IN WHITE RAIMENT

Auckland Star, Volume XXXI, Issue 292, 8 December 1900, Page 6 (Supplement)

IN WHITE RAIMENT

By WILLIAM LE QUEUX,

'Author of "Purple and Pine Linen," "Whoso Pindeth a Wife," "Of Royal Blood," "If Sinners Entice Thee/ "The Day of Temptation," Etc., Etc.

CHAPTER XIX,

HOEEER'S STRANGE METHODS. Twenty or thirty minutes elapsed before I regained my power of speech. The drugs administered by Hoefer fortunately had the effect desired. His sleepy eyes beamed through his great spectacles as he watched Avith satisfaction the stimulating consequence of the injections. He dissolved in Avater a tiny red tabloid, which he took from a small glass tube in a case he carried, and ordered me to drink it. This I did, finding it exceeding-ly bitter, and Avondering AA'hat it Avas. I asked no questions, however. He was a man Avho had made many extraordinary discoveries, all of Avhich he kept secret to himself. In the profession he was acknowledged to be one of the greatest living toxicologists, and his opinions Avere often sought by the various medical centres. Indeed, as every medical man knotvs, the name of Hoefer is synonymous with all that is occult in the science of toxicology, and the tntidotes he has given to the world from time to time are as curious as they are drastic in effect. "Have you experienced any strange sensation?" was my first question of him. "No, none," he ansAvered. "Ach! it is all very curious—very curious indeed! I have never before seen similar cases. There is actual rigor mortis. The symptoms so closely resemble death that one might so easily mis* take. We must investigate further. It cannot be that there is any lethal gas in the room, for the AvindoAv is Aviae open; and again, while actually in the room no ill effect is felt. It is only or_ emerging." "Yes," I answered. "I was struck almost at the instant I came out. It was as sudden as an electric shock. I cannot account for it in the least— can j'ou?" "No," he ansAvered. "It is a mystery; But I like mysteries. They always interest me. There is so much to learn that one is constantly making fresh discoveries." "Then you will try and dissolve this?" urged her ladyship, after expressing satisfaction at my recovery. "Of course, madame, Avith your permission," he ansAvered. "It is a complex case. When Aye have solved it we shall then know hoAv to treat the young lady." "And how do you intend to begin?" I inquired, raising myself, not without considerable difficulty. "By going into the room alone," he answered briefly. "You, too, will risk your life?" I exclaimed. "Is it wise?" "Research is always Avisdom," he responded, then finding that I Avas recovering rapidly from the seizure he gave me some technical directions hoav to treat him in case he lost consciousness. He arranged the tiny syringe, ' and the various drugs and tabloids upon the hall table, and then, with a final examination of them, he opened the door of the fatal room, and entered, leaving us standing together on the threshold. Walking to the window he looked out, afterwards making several tours of the room in search of its secret. He, hoAV.ever, found nothing. The air Avas pure as London air. can be on a summer's night, and as far as either of us could discern there was nothing unusual in the apartment. The door swung to half-way, and Aye heard him growling and grunting within. He remained in the room for perhaps fiv<J minutes, then emerged.' Scarcely, however, had he crossed the threshold Avhen he lifted his left arm suddenly, crying— "Ach, Gott! I am seized. The injection—quick." His fleshy face went pale, and I saw by its contortions that the left side had become paralysed. But with a quick movement I pushed up his coatsleeve, and ran the needle beneath the skin. His teeth were closed tightly as he watched me. "It is most unaccountable," Itgasped in an awed voice, when I had withdraAvn the needle after the injection. "I am cold as ice—just as though my legs were in a refrigerator!" "Your feet are benumbed?" I said. "Yes," he responded. "The /sensation is just exactly as you have described it—like the touch of an- icy hand!" I felt his pulse. It was intermittent and feeble. I told him so. "Look at your Avateh, and in three minutes give me the second injection. There's ether there in the larger bottle" .... I glanced at the time, and, holding my watch in my hand, Avaited until the three minutes had passed. We were silent, all three of us, until I took up a piece of cotton wool, and, saturating it Avith ether, rubbed it carefully on the flesh. Then I gave him the second injection. "Good!" he said, approvingly. It acts marvellously. I shall be better in a few moments. Did you feel youn head reeling and your strength failing?"' ■ I responded in the affirmative. "And so did I," he answered. "The seizure is sharp and sudden, the bram becoming paralysed. That is the condition of the young lady: paralysis of the brain and heart, coma and collapse-." • ,_. "But the cause?" I asked; He was pale as death, yet he took no notice of his own condition. He was used, I knew, to making dangerous and extraordinary experiments upon himself. It was said at Guy's that he had poisoned himself a hundred times, and had ahvays hit upon the right antidote. "The cause?" he echoed, in his deep guttural German. "It is for us to discover, that. I-have never met a more interesting case than this." "Yes, it's interesting enough," I admitted. "But recollect the lady. We must not neglect her." "We are not neglecting her," he responded reprovingly. "Now that we knoAV something of the symptoms we may be able to save her. Before, we Avere working entirely in the dark." "But you are still ill," I said. "No, no, he laughed. "It is nothing." And he passed across the threshold and stood just -within the room again. Apparently he thought that the. seat of the mystery lay in the doorway. Then he rejoined us, but felt no further symptoms,

