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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Dorothy's Double, by G. A. Henty
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Dorothy's Double
+       Volume I (of 3)
+
+Author: G. A. Henty
+
+Release Date: May 14, 2011 [EBook #36103]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DOROTHY'S DOUBLE ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by David Edwards, Mary Meehan and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This
+file was produced from images generously made available
+by The Internet Archive)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+                        DOROTHY'S DOUBLE
+
+                         BY G. A. HENTY
+
+AUTHOR OF 'RUJUB THE JUGGLER' 'IN THE DAYS OF THE MUTINY' 'THE CURSE OF
+CARNE'S HOLD' ETC.
+
+
+    IN THREE VOLUMES--VOL. I.
+
+    London
+    CHATTO & WINDUS PICCADILLY
+    1894
+
+    PRINTED BY
+    SPOTTISWOODE AND CO., NEW-STREET SQUARE
+    LONDON
+
+
+
+
+DOROTHY'S DOUBLE
+
+
+
+
+PROLOGUE
+
+
+A dark night on the banks of the Thames; the south-west wind, heavily
+charged with sleet, was blowing strongly, causing little waves to lap
+against the side of a punt moored by the bank. Its head-rope was tied
+round a weeping willow which had shed most of its leaves, and whose
+pendent boughs swayed and waved in the gusts, sending at times a shower
+of heavy drops upon a man leaning against its trunk. Beyond stretched a
+broad lawn with clumps of shrubs, and behind loomed the shadow of a
+mansion, but so faintly that it might have passed unnoticed in the
+darkness had it not been for some lights in the upper windows.
+
+At times the man changed his position, muttering impatiently as the
+water made its way down between his collar and neck and soaked through
+his clothes to the shoulders.
+
+'I must have been waiting an hour!' he exclaimed at last. 'If she
+doesn't come soon I shall begin to think that something has prevented
+her getting out. It will be no joke to have to come again to-morrow
+night if it keeps on like this. It has been raining for the last three
+days without a stop, and looks as if it would keep on as much longer.'
+
+A few minutes later he started as he made out a figure in the darkness.
+It approached him, and stopped ten yards away.
+
+'Are you there?' a female voice asked.
+
+'Of course I am,' he replied, 'and a nice place it is to be waiting in
+for over an hour on such a night as this. Have you got it?'
+
+'Yes.'
+
+'That is all right. Well, chuck your bonnet down there, three or four
+feet from the edge of the water.'
+
+'And my cloak? I have brought that and a shawl, as you told me.'
+
+'No; give it to me. Now get into the boat, and we will shove off.'
+
+As soon as the woman had seated herself in the punt the man unfastened
+the head-rope and stepped in; then, taking a long pole in his hand, he
+let the boat drift down with the strong stream, keeping close to the
+bank. Where the lawn ended there was a clump of bushes overhanging the
+water. He caught hold of these, broke off two branches that dipped into
+the stream, then, hauling the punt a little farther in, he took the
+cloak the woman had handed to him and hitched it fast round a stump that
+projected an inch or two above the swollen stream.
+
+'That will do the trick,' he said. 'They will find it there when the
+river falls.' Then he poled the boat out and let her drift again. 'You
+have brought another bonnet, I see, Polly.'
+
+'You don't suppose I was going to be such a fool as to leave myself
+bareheaded on such a night as this,' she said sullenly.
+
+'Well, there is no occasion to be bad-tempered; it has been a deal worse
+for me than it has for you, waiting an hour and a half there, besides
+being a good half-hour poling this tub up against the stream. I suppose
+it went off all right?'
+
+'Yes, there was no difficulty about it. I kicked up a row and pretended
+to be drunk. Not too bad, or they would have turned me straight out of
+the house, but I was told I was to go the first thing in the morning.
+The rest was easy enough. I had only to slip down, get it, and be off,
+but I had to wait some time at the door. I opened it about an inch or
+two, and had to stand there listening until I was sure they were both
+asleep. I am sorry I ever did it. I had half a mind to chuck it up three
+or four times, but----'
+
+'But you thought better of it, Polly. Well, you were perfectly right;
+fifty pounds down and a pound a week regular, that ain't so bad you
+know, especially as you were out of a place, and had no character to
+show.'
+
+'But mind,' she said threateningly, 'no harm is to come to it. I don't
+know what your game is, but you promised me that, and if you break your
+word I will peach, as true as my name is Polly Green. I don't care what
+they do to me, but I will split on you and tell the whole business.'
+
+'Don't you alarm yourself about nothing,' he said, good-temperedly. 'I
+know what my game is, and that is enough for you. Why, if I wanted to
+get rid of it and you too I have only to drive my heel through the side
+of this rotten old craft. I could swim to shore easily enough, but when
+they got the drags out to-morrow they would bring something up in them.
