see if she could understand what he was
saying. The experiment would be both scientific and interesting.

For quite an hour Vernon waited, but no Hokar put in an

appearance. He then spent another hour in walking slowly round the
reservoir, and finally, without having seen a single person, he
returned to luncheon. At the meal Colonel Towton mentioned that he
had written a note to Miss Hest stating that the visit would be paid
at three o'clock. "And I have given orders for a room to be got ready
for Ida next to yours, Lady Corsoon," said the Colonel.

"I doubt if Ida will come," sighed his guest. "She is singularly
obstinate in having her own way. What she can see in that woman is
a puzzle to me."

"Miss Hest is very clever," remarked Lucy, "but there is something

about her that I do not like."

"For instance?" queried Vernon bending forward.

"I can hardly say," said the girl thoughtfully. "She is clever and
agreeable and quite well-bred. Yet she seems to be--be--
dangerous."

"I think that word applies more to Maunders than to Miss Hest,"
observed Towton, "although I am bound to say that Miss Hest does
not satisfy me in many ways. She is too masterful. Dangerous, no. I
should not describe her as dangerous, Miss Corsoon."
"I should, and I do, Colonel. I may be wrong, but the first time I met
Miss Hest at 'Rangoon' she gave me that impression."

"One should never go against impressions," said Vernon gravely;

"They are the instincts of the soul."

"Nonsense," contradicted Lady Corsoon vigorously. "I'm sure when I

first met my husband I could not bear him, and my mother had
simply to drive me to the altar. Yet I married him, and I'm sure we
are a most attached pair."

The gentlemen were too well-bred to smile at this statement, yet it

secretly amused both. Everyone knew that the undeniable good
feeling which existed between Sir Julius and his wife was mainly due
to their diverse interests in life, which kept them more or less apart.
Lady Corsoon was always fluttering about as a society butterfly,
while Sir Julius remained constantly in the City, earning money for
her to spend. It was little credit to either that they were civil to one
another on the rare occasions when they met. Cain and Abel
themselves would not have quarrelled when only meeting--as the
saying goes--once in a blue moon But Lady Corsoon felt quite certain
that she was a model wife and a typical British matron (new style),
and prattled on about her domestic happiness until it was time to
start for Gerby Hall.

"Vernon will escort you two ladies," said Towton, who was in riding
kit, and exhibited a more youthful air than usual. "I can follow."

"You won't ride to Gatehead until you have called at the Hall," urged
Lady Corsoon; "for I may need you to insist upon Ida coming to The
Grange."

"I shall assuredly be at Gerby Hall in half an hour, more or less,"

replied the Colonel quietly. "But I should not think of insisting upon
Ida becoming my guest unless she honours me of her own free will
with a visit."
"Oh, nonsense," said Lady Corsoon pettishly. "When you know how
infatuated she is with this woman Hest." And all the way down the
winding road she lamented that Ida was so impossible, and the
owner of Gerby Hall so second-rate. "For she is second-rate,"
finished Lady Corsoon triumphantly. "I always said so, and would say
so with my dying breath."

In due time the trio arrived at the gloomy Hall, and were shown by
the fat maid into the dingy drawing-room. It was less chill and
dismal on this occasion, as the windows were wide open and the
warm breath of the day stole in to ameliorate the damp atmosphere,
as did the sunshine to lighten the darkness. In the glare of day the
furniture looked quite faded, and the hangings extremely shabby;
but there was something dignified about the ancient room which
impressed even Lady Corsoon.

"A very quaint old place," she said surveying it through her
lorgnette; "but damp. They ought to have a fire in the grate."

"They couldn't very well have it anywhere else, mamma," giggled

Lucy.

"My dear, pray do not afflict me with your cheap wit. You perfectly
well understand my meaning. I shall take this chair, as the light tries
my eyes."

So saying she selected a seat with its back to the windows, but less
to preserve her eyesight than to prevent Miss Hest from seeing too
plain evidence of her age. She throned herself in the spacious chair
with the air of a queen, and assumed a dignified mein as the door
opened to admit Ida and her hostess. Lady Corsoon's first remark
was scarcely polite.

"You _do_ look ill, Ida," she said submitting her cheek to a kiss, "and
more than twice your age. Miss Hest, what have you been doing
with her?"
"Trying to comfort her," replied Frances drily. "But you can scarcely
expect an affectionate girl like Ida to lose her father and not show
some signs of grief."

"Signs of fiddlestick, if you will excuse the expression. It's want of

food and cheerful company, to say nothing of living in this vault."

"Thank you, Lady Corsoon. I find the house of my ancestors very

comfortable."

"I think not," replied the visitor rudely. "Quaint, as I have already
observed, old-world and interesting to an antiquarian, but I don't
think anyone could call this comfortable. However, this state of
things, so far as Ida is concerned, can be easily remedied. Ida, child,
I have come to take you to the Grange, which stands in a much
more healthy position."

Ida, who had saluted her cousin and Vernon, turned even paler than
she already was and looked sideways at Frances. "I think that I
prefer to remain in this house," she said timidly.

"Oh, you must not burden Miss Hest any longer," said her aunt
coolly. "Ida's company is no burden to me," snapped Miss Hest, who
seemed to be trying to keep her temper, "but if she chooses to leave
me, she can."

"I should think so; as she is free to come and go as she wishes.
Ida?"

"I would rather stop with Frances," said Ida faintly, and again sought
the eye of her friend, as if seeking direction. "We are very happy
here."

"Miss Hest, I appeal to you," cried Lady Corsoon, looking important.

"You can see for yourself that the dear child is like a plant, she
wants air and sunlight and every attention."
"Ida is free to go and come as she chooses," repeated Frances with
a stealthy glance at the girl. "And perhaps it is just as well she
should go. I am returning to London in a week or so."

"Frances!" Ida started to her feet, and a faint hue tinged her cheek.
"You never told me of this."

"I never arrived at any decision until last night," replied Frances
coldly, removing the arm which the girl had thrown fondly round her
neck. "But a search amongst my brother's papers has shown me
that my position financially speaking is not so secure as I thought it
was. As it is necessary for me to earn my living I must go back to
Professor Gail's at Isleworth, and probably I shall agree to his
proposal that I should appear on the stage."

"But, Frances, I have plenty of money. Share with me."

"Ida," said Lady Corsoon sharply, "you must let older and wiser
heads guide you as regards the disposition of your fortune. Besides,
it may not be so secure as you think."