(COPYRIGHT.)

There was evidently some uncanny but unseen influence contained within that apartment, but what it was Aye could not discover. All that was plairJ to us Avas the fact that any person emerging from it must be struck down as by an ice-cold hand. Together Aye returned to the boudoir, and to our satisfaction saAV an unmistakable sign-j that life was not entirely extinct. My love had moved! "Good!" exclaimed the old German. "I go again to get something else," ! and without further word he crammed his shabby soft felt upon his head and j hurried out. I "The mystery of that room is most extraordinary," I remarked to her I Ladyship Avhen we Avere alone. "Has the influence ever been felt there beifore?" , | "Not to my knowledge," she re- | sponded. "Never before to-night," I "Never before the entrance of that strange woman?" I suggested. j "Exactly. It is an absolute mystery." "And you have no knowledge who ,that person Avas?" "None whatever." "Not even a surmise?" I inquired i rather dubiously. My thoughts re- ; verted to what I had overheard regarding the uuAvelcome presence In London of that Avoman known as "L_. Gioia." "No, not even a surmise," she an- ! sAvered. I "Should I tell her of-my OWII suspicions? No. To keep my knoAvleage Ito myself and seek to discover the key to the problem Avas my best course. ' "And your cousin was Avith her for : twenty minutes, you say?" "Yes, about that time," she replied. "I did not hurry to finish dinner, as I believed Beryl was talking with the j dressmaker regarding some altera- : tions to an evening bodice which she j had mentioned to me. They did not Interest me, therefore I sat awaiting her I return." "And by that time this Avoman, AA*hoi ever she was, had already slipped out .of the house." "She must haA*e done so; No one heard her leave." "But how is it possible that her presence should exercise such a baneful influence upon those who iioav en- ! ter the morning room?" I said, be- : Avildered. "It seems as though she -•were possessed of some supernatural power." "Yes," she responded. "I cannot understand it in the least." "Let us hope that Hoefer Avill solve the enigma. If anyone is able he is." "But first urge him to bring poor. I Beryl back to consciousness," she said, turning to gaze upon the still inanimate form of the woman I adored. At that moment the German returned puffing and grunting, for he had hurried and the perspiration Avas rolling oft his brow. He took several little packets from his pocket, and, seating himself at the table, commenced carefully to prepare another solution, the ingredients of Avhich were unknown to me. Some of the drugs I knew by their appearance, of course, but others Avere Avhite po.vders, impossible to recognise. Again he administered an injection into the arm of my prostrate loved one, and then Aye all three stood in silence Avatching for the effect. Hoefer gave vent to a further grunt, of confidence, glanced at his watch, and turned back to the table to rearrange his array of drugs. I saw that . the little pocket-case lying on the table contained about twenty tiny tubes about an inch and a half long, each containing very small pilules of tabloids, coloured brightly to render them more easily distinguishable, and not much larger than ordinary shot. Each i tube Avas marked, but by mysterious signs unknoAvn in British pharmacology. The action of this last prophylactic Avas slow, but signs were nevertheless not wanting that its effect Avas to re- , animate; for by degrees the deathly 1 pallor of the sweet "face I adored beI came less marked, and the lips showed red instead of that ashen hue which had told us of her nearness to death. The German returned to her, and feeling her pulse counted the seconds upon his watch, while at the same time I listened to the respira .ton. "Good!" exclaimed the old felloAV, beaming through his glasses. "The diagnosis is correct and the refocilliation is more rapid, than I should have expected. She- will recover." I heaved a sigh of relief, and holdingher slim Avhite hand, stood watchi ing for the first sign of returning consciousness. This man, the only man in the whole world ! Avhose knowledge of the mysterious untrodden paths of therapeutics was I sufficiently deep to enable him to ac- | complish such a cure, was bringing ' back to me the woman whose great beauty held me spellbound. j Her ladyship, reassured by his Avords, left us, to order some liquid ! beef tea to be prepared, so as to be in ' readiness. Then when Aye Avere alone I asked of Hoefer in n low confidential tone: "What is your opinion of this anlomalous case?" He shrugged his shoulders, answerins — "The mystery _f that room is certainly one of no ordinary character. I cannot see how such an effect is prodVuced." * "But we've both experienced it ourselves." J "Exactly. At present it is a mystery, hut AA'e may learn something from the young lady which avIII give us a clue. She can tell us about this strange Avoman in black." s "If I were at all superstitious I think I should believe that the Spirit of Evil dwelt in that room, I remafkI ed- Avith a smile. "It is certainly strange —very strange, that sudden coup like the touch of a, cold hand," he answered, Ayith his great eyes fixed intently upon the postrate form. "I cannot account for it in the least." Suddenly the pallid cheeks became flushed. Life Avas returning. The liquid injected into the blood had at last neutralised the effect, stimulated the cir-culation,re-animated the whole system, and revived the flickering spark of life. The hand I held greAV warmer, the pulse throbbed more quickly, the breathing became regular, and a few minutes later, Avithout warning, she (opened her eyes, and looked Avonder-