+Here is the end of the island.'
+
+A few pushes with the pole, and the punt glided in among several other
+craft lying at the strand opposite Isleworth Church. The man helped the
+woman with her burden ashore, and knotted the head-rope to that of the
+boat next to it.
+
+'That is how it was tied when I borrowed it,' he said; 'her owner will
+never dream that she has been out to-night.'
+
+'What next?' the woman asked.
+
+'We have got to walk to Brentford. I have got a light trap waiting for
+me there. It is a little crib I use sometimes, and they gave me the key
+of the stable-door, so I can get the horse out and put him in the trap
+myself. I said I was starting early in the morning, and they won't know
+whether it is at two or five that I go out. I brought down a couple of
+rugs, so you will be able to keep pretty dry, and I have got a
+driving-coat for myself. We shall be down at Greenwich at that little
+crib you have taken by six o'clock. You have got the key, I suppose?'
+
+'Yes. The fire is laid, and we can have a cup of tea before you drive
+back. Then I shall turn in for a good long sleep.'
+
+An hour later they were driving rapidly towards London.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I
+
+
+A slatternly woman was standing at the entrance of a narrow court in one
+of the worst parts of Chelsea. She was talking to a neighbour belonging
+to the next court, who had paused for a moment for a gossip in her
+passage towards a public-house.
+
+'Your Sal is certainly an owdacious one,' she said. 'I saw her yesterday
+evening when you were out looking for her. I told her she would get it
+hot if she didn't get back home as soon as she could, and she jest
+laughed in my face and said I had best mind my own business. I told her
+I would slap her face if she cheeked me, and she said, "I ain't your
+husband, Mrs. Bell, and if you were to try it on you would find that I
+could slap quite as hard as you can."'
+
+'She is getting quite beyond me, Mrs. Bell. I don't know what to do with
+her. I have thrashed her as long as I could stand over her, but what is
+the good? The first time the door is open she just takes her hook and I
+don't see her again for days. I believe she sleeps in the Park, and I
+suppose she either begs or steals to keep herself. At the end of a week
+maybe she will come in again, just the same as if she had only been out
+for an hour. "How have you been getting on since I have been away?" she
+will say. "No one to scrub your floor; no one to help you when you are
+too drunk to find your bed," and then she laughs fit to make yer blood
+run cold. Owdacious ain't no name for that wench, Mrs. Bell. Why, there
+ain't a boy in this court of her own size as ain't afraid of her. She is
+a regular tiger-cat, she is; and if they says anything to her, she just
+goes for them tooth and nail. I shan't be able to put up with her ways
+much longer. Well, yes; I don't mind if I do take a two of gin with
+you.'
+
+They had been gone but a minute or two when a man turned in at the
+court. He looked about forty, was clean shaven, and wore a rough
+great-coat, a scarlet and blue tie with a horseshoe pin, and tightly cut
+trousers, which, with the tie and pin, gave him a somewhat horsey
+appearance. More than one of the inhabitants of the court glanced
+sharply at him as he came in, wondering what business he could have
+there. He asked no questions, but went in at an open door, picked his
+way up the rickety stairs to the top of the house, and knocked at a
+door. There was no reply. He knocked again louder and more impatiently;
+then, with a muttered oath, descended the stairs.
+
+'Who are you wanting?' a woman asked, as he paused at a lower door.
+
+'I am looking for Mrs. Phillips; she is not in her room.'
+
+'I just saw her turn off with Mother Bell. I expect you will find them
+at the bar of the Lion, lower down the street.'
+
+With a word of thanks he went down the court, waited two or three
+minutes near the entrance, and then walked in the direction of the
+public-house. He had gone but a short distance, however, when he saw the
+two women come out. They stood gossiping for three or four minutes, and
+then the woman he was in search of came towards him, while the other
+went on down the street.
+
+'Hello, Mr. Warbles!' Mrs. Phillips exclaimed when she came near to him;
+'who would have thought of seeing you? Why, it is a year or more since
+you were here last, though I must say as your money comes every month
+regular; not as it goes far, I can tell you, for that girl is enough to
+eat one out of 'arth and 'ome.'
+
+'Well, never mind that now,' he said impatiently, 'that will keep till
+we get upstairs. I have been up there and found that you were out. I
+want to have a talk with you. Where is the girl?'
+
+'Ah, where indeed, Mr. Warbles; there is never no telling where Sal is;
+maybe she is in the next court, maybe she is the other side of town. She
+is allus on the move. I have locked up her boots sometimes, but it is no
+odds to Sal. She would just as lief go barefoot as not.'
+
+By this time they arrived at the door of the room, and after some
+fumbling in her pocket the woman produced the key and they went in. It
+was a poverty-stricken room; a rickety table and two chairs, a small bed
+in one corner and some straw with a ragged rug thrown over it in
+another, a kettle and a frying-pan, formed its whole furniture. Mr.