"What?" Ida turned to face her aunt. "Then you already know that I
am not Mr. Dimsdale's daughter."

"I know something about it," said Lady Corsoon, concealing her
exact knowledge and determined to appear surprised at nothing. "I
received a letter stating that on certain conditions I could get the
money of my brother. Whether you are my niece or not I can't say,
but assuredly if the money is mine I must enter into possession of it.
Of course, you may rely on my doing my best to help you."

"I want nothing," said Ida, proudly lifting her head. "If the money is
yours you shall certainly have it. Am I not right, Frances?"

"Perfectly right. But Lady Corsoon's fortune--to use her own words
with regard to you--may not be so secure as she thinks."
"If Ida is not Martin's daughter, and there is no will, I should
certainly inherit," cried Lady Corsoon quite fiercely. "And I confess
that I am surprised to hear that my brother is not the father of the
girl I have always supposed to be my niece. I should like an
explanation."

"You will have one to-morrow," said Miss Hest coolly.

"I want one to-day," said the elder woman rapping her knuckles with
her lorgnette. "What have you to do with this matter, may I ask?"

"More than you suppose. But, after I have seen Colonel Towton, you
shall be enlightened as to my exact position."

"Frances, do you mean to say that the money is really mine?"

demanded Ida with a look of breathless interest.

"If it was, what would you do?" asked Miss Hest doubtfully.

"I should give you all the money you required."

Frances hesitated, then came forward and kissed the girl quietly.
"You are a good child, Ida. I thought that I had lost your
confidence."

Miss Dimsdale did not contradict this statement. "I shall always
remember how kind you have been to me," she said, shrinking a
trifle from her friend's caress. "Nothing can make me forget the
past."

"Come, come," said Lady Corsoon, rising in a fussy manner. "This

sort of thing will not do at all. I must understand plainly what this
means. In the meantime, I request my niece to follow me to The
Grange."

"I am not your niece, if all I have learned is true, and I decline to be
dictated to," said Ida quickly. "To-morrow I shall come to The
Grange."

"Will you leave me, Ida?" asked Frances quickly and with a look of
pain.

"For a time only," muttered the girl averting her head. "But I wish to
go to Colonel Towton's to-morrow."

"Many things seem about to happen to-morrow," observed Lady

Corsoon walking towards the door in her most stately manner. "And
as Ida refuses to obey me, I wash my hands of her. Come, Lucy.
Come, Mr. Vernon. We must depart."

"But the Colonel will be here shortly," protested Vernon, and Lucy
took Ida's hand kindly between her own.

"The Colonel may do what he pleases," said Lady Corsoon loftily. "I
am not bound by his actions. Ida, I learn, is not my niece, and
therefore I shall instruct my lawyer--since there is no will--to
demand a surrender of Martin's property. Now that Miss Dimsdale--
no, not that--what is your name, may I ask?" And she hoisted the
lorgnette again.

Ida shrank back before that severe look, and broken down in health
as she was with all she had gone through, burst into tears. Frances
stepped between her and Lady Corsoon. "You are a cruel woman,"
she said indignantly, "and you shall leave my house at once."

"Only too willingly, only too willingly," cried Lady Corsoon swelling
with pompous indignation. "But I call everyone to witness that I shall
have these matters examined into, and intend to claim my rights.
Ida, you are no niece of mine by your own showing, so I have
finished with you. Lucy! Mr. Vernon!" and she sailed out of the room
and out of the house in a high state of indignation. The fact is, the
good lady was greatly perplexed over the unexpected information
that she had received. She had believed that her brother had made
a will in her favour which Ida had destroyed; but she had never
expected to hear that the girl was not Dimsdale's daughter. In her
hurry she left Vernon and Lucy behind, while she simply rushed
down the short avenue and came face to face with Colonel Towton,
who was riding in at the gate.

"What is the matter?" asked the Colonel surprised at seeing his

guest alone.

"Matter!" Lady Corsoon halted, breathing hard with anger. "I really
don't know, save that the Hest woman has insulted me. Also I have
heard that Ida is not my niece, and therefore I am sure the property
belongs to me. I decline to stay longer in that house, and so I am
returning home. Perhaps, Colonel, you will demand an explanation.
If I don't receive a satisfactory one to-night, I write to my lawyer. So
there!"

Towton tried to stem the torrent of this speech, but without any
result. Still talking of the way in which she had been treated, Lady
Corsoon babbled her way out of the gate and disappeared. The
Colonel rode up to the door, and, alighting from his horse, bound the
bridle to a ring in the wall. As he stepped inside, Vernon appeared in
attendance on Lucy. They had stayed behind to comfort Ida, who
was weeping over the harsh treatment she had received from her
presumed aunt.

"What on earth is the matter?" asked Towton, putting the same

question to the couple as he had put to Lady Corsoon. "Miss Lucy, I
have met your mother rushing home in a high state of anger."

"Miss Hest and mother have fallen out," said Lucy, hesitating how
much to say, for she knew how Towton loved Ida.

"And Lady Corsoon has learned that Ida is not her niece," put in
Vernon. "Go in and comfort her, Colonel. I shall go after Lady
Corsoon with Lucy."
"That is the best thing to be done," cried Frances, overbearing, and
putting her head out of the window. "Colonel Towton, I desire a
private conversation."

"Do you wish me to remain?" Vernon asked his friend in a low voice.

"No, no. I must see Miss Hest alone. I understand what she wants.
Go with Miss Lucy. She has already reached the gate."

"But if you want me----"

"I don't. When I return you shall know everything."

"What do you mean?" demanded Vernon anxiously.

"Colonel, Colonel," called out Miss Hest again.

"I must go. Follow Miss Corsoon and pacify the old lady," said
Towton hurriedly, and hastened into the house, leaving Vernon much
astonished by his behaviour. Had the young man known of Miss
Hest's visit on the previous evening, he might not have been so
perplexed. As it was, he hastened after Lucy, who by this time was
rapidly gaining on her indignant mother, with a feeling that Towton
knew more than he did concerning the present state of affairs.
Which as he afterwards learned, was precisely the case.

The Colonel entered the gloomy drawing-room to find Ida weeping

on the sofa and Frances comforting her. Before he could say a word,
the latter turned on him indignantly. "Why did you send that
insulting woman here?"

"She came of her own accord," explained Towton frowning at the

speech, "and surely Lady Corsoon has not insulted Ida."