CHARTER XX. THE CHILL HAND,

"No. The message was verbal, . went once to the library and obtained a sheet of note paper, but on returning found it to be soiled. Therefore T weut out again to get. a second, sheet, and it was then that I fell; a sudden grip, just as though an icy breath j had touched me. In an instant I went j cold-all over, and my limbs became so | benumbed that I could not feel them." I "You did not suspect this Avoman of j producing this effect upon you?" Hoefer asked, grunting dubiously. "Certainly, not. How could she?" "But her actions afterwards in SAvitching off the light and stealing out were suspicions." "That's so, but how do you account, for your own seizure nearly two hourafter her departure?" •Ach!" he cried. "It is extraordinary—that is all Aye can say." "The room is nothing less than _ death-trap," I remarked. "And yet the baneful influence is a mysterious one. I Avish you could tell us the name ol the sender of the message, Miss Wynd. i Tt would materially assist us in our researches.*' "I tell you that it was a friend who could have no object whatsoever in making any .attack upon my life," she answered ambiguously. "But this Avoman," I continued. "Arc you certain that you do not knoAV her—that you have never met her before?" "Quite certain," she responded without hesitation. "She Avas an utter stranger." I exchanged glances with Hoefer. The mystery Avas still inscrutable. Again Aye' all four went to the door of the rodm of mystery, and Hoefer, still grunting in dissatisfaction, declared his intention to re-enter the place. Seen from the hall there was certainly nothing about the apartment to excite suspicion. It was bright and comfortable, with handsome substantial furniture, sage-green hangings and a thick Turkey carpet into Avhich one's feet sank noiselessly. "It is a risk." exclaimed her Ladyship, when Hoefer made the announcement. "Death lurks in that place. Let us close and lock it." "Ach! no, madame!" he responded. "It is no risk, now that Aye have the proph-.lactic." And turning- to mA, he handed me a little of the last injection Avhich he had given to Beryl, together with the phial of ether and the syringe. ""Use this, if necessary," he said, briefly, and then leaving us he crossed the threshold and examined every nook of the room. The windotv Avas still open, but he closed and fastened it. Upon a little writing-table in tne corner lay the soiled sheet of notepaper that Beryl had obtained on her first visit to the library, thus proving the. truth of her story. The door swung to, as before, and after about five minutes he again emerged. Scarcely had he crossed the threshold when he gave veut to a loud cry. "Gott!" he gasped. "The injection —quick!" He had again' been sci7ed. The unseen hand of death was upon him. Truly it Avas an uncanny mystery. Without a second's delay I filled the syringe, rubbed the flesh Avith ether,'and then ran the needle beneath the skin. The effect was almost instantaneous. The sudden paralysis Avas arrested, and the muscles reanimated in i manner most marvellous. One fact Avas therefore plain: Hoefer had discovered the proper treatment, even i' the cause of the extraordinary seizure remained unknoAvn. He stood for a I'cav momen+s motionless, but at length declaring himself better, said— "The thing is an absolute enigma. T can discern no cause whatever for it. There would seem to be some hidden influence at Avork, but of its nature Aye can discover absolutely nothing. The attack does-not occur until one emerges here, into the hall." "Can it be out here?" I suggested, whereat both my companions turned pale Avith fright. Certainly the situ- '' atiou was as Aveirtl and uncanny as any in which I have ever found myself. An unseen influence is always j mysterious, and this chill touch of the ' hand of Death that wc had all experienced was actually appalling. We held council and decided that the room should be closed and locked to prevent any of the servants entering there. Our conversation had undoubtedly been overheard by them, and Hoefer Avas anxious that the place shot^d remain undisturbed so I that he might make further investigations, which he promised to do on the following day. Then Aye entered the dining-room together, partook of some Avine which her 'ladyship offered us, and left the house in company, not, however, before I had promised to call again on I the morrow and visit my patient. I "Now, Hoefer, Avhat is your candid j opinion?" I asked my companion.as Aye stood on the kerb opposite the Marble Arch aAvaiting the belated omnibus to take him back to Bloomsbury. "I don't like it, my dear frient," he ansAvered, dubiously. "I don't like it." I And shaking my hand, he entered the last Holbom bus without further word. On foot I returned to Bayswater utterly confounded by the curious events of the evening. By Hoefer's serious expression and xpreoccupied manner I saAV that the influence ay! thin or without that room of mystery was to him utterl" bewildering. He had spent his life in the study of mi-cro-organisms, and kneAV more of staphylococci, streptococci, and pneumococci than any other living man, I Avhile as a toxicolog*'st he Avas aeknowI ledged even by his clever compatriots in Germany as the greatest of them all. He had searched out many of the secrets of Nature, and I had myself at times Avitnessed certain of his experiments which were little short of marvellous. It was therefore gratifying that I had enlisted his aid in solving this most difficult problem. i Yet as I lay awake that night, reflecting deeply upon the curious situation, I could not arrest my thoughts . from running back to the tragedy at j Whit ton and :he omission of those two names from the list of visitors, furi nished to the police. That her ladyship was a bosom friend of Mrs. Chetwode's was quite, plain, and that die was present together Avith Beryl earlier in the day, I had myself seen. SomehOAv I could not get rid of the conviction that Sir Henry's Avife, the woman Avho had taken this secret journey from Atworth to London to have a clandestine interview with some person Avhom she refused to name, knew the truth regarding the colonel's death. Nevertheless, as far as I could discern, this point had no connection whatever with the curious seizure by which my love had so nearly lost her life; The visitor in -lack was unknown, the evil influence she had left