+Warbles looked round with an air of disgust.
+
+'You ought to be able to do better than this, Kitty,' he said.
+
+'I s'pose as I ought,' she said philosophically, 'but you know me,
+Warbles; it's the drink as does it.'
+
+'The drink has done it in your case, surely enough,' he said, as he saw
+in his mind's eye a trim figure behind the bar of a country
+public-house, and looked at the coarse, bloated, untidy creature before
+him.'
+
+'Well, it ain't no use grunting over it,' she said. 'I could have
+married well enough in the old days, if it hadn't been that I was always
+losing my places from it, and so it has gone on, and I would not change
+now if I could. A temperance chap come down the court a week or two ago,
+a-preaching, and after a-going on for some time his eye falls on me, and
+says he to me, "My good woman, does the demon of drink possess you
+also?" And says I, "He possesses me just as long as I have got money in
+my pocket." "Then," says he, "why don't you take the pledge and turn
+from it all?" "'Cause," says I, "it is just the one pleasure I have in
+life; what should I do I should like to know without it? I could dress
+more flash, and I could get more sticks of furniture in my room, which
+is all very well to one as holds to such things, but what should I care
+for them?" "You would come to be a decent member of society," says he. I
+tucks up my sleeves. "I ain't going to stand no 'pertinence from you,
+nor from no one," says I, and I makes for him, and he picks up his bag
+of tracts, and runs down the court like a little dog with a big dog
+arter him. I don't think he is likely to try this court again.'
+
+'No, I suppose you are not going to change now, Kitty. I have come here
+to see the girl,' he went on, changing the subject abruptly.
+
+'Well, you will see her if she comes in, and you won't if she don't
+happen to, that is all I can say about it. What are you going to do
+about her? It is about time as you did something. I have done what I
+agreed to do when you brought her to me when she was three years old.
+Says you, "The woman who has been taking charge of this child is dead,
+and I want you to take her." Says I, "You know well enough, Warbles, as
+I ain't fit to take care of no child. I am just going down as fast as I
+can, and it won't be long before I shall have to choose between the
+House and the river." "I can see that well enough," says you, "but I
+don't care how she is brought up so as she lives. She can run about
+barefoot through the streets and beg for coppers, for aught I care, but
+I want her to live for reasons of my own. I will pay you five shillings
+a week for her regular, and if you spend, as I suppose you will, one
+shilling on her food and four shillings on drink for yourself, it ain't
+no business of mine. I could have put her for the same money in some
+country cottage where she would have been well looked after, but I want
+her to grow up in the slums, just a ragged girl like the rest of them,
+and if you won't take her there is plenty as will on those terms." So I
+says, "Yes," and I have done it, and there ain't a raggeder or more
+owdacious gal in all the town, East or West.'
+
+'That is all right, Kitty; but I saw someone yesterday, and it has
+altered my plans--but I must have a look at her first. I saw her when I
+called a year ago; I suppose she has not changed since then?'
+
+'She is a bit taller, and, I should say, thinner, which comes of
+restlessness, and not for want of food. But she ain't changed otherwise,
+except as she is getting too much for me, and I have been wishing for
+some time to see you. I ain't no ways a good woman, Warbles, but the gal
+is fifteen now, and a gal of fifteen is nigh a woman in these courts,
+and I have made up my mind as I won't have her go wrong while she is on
+my hands, and if I had not seen you soon I should just have taken her by
+the shoulder and gone off to the workhouse with her.'
+
+'They would not have taken her in without you,' the man said with a hard
+laugh.
+
+'I would have gone in, too, for the sake of getting her in. I know I
+could not have stood it for many days, but I would have done it.
+However, the first time I got leave to come out I would have taken my
+hook altogether and got a room at the other end of the town, and left
+her there with them. I could not have done better for her than that, but
+that would have been a sight better than her stopping here, and if she
+went wrong after that I should not have had it on my conscience.'
+
+'Well, that is all right, Kitty; I agree with you this is not the best
+place in the world for her, and I think it likely that I may take her
+away altogether.'
+
+'I am glad to hear it. I have never been able to make out what your game
+was. One thing I was certain of--that it was no good. I know a good many
+games that you have had a hand in, and there was not a good one among
+them, and I don't suppose this differs from the rest. Anyhow, I shall be
+glad to be shot of her. I don't want to lose the five bob a week, but I
+would rather shift without it than have her any longer now she is
+a-growing up.'
+
+The man muttered something between his teeth, but at the moment a step
+was heard coming up the stairs.
+
+'That's Sal,' the woman said; 'you are in luck this time, Warbles.'
+
+The door opened, and a girl came in. She was thin and gaunt, her eyes
+were large, her hair was rough and unkempt, there were smears of dirt on
+her face and an expression of mingled distrust and defiance.