"And me. She has insulted us both," cried Miss Hest angrily. "I
should have had her turned out of the house had she not gone."
"It was my fault by telling her that I was not her niece," said Ida in
an agitated tone. "As if I could help that. But I won't trouble her in
any way; she has never been kind to me. I shall not set eyes on her
again."

"But, Ida," said Towton, taking her hand and striving to speak
cheerfully, "I want you to come to the Grange."

"Not while Lady Corsoon is there, Richard."

Frances drew a long breath of relief, which annoyed the Colonel.

"Are you detaining Miss Dimsdale here?" he asked snappishly, for
late events had tried his temper greatly.

"Oh, no," cried Ida before her friend could speak. "As if Frances
would do such a thing! But Lady Corsoon has been so rude."

"You speak of her as Lady Corsoon?"

"Naturally, since I am not her niece," said Ida simply. "When she
leaves The Grange I shall be delighted to come."

Colonel Towton flushed through his tan. "I am a bachelor, Ida," he

said in stiff tones. "You can't come to my house without a lady is
staying there. That is unless you will marry me at once."

Ida placed her two hands on his shoulders and looked at him kindly
through her tears. "If you will take a girl without a sixpence, I shall
marry you as soon as you please, Richard."

"Don't put his chivalry to the test, Ida," remarked Frances in

somewhat acrid tones. "Colonel Towton knows that you have ten
thousand a year."

"But if this story is true----"

"It's quite true, only there is a will."

"A will?" Ida stared and flushed with pleasure. "Then poor Mr.
Dimsdale did not entirely forget me."

"He did not forget you at all. I found this will--well it doesn't matter
where, since I explained everything to our friend here last night. But
you inherit the Dimsdale property as Ida Menteith, so Lady Corsoon
will not be able to strip you of your worldly goods."

"Oh!"--Ida grew even more scarlet--"then, Richard----"

He caught her hands and pressed them to his breast.

"My dear, I would take you without a single penny."

"And that is the way in which you will have to take her," said Frances
drily, "unless you consent to my demands."

"I leave that to Ida," said Towton, once more stiff and military.
"Leave what to me?" asked Ida, looking from one to the other.
Frances turned to her in a business-like way. "The property my
brother has made over to me is mortgaged and I am penniless. If
you marry the Colonel I lose your society and also the chance of
being your companion at a certain wage. To make amends I ask for
ten thousand pounds."

"You shall have it, of course,' said Ida promptly.

"Will you sign this document giving it to me?" asked Miss Hest
pulling a sheet of paper out of her pocket.

"At once, if you will give me pen and ink."

The two women went towards a table upon which stood what was
required. Apparently Frances had made all necessary preparations to
get the money. "You can give me a cheque also. Here is the book,"
she said eagerly.
"Ida, Ida! Are you wise in doing this?" warned the Colonel, following.

"Yes," said the girl rapidly signing her name and without even
reading the document. "I want to marry you and be rid of Frances."

Miss Hest sneered, while Towton started back, utterly astonished by

the change of tone. "I thought--I fancied--I believed," he stuttered,
"that you were deeply attached to Miss Hest."

"I was, but--there are circumstances----"

"Oh, let us have the truth," interposed Frances sharply. "You liked
me well enough and I liked you until you found that I was too clever
for you, so----"

Ida caught at her lover's hand and made an effort to pull herself
together in the face of Miss Hest's contemptuous eyes. "You treated
me shamefully, Frances," she said in tones of reproach. "I loved you
dearly until you began to bully me and to make my life a burden.
You got me down here in order to gain possession of my money, and
have been trying to influence me into giving up not only my property
but Richard also. I saw what you were ever since we came to this
house, but, to deceive you, I played my part, and led you to believe
that I still loved----"

"Oh, rubbish," said Miss Hest, whose eyes were as hard as jade.
"You played your part very badly. I saw through your weak tricks.
You were afraid of me, you know you were."

"Yes, I was," said Ida, clinging to the amazed Colonel. "Because I

believe if you could have got me to sign away my property that you
would have killed me. I am willing to give you ten thousand pounds,
as I once had some affection for you; but now that you have got
your pound of flesh I shall leave this house with Richard."

"To go to Lady Corsoon?"

"Richard will protect me. And, heaven help me!" said Ida, putting
her hand to her head piteously. "I feel so dazed that I scarcely know
what I am saying."

"You are not too dazed to sign a cheque."

Ida without a word stepped to the table and began to write in the
cheque-book. Towton protested. "You shall not do this," he declared.
"While I fancied you loved Miss Hest, I was willing you should make
her a present of this large sum. But since she has treated you badly-
---"

"If Ida does not sign the cheque she does not get the will," said
Frances imperiously. "You can save your breath, Colonel."

"You may hand over a false will?"

"If I did that I should not get the ten thousand pounds," retorted
Frances. "Don't be a fool. I am acting straightforwardly enough."

"Here is the money," said Ida tearing out the signed cheque and
passing it to her quondam friend.

"And here is the will," replied Miss Hest, offering a paper, which Ida
took and gave to the Colonel.

Towton glanced rapidly at the document. It certainly seemed to be a

genuine will signed by Martin Dimsdale and also by Venery and
Smith. He felt sure that there was no trickery about the paper, since
Miss Hest--now that Lady Corsoon knew the truth--would not be
able to get the money unless the testament of Martin Dimsdale was
above reproach. "It's all right," he remarked, slipping the precious
paper into the breast pocket of his coat. "But you, Miss Hest, are
little else than a blackmailer. You are the worthy sister of your
confounded brother."
The woman laughed after a critical glance at the cheque and signed
document to make sure that both were in order. "I am able to bear
all your hard names since I have secured the money. But that Ida
refused to obey me and kicked over the traces you would never have
had the will."

"I thought that the money did not belong to me," protested Ida,
sheltering herself under the wing of her lover, "and wanted to return
it to Lady Corsoon."

Frances nodded with a sneer. "Oh, I know how tender your

conscience is. You have whimpered enough about it. Only because
of your silly attitude did I make this arrangement, which is the best I
can do for myself. But I must say one thing, Ida, and you can take it
as a compliment. Clever as I am, you with your soft over-scrupulous
nature have been too many for me. Few people can say that. And
now that all is over between us, you can leave my house, as I hate
the sight of your insipid face."

Ida shrank back into the Colonel's arms, and he addressed Miss Hest
in a voice rendered hoarse with indignation. "You are a thoroughly
bad woman. I never did approve of you, and now that I see you, as
Ida does, in your true colours, I tell you----"

"My true colours," scoffed the other contemptuously. "No one knows
what they are. You least of all, you narrow-minded idiot."