"The visitor did not touch you?" I asked. "Neither did she give you any note?"

ingly ..round. A loud cry of joy escaped my lips. My love was saved. "Yon know me, I think?" I said, bending clown, to her. "My name is Colkirk." "Yes, I knoAV you quite well," she responded very faintly. "But Avhat has happened? Where is she?" "Whom do you mean? Your visitor? "Yes," she responded eagerly. "We have no idea," I replied. "You have been taken ill; and my friend here, Doctor Hoefer, has tieen attending you." "How do you feel?" the old German asked in his brusque manner. "I am very thirsty," she ansAvered. He took the decanter, and mixing a little brandy and water, gave it to her. Then, just at that, moment, her ladyship re-entered, and falling on her knees clasped her cousin around the neck and shed Avild tears of joy. Liquid, beef and other restoratives having been administered, the Avoman. whose appearance had been identical iv ever)* respect Avith that of the dead, Avas ere long able to sit up and talk to us. Her recovery had been almost as rapid as her attack. We questioned her regarding her symptoms, and found them exactly similar to those we had Ourselves experienced. "I felt as though my Avhole body was frozen stiff and rigid," she exclaimed. "At first I heard a strange voice about me—the voice of Doctor Colkirk, I suppose it must have been —speaking with Nora. But I Avas unable to make any sign. It Avas just as though I were in a kind of trance — yet half conscious of things about me. My muscles were paralysed, and I knew that you believed me to lie dead. The one horrible thought that possessed mc Avas that I mig-ht perhaps be buried alive." "But you Avere not conscious the whole time?" Hoefer asked. "No. I think I slept during the latter part of the seizure. How long have I been lying here?" "About tAvo hours arid a half," answered her cousin. "Do yon feel able t- salk any more noAV?" I inquired. "I feel much better," she responded. "The draught that your friend has given me has had a wonderful effect. I'm quite restored." And she rose to her feet and stood before us little the worse for her experience, save, perhaps, that the dark rings about her beautiful eyes showed that her system had received a terrible shock. "Wo Avant you to relate to us in detail what occurred when you entered the morning room to see the woman j avlio called upon you." She glanced inquiringly at her cousin, as though to obtain her permiston to speak. "Nothing occurred," she answered. "She Avas sitting there awaiting me." "She had sent in a message, and you thought it was your dressmaker, did you not?" "Yes. And I was very much surprised to find that it was not." : "Was it some other person whom you knew?" j "I had never seen her before," anI swereil the woman who av;is my Avedded wife. "She Avas tall, thin, and dressed in black*, Avhich seemed much the Avorse for Avear." j "Dark or fair?" "Dark. But I could not see her features well, because of her thick black veil." j "She was young. I suppose?" "Not very, I think. Her voice Avas loav and rather refined." "And how did she explain her rea-1 sou for sending in a message that she was your dressmaker? She must havo been' aware that you expected the woman to call on you." ! "She explained that the ruse Avas j necessary, as she did not Avish her visit to be knoAvn, either to my cousin or to the sei*A*ants." | "Why?" I "Because she had brought me a message." "A message?" I exclaimed. "From whom?" "A verbal message from—from a, friend." "And may Aye not know the name of that friend?" I asked. "There is a' most remarkable mystery connected Avith that room into which she was shown, and in order to solve the problem Aye must be