+
+'Who have you got here?' she asked, scowling at Mr. Warbles.
+
+'It is the gent as you saw a year ago, Sally; the man as I told you had
+put you with me and paid regular towards your keep.'
+
+'What does he want?' the girl asked, but without removing her glance
+from the man.
+
+'He wants to have a talk with you, Sally. I do not know exactly what he
+wants to say, but it is for your good.'
+
+'I dunno that,' she replied; 'he don't look like as if he was one to do
+anyone a good turn without getting something out of it.'
+
+Mr. Warbles shifted about uneasily in his chair.
+
+'Don't you mind her, Mr. Warbles,' the woman said; 'she is a limb, she
+is, and no mistake, but she has got plenty of sense. But you had best
+talk to her straight if you want her to do anything; then if she says
+she will, she will; if she says she won't, you may take your oath you
+won't drive her. Now, Sal, be reasonable, and hear what the gentleman
+has to say.'
+
+'Well, why don't he go on, then?' the girl retorted; 'who is a-stopping
+him?'
+
+Mr. Warbles had come down impressed with the idea that the proposition
+he had to make would be received with enthusiasm, but he now felt some
+doubt on the subject. He wondered for a moment whether it would be best
+to speak as Mrs. Phillips advised him or to stick to the story he had
+intended to tell. He concluded that the former way was the best.
+
+'I am going to speak perfectly straight to you, Sally,' he began.
+
+The girl looked keenly at him beneath her long eyelashes, and her face
+expressed considerable doubt.
+
+'I am in the betting line,' he said; 'horse-racing, you know; and I am
+mixed up in other things, and there is many a job I might be able to
+carry out if I had a sharp girl to help me. I can see you are sharp
+enough--there is no fear about that--but you see sharpness is not the
+only thing. A girl to be of use must be able to dress herself up and
+pass as a lady, and to do that she must have some sort of education so
+as to be able to speak as ladies speak. I ought to have begun earlier
+with you, I know, but it was only when thinking of you a day or two ago
+that it struck me you would do for the work. You will have to go to
+school, or at least to be under the care of someone who can teach you,
+for three years. I don't suppose you like the thought of it, but you
+will have a good time afterwards. You will be well dressed and live
+comfortably, and all you will have to do will be to play a part
+occasionally, which to a clever girl will be nothing.'
+
+'I should learn to read and write and to be able to understand books and
+such like?'
+
+'Certainly you would.'
+
+'Then I am ready,' she said firmly; 'I don't care what you do with me
+afterwards. What I want most of anything in the world is to be able to
+read and write. You can do nothing if you can't do that. I do not
+suppose I shall like schooling, but it cannot be so bad as tramping
+about the streets like this,' and she pointed to her clothes and
+dilapidated boots, 'so if you mean what you say I am ready.'
+
+The thought that she was intended to bear a part in dishonest courses
+afterwards did not for a moment trouble her. Half of the inhabitants of
+the court were ready to steal anything worth selling if an opportunity
+offered. She herself had often done so. She had no moral sense of right
+or wrong whatever, and regarded theft as simply an exercise of skill and
+quickness, and as an incident in the war between herself and society as
+represented by the police. As to counterfeit coin, she had passed it
+again and again, for a man came up once a fortnight or so with a roll of
+coin for which Mrs. Phillips paid him about a fourth of its face value.
+These she never attempted to pass in Chelsea, but tramped far away to
+the North, South or East, carrying with her a jug hidden under her
+tattered shawl, and going into public houses for a pint of beer for
+father.
+
+This she considered far more hazardous work than pilfering, and her
+quickness of eye and foot had alone saved her many times, as if the
+barman, instead of dropping the coin into the till, looked at it with
+suspicion and then proceeded to test it she was off like a deer, and was
+out of sight round the next turning long before the man could get to the
+door. The fact that she was evidently considered sharp enough to take
+part in frauds requiring cleverness and address gratified rather than
+inclined her to reject the proposition.
+
+'It ain't very grateful of you, Sally, to be so willing to leave me
+after all I have done for you,' Mrs. Phillips said, rather hurt at her
+ready acceptance of the offer.
+
+'Grateful for what?' the girl said scornfully, turning fiercely upon
+her; 'you have been paid for feeding me and what have you done more?
+Haven't I prigged for you, and run the risk of being sent to quod for
+getting rid of your dumps? Haven't you thrashed me pretty nigh every
+time you was drunk, till I got so big you daren't do it? I don't say as
+sometimes you haven't been kind, just in a way, but you have been a
+sight oftener unkind. I don't want to part bad friends. If you ain't
+showed me much kindness, you have shown me all as ever I have known, and
+yer might have been worse than you have. I suppose yer knows this man,
+and know that he is going to do as he says, and means to treat me fair,
+for mind you,' and here she turned darkly to Warbles, 'if you tries to
+do anything as is wrong with me I will stick a knife into you.'