"What do you mean?" demanded Towton, taken aback by the

malignant look on her hard white face.

"Don't ask her," implored Ida, striving to pull her lover to the door,
"she will only lie. Let us leave this wicked house, as I am certain that
there is something terrible concealed here."

"Something terrible," echoed Towton looking startled.

"Don't talk rubbish," muttered Frances, with a dangerous expression
in her eyes. "Colonel, you had better take away that fool, or it will be
the worse for her. I warn you."

"I have heard strange noises," went on Ida feverishly. "People have
been coming and going in the dead of night. Then that Hindoo----"

"Hokar!" cried the Colonel. "Miss Hest, how do you explain Hokar?"

"I explain nothing," snapped Frances, marching to the door in an

imperious way and throwing it open. "Out you go, both of you," She
recoiled. "Ah! you dare to!"--with a gasp she tried to close the door
again, but Towton dashed forward and caught her arm.

"I have seen; it is too late," he almost shouted. "Maunders. Come

in!"

It was indeed Maunders who stood on the threshold. He looked the

ghost of his former handsome, insolent, prosperous self. Thin and
haggard and worn, with his clothes hanging loosely on his figure, he
presented a woeful spectacle. "What have you been doing to
yourself? How did you come here?" asked Towton, stepping back
much startled, with Ida on his arm.

"Ask that woman how I came here; ask her how she has treated me.
But I escaped from the room she locked me in by climbing out of the
window. Now I shall show her the mercy she has shown me. She is--
--"

Frances darted forward and clapped her hand on his mouth. "I'll kill
you if you say the word. You cursed fool. Be silent or I give you up."
Maunders, with a strength which his frail looks scarcely suggested,
threw her off and staggered against the door. "I give _you_ up," he
shrieked, wild with anger, "you thief, you blackmailer, you
murderess!"
"What?" cried Towton eagerly, and grasping vaguely at the terrible
truth.

"Yes." Maunders pointed an accusing finger at Frances Hest. "There

is The Spider. A woman; a devil! Arrest her; imprison her; hang her
on the gallows," and he sank down on the floor, his back to the door,
with hatred written on his white and ghastly face.

CHAPTER XXI.

JUSTICE.

There was a long pause, a sinister lull in the tempest of passion

which was raging in that quiet, prosaic room. Gasping with impotent
passion, Maunders lay, resting his head against the door, an obstacle
which prevented the guilty woman from escaping. Not that she
attempted to escape. With a deadly white face, with steady, cold,
malignant eyes, like those of a snake, and with a contemptuous
smile on her thin lips. The Spider, visible at last in all her brazen
wickedness, stood defiantly at bay. Towton, with Ida clinging to his
arm almost terrified out of her senses, stared aghast at the evil
being who had been such a curse to many. The ominous silence was
like the year-long moment before the bursting of a bomb.

Ida, with chattering teeth and trembling limbs, was the first to
recover the use of her tongue; but she could scarcely form the
words. "Oh, God! oh, God!" she whimpered, hiding her face on her
lover's breast; "it's too awful. I never thought--I never thought--oh--
oh--oh!" She broke down with a strange, hysterical, choking cry, and
would have fallen to the ground but that the Colonel placed her
gently in a near chair.

Then he turned with military precision to face Miss Hest. "You are
The Spider?" he asked in dry, precise tones, and now entirely master
of himself.

"Yes," she replied coolly, and her mouth closed with a triumphant
snap.

"You infernal fiend----"

"Gently! Gently! Hard names break no bones, Colonel. You should be

more of a man than to throw words at a woman."

"Are you a woman?"

"Yes," gasped Maunders, raising himself on his elbow and wiping the
froth from his pale lips; "she is Frances Hest right enough. Her
brother is a myth invented by herself to mask her devilries. But
Frances or Francis--she is The Spider!"

"I did not mean that exactly," said Towton in his hard voice; "but I
asked if one capable of the enormities credited to The Spider can
possibly be a woman."

"I am The Spider," said Miss Hest with a shrug. "There is your
answer."

"You are a demon."

"More names! Really, Colonel Towton, you are very childish. You sink
to the level of that fool," and she pointed scornfully to Ida, who was
weeping in the chair as though her heart would break.

"To think that I should have been her friend," moaned Ida with a
fresh burst of tears and hiding her face.
"You little fool," said Frances in a gentle, dangerous voice. "I have
been a better friend to you than you think. But that I pitied you as
being a poor, weak, silly worm, I would have murdered you long
ago."

"You murdered my father," shivered Ida, not daring to meet the cold
eyes which rested on her prostrate form.

"Martin Dimsdale was not your father."

"You--you--you murdered him."

"Yes, I did."

"What!" Towton could scarcely believe his ears. "You admit the
crime?"

Frances yawned ostentatiously. "If I admit that I am The Spider it

follows that I must have murdered Dimsdale."

"Well, no," replied Towton, truthfully and justly. "You may have
employed Hokar to strangle him."

"That is very good of you," said Frances satirically, "but I don't place
my own sins on the shoulders of others. Hokar taught me how to
strangle in the Thug fashion certainly, but he did not kill Dimsdale. I
did."

"Still, I don't believe that the murder was premeditated," insisted

Towton.

"Upon my word," said Miss Hest good-humouredly and as coolly as

though she were gossiping over a cup of tea, "one would think you
were counsel for the defence. No, you are right. I did not intend to
murder Dimsdale. Having got you out of the way----"

"You mean that you got Vernon out of the way?"

"Of course," assented Frances, sitting down and crossing her legs in
a gentlemanly fashion; "but you must excuse my bad memory, as I
have so much to think of. I got Vernon out of the way, as I
overheard, and Maunders there overheard, the arrangement for a
trap. We were both on the verandah."

"And I was with you," wailed Ida, shivering again. "So you were,"
said Miss Hest raising her eyebrows, "but you heard nothing.
Maunders caught a word or two through the open window of the
library and warned me. While you, my dear Ida, were talking to him
I stole round the corner and listened. Knowing all about the trap, I
had Vernon decoyed to the Kensington house, and at the appointed
time I went into the library, masked and cloaked, as were the other
guests at the ball. Dimsdale was waiting for me. I stole up behind
him and slipped a handkerchief round his neck."

"Oh!" The Colonel was revolted. "And you say that the crime was not
premeditated?"