in possession of the Avhole truth." | "What mystery?" she inquired, quickly, opening her eyes widely. I "Any person who enters is, on leaving, attacked, just as you Avere. Your cousin here, Dr. Hoefer, and myself, have all three experienced exactly similar symptoms." | "That's most extraordinary!" she declared in an incredulous tone. "When I Avas seized it Avas not until I had left the room. I went out Avith the object of obtaining a sheet of notepaper from the library, in order to write a reply to the message, but on (-merging into the hall I was suddenly i seized and returned to the drawingroom at once. I stood holding on to the table, but my limbs quickly failed me and I fell to the ground." "And then the woman who had called upon you slipped along the hall, and out into the street." | "I suppose she must have done, for I did not see her again. I tried to call out, but could not. The electric light was suddenly switched off. She must have done that on her way out." "Cannot you tell us either the nature of the'message or from whom it came?" I asked earnestly. She Avas silent for a moment, glanc-• ing at her cousin. "No," she answered, "I am unable to do that."

Was tlie message from her lover or from that villain Tattersett? , • Her refusal piqued me, and I was half-inclined to suggest to her that it i ■was from the one or the other. Still, t in this marvellous maze of mystery I ' saw it was not at all a judicious pro- i ceeding to show my hand. What I al- : ready kneAV was of value to me in my i efforts to piece together the bewilder- i ing puzzle. < The more I reflected the more convinced I became that the visitor in t black was none other than the dread- 1 ed Avoman whose threatened venge- ] iince ..was known to be imminent—La 1 Gioia the Mysterious, 1

behind her Avas incomprehensible. I Avas plunged in a veritable sea of perplexity,

Reader, I think you will admit that finding myself in this curious position—the most extraordinary, perhaps, in Avhich a man could possibly be placed—l was justified in slightly neglecting the practice of the man for Avhom I Avas acting. So inconceivable, paradoxical, and insoluble were the facts that the mystery gripped my very being. Yet no exegesis was forthcoming. My love was in deadly peril, and I alone could by careful watching saA'e her from falling into the cunningly-concealed traps prepared by her enemies. If I could but disentangle the skein of circumstances I might elicit their meaning. But, alas, a veil of impenetrable darkness Avas over all. The more I tried to seek out the'truth, the deeper it seemed did I become involved in events that- Avere queer and utterly enigmatical. If I could but discover the identity of La t^ioia! The name rang in my ears, sleeping or waking. La Gioia! La Gioia! Ever La Gioia! Beryl held her in abject dread. Of that I kneAV from those words of hers I had overheard at Whitton. She had declared that she would commit suicide rather than face her vengeance. What had rendered my adored one so desperate? Why, indeed, did she fear this woman * hose name savoured of the play-actress? To go boldly and ask her would, I feared, fill her with suspicions of myself if she were m any way implicated in the colonels death. To solve the problem I must have perfect liberty of action. Of this I had all along been convinced, and it had prevented me from demanding certain explanations. Her fear of this obscure woman called La Gioia was, in itself, proof of some unknown guilt, and the latter she would doubtless conceal from me by giving incorrect answers to any questions. This was but natural. In the hands of enemies, as she undoubtedly was, she was equally suspicious of all around her.