+
+'I am going to do you no harm, Sally,' he said hastily.
+
+'Yer had better not,' she muttered.
+
+'I mean exactly what I say, and nothing more. Mrs. Phillips may not have
+been quite as kind to you as she might, but she would not let you go
+with me if she did not know that no harm will be done with you.'
+
+'Very well, then, I am ready,' the girl said, preparing to put on the
+tattered bonnet she had taken off when she came in, and had held
+swinging by its strings.
+
+'No, no,' Mr. Warbles said, in dismay at the thought of walking out with
+this ragged figure by his side, 'we can't manage it as quickly as all
+that. In the first place, there are decent clothes to be bought for you.
+You cannot go anywhere as you are now. I will give Mrs. Phillips money
+for that.'
+
+'Give it me,' the girl said, holding out her hand; 'she can't be trusted
+with it; she would be drunk in half an hour after you had gone, and
+would not get sober till it was all spent. You give it me, and let me
+buy the things; I will hand it over to her to pay for them.'
+
+'That would be best,' Mrs. Phillips said, with a hard laugh; 'she is
+right, Warbles. I ain't to be trusted with money, and it is no use
+pretending I am. Sally knows what she is about. When she has got money
+she always hides it, and just brings it out as it is wanted; we have had
+many a fight about it, but she is just as obstinate as a mule, and next
+morning I am always ready to allow as she was right.'
+
+'How much will you want, Kitty?'
+
+'Well, I should say that to get three decent frocks and a fair stock of
+underclothes and boots would run nigh up to ten pounds. If it ain't so
+much she can give you back what there is of it. When will you come and
+fetch her?'
+
+'We had better say three days. You can get all the things in a day, no
+doubt; but I shall have to make arrangements. I think I know just the
+woman that would do. She was a governess once in good families, I am
+told; but she went wrong, somehow, and went down pretty near to the
+bottom of the hill; she lives a few doors from me, and gets a few
+children to teach when she can. I expect I can arrange with her to take
+Sally, and teach her. If she won't do it, someone else will; but being
+close it would be handy to me. I could drop in sometimes of an evening
+and see how she was getting on.'
+
+'Are you my father?' the girl asked suddenly.
+
+'No, I am not,' he answered readily.
+
+The girl was looking at him keenly, and was satisfied that he spoke the
+truth.
+
+'I am glad of that,' she said. 'I always thought that if I had a father
+I should like to love him. If you had been my father I expect as you
+would have wanted me to love you, and I am sure I should never be able
+to do it.'
+
+'You are an outspoken girl, Sally,' Mr. Warbles said, with an unpleasant
+attempt at a laugh. 'Why shouldn't you be able to love me?'
+
+'Because I should never be able to trust you,' the girl said. 'I am
+ready to work for you and to be honest with you as long as you are
+honest with me. I s'pose you wouldn't be paying all this money and be
+going to take such pains with me if you didn't think as you would get it
+back again. I don't know much, but I know as much as that; so mind, I
+don't promise to love you, that ain't in the agreement.'
+
+'Perhaps you will think differently some day, Sally; and, after all, two
+people can get on well enough together without much love. Well, have her
+ready in three days, Kitty; but there is no use in my coming here for
+her. Of course, the girl must have a box, and you will want a cab. Drive
+across Westminster Bridge and stop just across it on the right-hand
+side. Be there as near as you can at eight o'clock in the evening; that
+will suit me, and it ought to suit you. It is just as well you should
+get her out of the court after dark, so that she won't be recognised in
+her new things, and you will get off without being questioned. I shall
+be there waiting for you, but if anything should detain me, which is not
+likely, wait till I come.'
+
+When he had gone the girl flung her bonnet into a corner, then knelt
+down and made up the fire; then she produced two mutton chops from her
+pocket and placed them in the frying-pan over it.
+
+'Good ones,' she said. 'I got them at a swell shop near Buckingham
+Palace; they were outside, just handy. Well, I s'pose them's the last I
+shall nick; that is a good job.' She then took a jug out of the
+cupboard. 'I have got sixpence left out of that half-crown I changed
+yesterday. We have got bread enough, so I will bring in a quart.'
+
+The woman nodded. She had of late, as she had told Warbles, quite
+determined she would not keep the girl much longer with her, but the
+suddenness with which the change had come about had been so unexpected
+that as yet she hardly realised it. Sally was a limb, no doubt. She had
+got quite beyond her control, and although the petty thievings had been
+at first encouraged by her, the aptness of her pupil, the coolness and
+audacity with which she carried them out, and the perfect unconcern with
+which she started on the dangerous operation of changing the counterfeit
+money, had troubled and almost frightened her. As the girl had said, she
+had never been kind to her, had often brutally beaten her, and usually
+spoke of her as if she were the plague of her life, but the thought that
+she would now be without her altogether touched her keenly, and when the
+girl returned she found her in tears.