"I say truly. I simply prepared to strangle him slightly should he have
made an outcry. Remember, I was in a dangerous position and could
not stand on ceremony. Had Dimsdale given me the money and
permitted me to leave by the window I would have spared his life.
As it was, he saw me in the mirror, which was directly in front of
him."

"But you were masked: he could not recognise you?"

"I am coming to that. He waited for a moment, until I made my

demand for the money, then suddenly threw back his hand, and
before I guessed his intention he tore the mask from my face. When
he recognised me I was obliged, for my own safety, to strangle him.
As the handkerchief was in position I simply tightened it, and he was
soon dead. Then I searched for the money, but, not being able to
find it, I resumed my mask and returned to the ballroom. Maunders,
of course, was with me all the time, and awaited my return."
"I did not know that you had committed a murder," said Maunders
gloomily.

"No, I did not tell you at the time: it would have spoilt your pleasure.
But when Ida learned the truth by entering the library you guessed
what had taken place. I kept you with me for your own sake, to
provide an _alibi_ should you be suspected, as I feared Vernon
might be clever enough to guess that you had something to do with
it. As a matter of fact, he did hint at it when he called many days
later, but I was enabled to say that you were with me all the time,
and so he was put off the scent."

"I remember," murmured the Colonel to himself, but not so low as

not to be overheard by Miss Hest's marvellously sharp ears. "Vernon
was quite satisfied when you provided the _alibi_ for Maunders. He
never suspected _you_."

"No one ever suspected me," said Frances coolly. "There is no need
for me to speak of my own cleverness. Anyone who can baffle the
police as I have done has no need to boast."

"But why, in heaven's name, with your abilities, did you embark on
such an evil course?" asked Towton amazed at her _sang-froid_.

"Fate, Fortune, Destiny: what name you will," said Miss Hest
carelessly. "But you have tried to exonerate me, Colonel, and
because of that you shall hear the whole story," and, leaning
forward, she pulled the bell-rope.

"Remember, I shall repeat all you say to the police," warned Towton.

"I am not afraid of the police," retorted Frances with a shrug; "all my
plans are made--to escape. As that fool," she pointed to Maunders
lying sullenly on the floor, "has betrayed me twice I give him to you
as a sacrifice. But I shall never stand in the dock, you may be sure."

"Will you kill yourself?" cried Ida, terrified at this strength of mind.
"No, my dear. I am too much in love with life. You shall know my
plan presently. Meantime, you shall hear how I came to be a
blackmailer, as you have already heard why I murdered Dimsdale, to
my misfortune."

"To your misfortune, indeed! sharply.

"You may well say so, Colonel. I never intended to soil my hands
with blood, least of all with that of a man whom I liked and who was
kind to me. Don't sigh, Ida; after all, I did not shed his blood, as I
merely strangled him. But that death brought you and Vernon in
chase of me, Colonel, and so I am hunted down. Still, had Maunders
been true, I should have been safe. You knew Francis Hest as the
criminal, thanks to Maunders. I merged the brother in the sister and
made everything safe. Now," she shrugged her shoulders, "I must
flit."

"You shall go to prison with me," panted Maunders furiously.

"I think not," rejoined Miss Hest contemptuously. "Don't you know
me well enough yet to be aware that I provide against all
contingencies. Come in!" she added, raising her voice, and, when
the door opened, looked at Towton. "I shall ask my old nurse, Miss
Jewin, to relate the beginning of my career; at a later time I can
take up the tale, and then our tumbled-down friend yonder can
finish the story. Sarah, enter and close the door."

Miss Sarah Jewin was peaked-faced and white, with thin lips, scanty
grey hair and cold grey eyes. She was thin and bony and very tall,
so that in her plain black dress she looked like a line--length without
breadth. As she entered Maunders with a groan hoisted himself into
a chair. Miss Jewin had already pushed him aside when she entered
the room and, in place of replying to her mistress, stood looking at
his scowling, haggard face with a look of consternation. Maunders
replied to the look with petty triumph.
"Yes, I got out," he said, rubbing the ragged beard which disfigured
his well-moulded chin. "I wrenched a bar out of the window and
climbed down by the ivy. Now the murder's out, and you and your
hellish mistress are about to be brought to book."

"Don't mind him, Sarah," said Frances lazily and leaning back in her
chair to light a cigarette; "you are safe and so am I. Let the fool talk.
In the meantime, tell Colonel Towton here how I came to England
and how you knew that Ida was merely Dimsdale's adopted
daughter."

"I thought you wanted these things kept secret," said Miss Jewin in
dismay and turning pale with dread at the situation in which she
found herself.

"The time for secrets is past, Sarah. Shortly, thanks to your having
allowed Maunders to escape and to Colonel Towton's sense of
justice, the hue and cry will be out against the whole of us. Is Hokar
at his post?"

"Yes. He went away when you gave orders."

"That's all right. I'll escape, sure enough, and so will you. We'll leave
Maunders behind to face justice: he can declare himself to be The
Spider instead of me if he chooses."

"Oh!" Miss Jewin started back looking terrified. "Do they know----"

"Maunders has told them, you dear old idiot. But there's no time to
be lost, Sarah; tell your story."

"And be frank," broke in the Colonel, who was truly amazed at Miss
Hest's cool composure. "If you turn King's evidence you may receive
a short sentence for your complicity."

Sarah Jewin folded her arms primly. "Begging your pardon, sir, but I
won't receive any sentence at all. I am quite sure that Miss Frances
will save me from going to prison."

"I fail to see how she can save herself, let alone you," said Towton
coldly. "My horse is at the door. After placing Miss Dimsdale in safety
I shall ride to Gatehead and send for the police. You needn't
chuckle, Miss Hest, and think you will escape meantime. I shall raise
the village and you will be carefully watched."

"You can act as you please," said Frances coolly. "I am not The
Spider for nothing, and I shall baffle you as I have baffled others.
Meantime since you were so just to me, I shall satisfy your curiosity,
which I am sure is very great. Sarah, tell your story."

"One moment," said Towton, turning to the prim woman, "you lured
Vernon into the kitchen of that empty Kensington house?"

She dropped an ironical curtsey. "Yes, sir. Miss Frances was pleased
that I managed so cleverly."

Ida stared wide-eyed at the shameless looks and speech of the

housekeeper, and Towton frowned. That these creatures should so
audaciously confess their crimes when they knew he would shortly
summon the police puzzled him greatly. Also, remembering the
wonderful craft of The Spider, he felt uneasy as to what might
happen, but he could not conjecture in what way she could extricate
herself and her accomplice from the trap in which they were safely
caught. However, he made no comment on Miss Jewin's insolence,
but merely ordered her to proceed.