As I sat over my lonely breakfast on the following morning-, there being already a couple of patients in the wait-ing-room—clerks who had come for "doctor's certificates" to enable them to enjoy a day's repose —the girl brought in the letters, among them being one for me Avhich had been, forwarded from Shrewsbury by my mother. The superscription Avas in a formal hand, and on it I was surprised to find that it was from a firm of solicitors in Bedford Row, stating that my Uncle George, a cotton-spin-ner in Bury, had died, leaving a will by which fwas to receive the sum of one thousand-pounds as a legacy. I read the letter time after time, scarcely able to believe the good news. But an hour later. Avhen I sat in the dingy office in Bedford Row, and my uncle's solicitor read a copy of the Avill to me, I saw that it was a reality —a fact Avhich Ava-s indeed proved by the cheque for fifty pounds which he handed me for my immediate use. I drove to the Joint Stock Bank in Chancery Lane, cashed the draft, and returned to BaysAvater Avith five tenpound notes in my pocket, From a state of penury I had, within that single hour, become possessed cf funds. True, I had always had expectations from that quarter. But I had, like millions of other men, never before been possessor of a thousand pounds. Iv a. Aveek or two the money would be placed to my credit. To a man with only half a crown in his pocket a thousand pounds appears a fortune.

1 counted the crisp neAV notes in the privacy of the doctor's sitting-room, then locking three of them in my portmanteau, took a cab down to Rowan Road to receive Bob's, congratulations.

He Avas delighted. He sent Mrs Bishop out for a bottle of the best champagne procurable in the neighbourhood, and Aye drank merrily to my future success.

Then, while smoking a cigarette over AA'hat remained of the Avine, I related to him my strange adventures of the previous night. He sat listening to my story openmouthed. Until I had concluded, he uttered no Avord. Then gravely he exclaimed:

"The affair grows more and more amazing*. But, noAV look here, Dick! Why don't you take my advice and drop the affair altogether?" "Drop it? What do you mean? Remember Beryl!"

"T know," he answered. "But T c?n't help feeling that association with those- people is dangerous. They're a queer lot—a devilish queer lot!" "Of course they're a queer lot," I said. "But I can't leave her to their mercy. She's in deadly peril of her life. They intend to kill her." A grave expression Avas on his face. "Do you think that last night's curious phenomenon,. Avas actually an attempt to kill her?" he inquired. "Without a doubt." "Then, if so, how Avas it that you all experienced similar symptoms? What's old Hoefer's theory?" "He has none." "He never has —or at least he pretends that he hasn't. He keeps all his discoveries to himself. That's why he has ahvays refused to write any books. When he lectures he's ahvays careful to keep his secrets to himself." "Yes; he's a queer old boy," I remarked, forl his eccentricities were many, and had often caused us mi.eh I atnasement at Guy's. I"I only Avish, Dick, that you'd try ! and forget all about this tangled affair," Bob said earnestly. "You're i worrying yourself to death, all to no j purpose." "Why all to no purpose?" I echoed. "I am patient, and I shall discover something one day." "No," he said confidently. "You'll never discover anything—mark my words." j "What makes you think that?" I "Because you are Avatched far too closely." "Watched?" I cried in surprise. "Who Avatches me?" "Several persons. Among them your Avife herself." "Hoav do you knoAV?" I "Because I saw her in this street on the evening before last, evidently in search of you. She passed seA*erul times, and glanced across here. Yet she tells you, or her cousin rather tells ,you, that they Avere not in Londoa at that time." "Are you certain?" "Absolutely." "But how did you recognise her?" I demanded eagerly. "Why, you've, never seen her!" Be started quickly. By the expression on his face I recognised in an instant that he had inadvertently betrayed to me the fact that they were :u t strangers. He kneAV her! And he had tried to dissuade me from following" up the slight clue I had obtained. With what motive? This man Avhom I had be-

lievod was mv friend had played me false. The discovery was a Woav that staggered me. (To be Continued.)