+
+'Hello! what's up?' she asked in surprise. 'You ain't been a drinking as
+early as this, have you?' for tears were to Sally's mind associated with
+a particular phase of drunkenness.
+
+The woman shook her head.
+
+'Yer don't mean to say as you are crying because I am going?' Sally went
+on in a changed voice. 'I should have thought there was nothing in the
+world you would be so pleased at as getting rid of me.'
+
+'I have said so in a passion, may be, Sally. You are a limb, there ain't
+no doubt of that; but it ain't your fault, and I might have done for you
+more than I have, if it had not been for drink. I don't know what I
+shall do without you.'
+
+'It will make a difference in the way of food, though,' the girl said;
+'I am a onener to eat: still I don't think you can get rid of the dumps
+as well as I can. You got two months last time you tried it.'
+
+'It ain't that, Sally, though I dare say you think it is, but I shall
+feel lonesome, awful lonesome, without you to sit of an evening to talk
+to. You have been like a child to me, though I ain't been much of a
+mother to you, and you mayn't believe it, Sally, but it is gospel truth,
+as I have been fond of you.'
+
+'Have you now?' the girl said, leaning forward eagerly in her chair. 'I
+allus thought you hated me. Why didn't you say so? I wouldn't have
+'greed to go with that man if I had thought as you wanted me. I don't
+care for the dresses and that sort of thing, though I should like to get
+taught something, but I would give that up, and if you like I will go by
+myself and meet him where he said, and give him back that ten pound, and
+say I have changed my mind and I am going to stop with you.'
+
+'No, it is better that you should go, Sally; this ain't no place for a
+girl, and I ain't no woman to look after one. I have been a-thinking
+some months it was time you went; it didn't matter so much as long as
+you was a kid, but you are growing up now, and it ain't to be expected
+as you would keep straight in such a place as this; besides, any day you
+might get nabbed, and three months in quod would finish you altogether.
+So you see, Sally, I am glad and I am sorry. Warbles ain't the man I
+would put you in charge of if I had my way. He has told you hisself what
+he means to do with you, and I would a lot rather you had been going out
+into service; only of course no one would take you as you are, it ain't
+likely. Still if you keep your eyes open, and you are a sharp girl, you
+may make money by it; but mind me, Sally, money is no good by itself,
+nor fine clothes, nor nothing.
+
+'It was fine clothes and drink as brought me to what I am. I was a nice
+tidy-looking girl when Warbles first knew me, and if it hadn't been for
+clothes and drink I might have been a respectable woman, and perhaps
+missus of a snug public now. Well, perhaps your chances will be as good
+as mine was. I have two bits of advice to give yer. When you have
+finished that pint of beer you make up your mind never to touch another
+drop of it. The second is, don't you listen to what young swells say to
+yer. You look out for an honest man who wants to make you his wife, and
+you marry him and make him a good wife, Sally.'
+
+The girl nodded. 'That is what I mean to do, and when I get a
+comfortable home you shall come and live with us.'
+
+'It wouldn't do, Sally; by that time I reckon I shall be lying in a
+graveyard, but if I wasn't it would not do nohow. No man will put up
+with a drunken woman in his house, and a drunken woman I shall be to the
+end of my life--but there, them chops are ready, Sally, and it would be
+a sin to let them spoil now you have got them.'
+
+When the meal was over, and Sally had finished her glass of beer, she
+turned it over.
+
+'That is the last of them,' she said; 'I don't care for it one way or
+the other. Now tell me about that cove, who is he?'
+
+'He is what he says--a betting man, and was when I first knew him; I
+don't know what his real name is, but I don't expect it's Warbles. He
+was a swell among them when I first knew him, and spent his money free,
+and used to look like a gentleman. I was in a house at Newmarket at the
+time, and whenever the races was on I often used to see him. Well, I
+left there, and did not come across him for two years; when I did, I had
+just come out of gaol; I had had two months for taking money from the
+till. I met him in the street, and he says to me, "Hello, Kitty! I was
+sorry to hear that you had been in trouble; what are you doing?"'
+
+'What should I be doing?' says I; 'there ain't much chance of my getting
+another situation after what has happened. I ain't a-doing nothing yet,
+for I met a friend on the day I came out who gave me a couple of quid,
+but it is pretty nigh gone.' 'Well, look here,' says he, 'I have got a
+kid upon my hands: it don't matter whose kid it is, it ain't mine; but I
+have got to keep it. It has been with a woman for the last three years,
+and she has died. I don't care how it is brought up so as it is brought
+up; it is nothing to me how she turns out so that she lives. I tell you
+what I will do. I will give you ten pounds to furnish a room and get
+into it, and I will pay you five shillings a week as long as it lives;
+and if you ever get hard up and want a couple of pounds you can have
+'em, so as you don't come too often.'