"About thirty-five years ago," said Miss Jewin, plunging into her story
without any preliminary explanation, "I was in India and nurse to
Mrs. Hest, who was the wife of Captain Theodore Hest, stationed at
Bombay. The Captain's father, who lived here, was angry when his
son went into the Army, and cut him off with a shilling, but my
master believed that if a son were born to inherit the estates his
father would relent. When my mistress's baby proved to be a girl he
was much disappointed. However, as his father was old and might
die before he found out the trick, he sent home news that the baby
was a boy, and had her baptised Francis."

"So you see," broke in Miss Hest who was smoking quietly, "that my
real name is Francis, and by law I am a man. As a woman I am
Frances, so there is merely the difference of one letter. Go on,
Sarah."

"She," said Miss Jewin, pointing to her mistress, "was dressed as a

boy and brought up as a boy, so that the estates might come to her.
My master's father relented when he heard that he had, as he
supposed, a grandson, and made a will in the boy's favour."

"The boy, you understand, Colonel, being a girl--myself," said

Frances for the sake of clearness.

"I quite understand," said the Colonel frowning. "Go on."

"Then my master and mistress were carried off within a month of

one another by fever," continued Miss Jewin. "They died in Burmah,
where the Captain had gone with his regiment. I then took charge of
Miss Hest, who was always called Master Francis, and came to Gerby
Hall. Old Mr. Hest, the grandfather, just lived six months longer, but
he died under the impression that his grand-daughter was a
grandson. Miss Frances thus became possessed of the property."

"Didn't the lawyer know that she was a girl?" asked Towton
surprised.

"No. As she had always been brought up as a boy the deception was
complete, sir," said Miss Jewin, using the word with shameless
deliberation. "The lawyer came here and saw Miss Frances in her
boy's clothes."

"And in this way," explained Miss Hest, "it became current gossip in
the village that I had a twin brother."
"A twin sister, you mean?" said the Colonel doubtfully.

"Well, you might put it that way. At all events, everyone in

Bowderstyke believes to this day that there is a boy and a girl, or,
rather, a man and a woman Hest. I alternately wore male and
female clothes."

"Why was there any need for you to wear female clothes at all?"

"That was my fault," said Miss Jewin quickly. "When the succession
to the estates was settled I could not bear that Miss Frances should
masquerade any longer as a boy. I therefore dressed her in girl's
clothes, to which she was entitled, and invented the twin story.
Sometimes she was a boy, so that the lawyers should not learn the
truth, and sometimes a girl to please me. There's the whole story."

"Now it's my turn," said Frances, throwing away her cigarette.

"When I grew up and learned how Sarah had muddled my sex in the
eyes of the world I decided to make use of it in order to earn
money."

"Why did you need money when you had the estates?" asked
Towton briefly. "Oh, those were mortgaged up to the hilt, my dear
sir. I wanted to be rich and to restore the Hest family to their old
position For this reason I posed as a philanthropist and spent the
money I did. What with the sums I have given in charity and the
buildings I have constructed, and the dam, which is my work, I
think, Colonel, that the Hests can hold their own with the Towtons. I
hated to think that my family was down while yours was up."

"Oh," said the Colonel with contempt, "so it's a case of jealousy
merely. All your philanthropy was a fraud?"

For the first time Frances coloured and rose out of her chair to reply
with more emphasis. "No; you must not say that. I really have a
mixed nature, and like to help people. My good qualities are the
outcome of my evil ones. I wanted to aggrandize the Hests,
certainly, since they were lords of Bowderstyke Valley, until your
family robbed them of their property. But also I really wished to do
good and help people. I think I succeeded."

"At the cost of murder," said Ida resentfully.

"That was a mistake," replied Frances glibly, "as I never intended to

murder Dimsdale. When I went to London in my woman's dress,
with very little money in my pocket, I simply intended to earn my
fortune on the stage, and by reciting to make Francis Hest--my other
self, who was supposed to live here--wealthy and popular. I found
that the reciting did not pay and cast about for some better means
of making money. Alternately I lived in London as Frances, and in
Bowderstyke as Francis. But I could not gain my ends by honest
means, and so was obliged to take to dishonest ways. If you wish to
know the devil who tempted me to eat of the Tree of Knowledge, he
is before you," and she pointed deliberately to Constantine.

"It's a lie," cried Maunders, starting to his feet with a fine

appearance of indignation. "I met you three or four years ago in
London and you discovered that I earned my living by telling
fortunes as Diabella. That was all, except," he added, scowling, "that
you blackmailed me."

"Quite so," said Miss Hest quietly. "I tried my 'prentice hand on you,
and the means of making money in this way was so easy that I took
it up as a trade and adopted you as a partner. Go on, Maunders, you
tell the rest of the story so that everything may be made clear."

"There's nothing to tell," said Maunders doggedly, and casting down

his eyes as he met Ida's sorrowful look, for he was not so entirely
lost to all sense of shame as were the other two law-breakers. "You
made me find out all manner of secrets from my clients by hinting at
things and asking questions and by----"

"I know," interrupted Towton waving his hand. "I am aware of how
fortune-tellers hint at a possibility and so find out the actual truth
from their too credulous clients. No wonder The Spider learned
much that people would fain have kept to themselves. Who told you
about Dimsdale?"

"You know," said Maunders sullenly, "that woman there."

"Yes," said Miss Jewin, still prim and shameless. "When in Burmah
with my master I heard about Mr. Dimsdale's love for Mrs. Menteith
and how, when her husband died, he adopted the child. But I never
said that Mr. Dimsdale delayed any expedition so as to get Mr.
Menteith killed."

"No. I invented that and made Maunders tell it to you, Ida, and to
you, Colonel, with the additions," put in Miss Hest, with great
coolness. "Also, on finding out that Ida was not Dimsdale's daughter,
I became alarmed as to the disposition of the property, therefore I
made myself a friend of the family and secured the free run of the
house."

"You intended to get my money?" asked Ida reproachfully.

"Certainly, my dear," replied Frances, raising her eyebrows. "Ten

thousand a year was far too much for a chit like you to handle. I
intended to get command of the whole lot. First I hunted in the dead
of night for the will, and found it in the library desk. Then I made
Maunders tell you that you were not Dimsdale's daughter, after the
murder, so that you might be dependent on me, since I knew a
secret which could rob you of the money. I had the secret told also
to the Colonel so that he might learn he would only have a penniless
wife should he marry you, my dear Ida."