+
+'Well, I jumped at the offer, and took you, and I will say Warbles has
+been as good as his word. It wasn't long before I was turned out of my
+lodging for being too drunk and noisy for the house, and it wasn't more
+than a couple of years before I got pretty nigh as low as this. I had
+got to know a good many queer ones when I was in the public line, and I
+chanced to drop across one of them, and when I met him one day he told
+me he could put me into an easy way of earning money if I liked, but it
+was risky. I said I did not care for that, and since then I have always
+been on that lay. For a bit I did very well; I used to dress up as a
+tidy servant, and go shopping, and many a week I would get rid of three
+or four pounds' worth of the stuff; but in course, as I grew older and
+lost my figure and the drink told on me, it got more difficult. People
+looked at the money more sharply, and I got three months for it twice. I
+was allus careful, and never took more than one piece out with me at a
+time, so that I got off several times till they began to know me. You
+remember the last time I was in--I told you about it, and since then you
+have been doing it.'
+
+'But what will you do when I am gone?'
+
+'Well, you know, Sally, I gets a bit from men who comes round of an
+evening and gives me things to hide away under that board. They knows as
+they can trust me, and I have had five thousand pounds worth of diamonds
+and things hidden away there for weeks. No one would ever think of
+searching there for it. I ain't known to be mixed up with thieves, and
+this court ain't the sort of place that coppers would ever dream of
+searching for jewels. Sometimes nothing comes for weeks, sometimes there
+is a big haul; but they pay me something a week regular, and I gets a
+present after a good thing has been brought off, so you needn't worrit
+about me. I shan't be as well off as I have been, but there will be
+plenty to keep me going, and if I have to drink a bit less it won't do
+me any harm.'
+
+'I wonder you ain't afraid to drink,' Sally said, 'lest you should let
+out something.'
+
+'I am lucky that way, Sally. Drink acts some ways with some people, and
+some ways with others. It makes some people blab out just the things
+they don't want known; it makes some people quarrelsome; it shuts up
+some people's mouths altogether. That is the way with me. I take what I
+take quiet, and though the coppers round here see me drunk pretty often
+they can't never say as I am drunk and disorderly, so they just lets me
+find my way home as I can.'
+
+'And this man has never said no more about me than he did that first
+time?' Sally asked. 'Why should he go on paying for me all this time?'
+
+'He ain't never said a word. I've wondered over it scores of times.
+These betting chaps are free with their money when they win, but that
+ain't like going on paying year after year. I thought sometimes you
+might be the daughter of some old pal of his, and that he had promised
+him to take care of you. I thought that afterwards he had been sorry he
+had done so, but would not go back from his word and so went on paying,
+though he did not care a morsel whether you turned out well or bad. Now
+I am going out, Sally.'
+
+'You don't want to go out no more to-day,' Sally said decidedly. 'You
+just stop in quietly these last three days with me.'
+
+'I would like to,' the woman said, 'but I don't think it is in me. You
+do not know what it is, Sally. When drink is once your master there
+ain't no shaking it off. There is something in you as says you must go,
+and you can't help it; nothing but tying you down would do it.'
+
+'Well, look here, give me ninepence. I will go out and get you another
+quart of beer and a quartern of gin to finish up with. I have never been
+out for spirits for you before, though you have beat me many a time
+'cause I wouldn't, but for these three days I will go. That won't be
+enough to make you bad, and we can sit here and talk together, and when
+we have finished it we can turn in comfortable.'
+
+The woman took the money from a corner of a stocking, and gave it to
+Sally, and that night went to bed sober for the first time for months.
+The next morning shopping began, and Sally, although not easily moved,
+was awe-struck at the number and variety of the garments purchased for
+her. The dresses were to be made up by the next evening, when she was to
+fetch them from the shop herself, as Mrs. Phillips shrunk from giving
+her address at Piper Court.
+
+During the interval Sally suffered much from a regular course of washing
+and combing her hair. When on the third morning she was arrayed in her
+new clothes, with hair neatly done up, she felt so utterly unlike
+herself that a sort of shyness seized her. She could only judge as to
+her general appearance, but not as to that of her face and head, for the
+lodging was unprovided with even a scrap of looking-glass. She had no
+doubt that the change was satisfactory, as Mrs. Phillips exclaimed,
+'Fine feathers make fine birds, Sally, but I should not have believed
+that they could have made such a difference; you look quite a
+nice-looking gal, and I should not be surprised if you turn out
+downright pretty, though I have always thought you as plain a gal as
+ever I seed!'