"Did you think so meanly of me as that?" demanded Towton,

colouring indignantly.

Miss Hest raised her eyebrows. "My dear sir, my experience of

human nature has shown me that there is no mean trick which the
majority of men will not commit for money. You, however, were in
the minority, and so was Ida, as you both were honest. This upset
my calculations, as I could not provide against the unseen in human
nature. You, Colonel, still insisted upon marrying Ida, and she
wished to hand over the money to Lady Corsoon. For this reason I
was forced to play my last card and produce the will."

"But you did not intend to be found out as The Spider?"

"No, I did not," confessed Frances calmly. "When Maunders betrayed

me at Isleworth you thought that The Spider was a man, which was
exactly what I wanted and what I counted upon should such an
event as unexpected betrayal happen. In the fog I dragged
Maunders away, and we went to the house of a friend of mine
whose name I don't intend you to know. I wired in cypher to Miss
Jewin here to send a telegram to Francis Hest at Professor Gail's."

"We got that," said the Colonel quickly, "and it threw us off the
scent."

"I thought it would," said Miss Hest coolly. "So while you were
hunting for The Spider as a man in London I went down with
Maunders--he was disguised as an old gentleman and I resumed my
womanly dress. Then I wrote you on the plea of talking about Ida
and asked after my pretended brother to still further puzzle you."

"You certainly succeeded," retorted Towton, trying to conceal his

wonder at all this clever trickery; "but Ida was here and must have
known that you were absent from the house as Francis."

"Oh, no. I appeared before her twice in this room, which is, as you
see, not very well lighted, in my male disguise and with the painted
scar on my face. She was entirely taken in."

"The very simplicity of your disguise took me in," said Ida angrily
and wincing at having been so blinded. "Had you worn a beard or a
wig I should have recognised you."
"I think not," said Miss Hest quietly and with an amused smile. "As
the man I wore my hair somewhat long----"

"I noted that," said the Colonel quickly.

"How clever of you. Well, then, as a woman I merely knitted in false

hair. I couldn't wear false hair as a man since Ida would then have
been sharp enough to have recognised me. But plenty of women
wear false plaits, so I was safe on that score: she never suspected
me. My sole disguise was the cicatrice, skilfully painted, and the
success of the whole business lay--as Ida has submitted--in its
boldness and in the belief that I had a twin brother. I have always
found," added Miss Hest musingly, "that the bolder one is the safer it
is: audacity always scores. At all events, I so closely resembled my
own true self that no one thought I was anyone else but what I
represented myself to be. As Francis I told Ida that I was taking my
sister away for a week, and so slipped up to London to meet Vernon
at Lady Corsoon's and to be nearly trapped at Isleworth."

"What about Hokar and Bahadur?" asked the Colonel abruptly.

"Hokar," said Miss Jewin, making the explanation instead of Frances,

"was an old servant of Captain Hest's and came to England with me
and the child. Later he sent for his nephew, who was Bahadur."

"Yes. And I gave them both to Maunders when I set him up in those
splendid Egyptian rooms in Bond Street," observed her mistress.
"They were not engaged to strangle people, as you may think,
Colonel, but I merely wished them to add to the fantastical look of
the place when fortunes were being told. That you were so nearly
strangled, and Vernon also, was your own fault and his own. You
should mind your own business, my friend."

"I am going to mind it now," said Towton with a frown; "but first tell
me, since you are so frank, what about Lady Corsoon's jewels?"

"They are in this house. I gave them into Miss Jewin's possession."
"And Lady Corsoon can have them for one hundred pounds," said
Miss Jewin.

"A very modest demand, Sarah," said Miss Hest approvingly, "but as
the game is up I don't think you will get more. I shall leave you to
arrange about getting the money and handing back the jewels. Lady
Corsoon will be safe, and at a small loss. But I am glad to think that
she will not get your money, Ida, dear."

"Don't speak to me," cried Ida starting to her feet. "The more you
say the more I see how shamefully you have treated me."

"I have spared you," said Miss Hest coolly. "I could have stripped
you entirely bare had I so chosen."

"No. By your own showing I was too clever for you."

"Why, that is true, and simply because you were honest. I always
wished to keep on the right side of the law, or I could have got you
to make a will in my favour, and then you would have been
poisoned."

"How dare you?" shouted Towton, while Ida gave a faint cry.

"You have learned how much I dare," said Frances with an

unpleasant look. "So, now the story is told, perhaps you will leave
my house."

Colonel Towton walked towards the door with Ida on his arm and
roughly pushed Miss Jewin aside. "I shall place Miss Dimsdale----"

"Miss Menteith," sneered Frances.

"In safety," continued Towton without noticing the interruption, "and

then I shall ride for the police."
"I shall come, too," cried Maunders starting to his feet. "She will lock
me up again and perhaps may kill me."

"Stay where you are," commanded Frances sharply. "I intend to----"

Maunders did not wait to hear the end of the sentence. Seeing that
Towton and Ida blocked the door he made a rush at the nearest
window and sprang out of it with a dexterity begotten of sheer fear.
Whether Frances intended to take him with her when she fled, or
whether she intended to murder him he could not say, but he
preferred to trust in the mercy of the law rather than in that of the
woman who had been his evil genius. Crazy with terror, he tumbled
to the ground, and Towton, along with Ida, ran to the front door, to
see him speeding across the grass. A moment later and Frances,
with a revolver in her hand, leaped from the window in pursuit. From
the expression on her face she evidently intended nothing less than
murder.

Towton hastily unbuckled the bridle from the ring and flung himself
on his horse. "Place your foot on my toe, Ida," he commanded; "up
you get. There," he added, gathering up the reins as she sat on his
saddle-bow and placed her arms round his neck; "now let us alarm
the village. That poor devil will be shot if this fiendish woman is not
arrested." And he rode forward at a moderately fast pace.

"She'll catch him," chuckled Sarah Jewin, who had come to the door
and was looking out from under the palm of her hand. "Shoot, Miss
Frances. Shoot!"

Maunders, finding that he was being chased, could not make directly
for the gate and dodged behind some shrubs. Frances sighted him
and fired a shot. It winged him, for he gave a yell of fear and ran
directly towards her in the open. She fired another shot, which
struck him in the breast, and he pitched forward at her feet. Just as
she fired a third shot into his prostrate body there came a noise like
thunder and a terrible cry from Miss Jewin.
"The signal! The signal! The dam's burst!" and she bolted into the
house.

In a flash Towton comprehended and set spurs to his horse. Frances

strove to fly, but Maunders with a last effort caught at her foot and
she fell heavily, fighting for freedom like a wild cat. The next
moment he had her by the throat. And in the distance a mighty
roaring struck the ears of all as the flood came down gigantically.

CHAPTER XXII.

THE END OF IT ALL.

Towton could not quite understand the situation, as there was no

time to consider matters. All he knew was that the Bolly Dam had
burst, and even had Miss Jewin not spoken, the appalling noise
would have informed him of the catastrophe. With Ida in his arms he
spurred his horse frantically out of the gate and across the village
bridge. He found the crooked street filled with people, called out by
the unexpected thunder.

"The dam's burst: get on the high ground," shouted Towton, and
with a yell of fear men, women, and children began to run wildly in
the direction of the gorge and to disappear amongst the houses in
the hope of gaining some level beyond the height of the down-
coming flood. But there was scanty time for safety. The hollow
booming sound of the waters plunging through the narrows sounded
ever nearer and nearer with terrible distinctness: it seemed as
though the waters were bellowing for their prey. In a moment the
Colonel comprehended that it was too late to skirt the village and
gain the winding road, where they would be safe. Ida gave a cry of
alarm as he wrenched round the now startled horse and clattered
through the village street on his way down the valley. It seemed the
only chance.

"I'll save you yet, my darling," muttered Towton, setting his teeth.
"We must make for Gatehead," and he drove his spurs into the
animal, which now was becoming unmanageable with the roaring of
the flood. Ida, almost insensible with terror, clung to her lover's
neck, and the horse, making no more of the double burden than if it
had been a feather, tore at top speed along the road between the
torrent and the precipice. There was no safety on either side, as the
precipice could not be climbed, and the dry bed of the stream
merely offered a deeper grave. Fortunately, the road sloped
gradually to the mouth of the valley, some two miles away, therefore
the downward trend offered extra means to escape the pursuing
greedy waters. A backward glance showed Towton that a
tremendous flood was shooting out of the bottle-mouth of the upper
gorge with terrific rapidity. The whole of the huge lake, artificial as
well as natural, was emptying itself in one vast outpour, and owing
to the narrowness of the valley the concentrated force was gigantic.
If the flood caught them they would either be dashed to pieces
against the rocks or would be borne onward--horse and maid and
man--to be expelled at Gatehead, as if fired from the mouth of a
cannon.

"Oh, God, save us! Oh, God, save us!" was all that Ida could moan.

"He will; He will," cried Towton, riding under spur and whip with a
mad joy in the adventure, perilous as it was. "He will save the
innocent and punish the guilty. Never fear, never fear, my darling."

On roared the enormous body of water, curling like a mighty wave

crested with foam and glistening like a colossal jewel in the serene
sunshine. It passed with a hoarse triumphant screaming over the
fated village, and in a single moment Bowderstyke was not. Bearing
_débris_ and bodies of cattle and men, women and children on its
breast, the water rolled majestically on its destroying way. Like a
wall of steel it stood up, stretching from wall to wall of the valley,
and before it tore the terrified horse, warned by its instinct of rapidly
approaching danger.

"We are lost! we are lost!" screamed Ida, hiding her face on
Towton's shoulder. "We can never escape. It's a mile further."

"There's a crack--a path--a break in the precipice," panted the man,

almost despairing of saving what he loved best in the world. "If we
can gain that we can scramble up, and--and---- Great God! How it
travels!"

From the sides of the valley trees were being wrenched up by their
roots, and even the stones lying in the bed of the torrent were being
lifted and swept onward like pieces of straw. Owing to the increasing
breadth of the valley the shouting and the level of the flood had
somewhat lessened, but the hoarse, steady murmur with which it
smoothly advanced seemed to be even more terrible than its
triumphant screaming. Nearer and nearer it rolled, towering, as it
seems to the desperate fugitives, right up to the high heavens. The
horse raced onward furiously, but there seemed to be no chance of
escaping that rapidly approaching death-wave, which swept along
with relentless speed. The man and woman were both silent, and
both prayed inwardly, as they faced the eleventh hour of death.

And it was the eleventh hour, for there was still hope. Rounding a
corner swiftly Towton rose in his stirrups and sent forth a cry almost
as hoarse as that of the flood. A short distance ahead he saw a
streak of green grass marking the ruddy stone face of the precipice,
and knew that here was the crack to which he had referred. It was a
mere chink in the wall, of no great width, caused, no doubt, by the
volcanic action which had formed the valley in far distant ages. Many
a time as a lad had Towton climbed up that narrow natural staircase
to the moors above, but never had he expected to find it a means of
preserving his own life and the life he valued dearer than his own.
Setting his teeth, he glanced backward and then urged the horse to
renewed efforts. The wall of water was almost upon them,
advancing with terrible and steady persistence. The last moment
seemed to be at hand.

Suddenly the Colonel wrenched at the horse's bit and pulled the
animal up with a jerk. As it fell back on its haunches he slipped off
with the almost insensible girl in his arms and ran desperately
towards the sloping green bank, which showed itself like a port of
safety between the bare, bleak stones. As he gained it the horse,
having recovered itself, rushed past with a loose bridle and with the
stirrups lashing its sides. But Towton paid no heed. Almost in a
dream he scrambled up the bank, bearing Ida as though she were a
feather-weight. With straining eyes and bursting temples, and with
his heart beating furiously, he clambered desperately, dragging the
girl rather than carrying her, as he needed at least one hand free to
grip the tough grasses. Fortunately the slope was gradual, and had it
not been there would have been no hope of escape. As it was, when
they were a considerable way up the mighty wave surged
majestically past, and its waters shot up the crevice with gigantic
force. This was rather a help than a hindrance, as it assisted the
almost broken man to mount higher. But to the end of his days
Colonel Towton never knew how he saved his wife. All he could
remember was straining upward, dragging the now insensible
woman with aching limbs and a blood-red mist before his eyes.
When his brain was somewhat clearer he found himself bending over
Ida in a turfy nook, while barely three feet below him the grey water
gurgled and sang and bubbled as if in a witch's cauldron.

"Safe! Safe!" muttered Towton, and dropped insensible across the

inanimate body of the woman he had so miraculously saved from a
terrible death.
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