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II
+
+
+Epsom racecourse on the Oaks Day. The great event of the day has not yet
+been run, but the course has been cleared and two or three of the
+fillies have just come out from the paddock and are making their way at
+a walk along the broad green track, while their jockeys are chatting
+together. Luncheons have been hastily finished, and the occupants of the
+carriages and drags are standing up and beginning for the first time to
+manifest an interest in the proceedings they have nominally come down to
+witness. The general mass of spectators cluster thickly by the ropes,
+while a few take advantage of the clearance of the ground beyond to
+stroll leisurely along the line of carriages. The shouts of the men with
+cocoanuts, pincushions, and dolls on sticks, and of those with Aunt
+Sallys, rifle galleries, and other attractions, are hushed now; their
+time will not come again until the race is over.
+
+Two men, one perhaps thirty, the other some three or four years younger,
+are among those who pay more attention to the carriages and their
+occupants than to the approaching race. The younger has a face deeply
+bronzed by a sun far hotter than that of England.
+
+'How fast they change, Danvers. Six years ago I knew almost every face
+in the carriages, now I scarcely know one. Who is that very pretty girl
+standing up on the seat of that barouche?'
+
+'Don't you know? Look at the man she is talking to on the box. That is
+her father.'
+
+'By Jove! it is Mr. Hawtrey. You don't mean to say that is little
+Dorothy?'
+
+'Not particularly little, but it is certainly Dorothy Hawtrey.'
+
+'I must go and speak to them, Danvers. You know them too, don't you?'
+
+'Well, considering I meet them out pretty well every night somewhere I
+ought to do,' the other said, as with slower steps he followed his
+companion to the carriage.
+
+'How are you, Mr. Hawtrey?' the latter exclaimed, looking up at the man
+on the box.
+
+The gentleman looked down a little puzzled at the warmth with which the
+words were spoken by one whose face he did not recall.
+
+'Don't you remember me, sir? I am Edward Hampton.'
+
+'Why, Ned, is it you? You are changed out of all knowledge. You have
+come back almost as dark as a Malay. When did you arrive?'
+
+'I only reached town yesterday evening; looked up Danvers, and was lucky
+enough to find him at home. He said he was coming down here to-day, and
+as it was of no use calling on people in town on the Oaks day I came
+with him.'
+
+'Are you not going to speak to me, Captain Hampton?'
+
+'I am, indeed, Miss Hawtrey, though I confess I did not know you until
+Danvers told me who you were; and I do not feel quite sure now, for the
+Miss Hawtrey I used to know never called me anything but Ned.'
+
+'The Miss Hawtrey of those days was a little tomboy in short frocks,'
+the girl laughed, 'but I do not say that if I find that you are not so
+changed in reality as you are in appearance, I may not, perhaps, some
+day forget that you are Captain Hampton, V.C.' She had stepped down from
+her lofty seat, and was now shaking hands with him heartily. 'It does
+not seem six years since we said good-bye,' she went on. 'Of course you
+are all that older, but you don't seem so old to me. I used to think you
+so big and so tall when I was nine, and you were double that age, and
+during the next three years, when you had joined your regiment and only
+came down occasionally to us, you had become quite an imposing
+personage. That was my last impression of you. Now, you see, you don't
+look so old, or so big, or so imposing, as I have been picturing you to
+myself.'
+
+'I dare say not,' he laughed. 'You see you have grown so much bigger and
+more imposing yourself.'
+
+Suddenly Dorothy Hawtrey leapt to her seat again and touched her father
+on the arm.
+
+'Father,' she said in a whisper, 'that man who has just turned from the
+crowd and is coming towards us is the one I was speaking to you about a
+few minutes ago, who had been staring at you with such an evil look.'
+
+The man, who had the appearance of a shabby bookmaker, and who carried a
+satchel slung round his neck, and had the name of 'Marvel' on a broad
+ribbon round his hat, was now close to the carriage.
+
+'Will you take the odds, Mr. Hawtrey,' he said in a loud voice, 'against
+any of the horses? I can give you six to one, bar one, against the
+field.'
+
+'I do not bet,' Mr. Hawtrey said coldly, 'and by your looks it would
+have been better for you if you had never done so either.'
+
+'I have had a bad run lately,' the man said, 'but I fancy it is going to
+turn. Will you lay a few pounds for the sake of old times?'
+
+Mr. Hawtrey shook his head decidedly.
+
+'I have come down rather in the world,' the man went on insolently, 'but
+I could pay the bet if I lost it as well as other debts. I have never
+forgotten how much I owe you.'
+
+Hampton took a step forward towards the man, when a policeman stepped
+out from between their carriage and the next.
+
+'Now, move on,' he said, 'or I will make you, sharp; you are not going
+to annoy people here, and if you don't go at once I will walk you off to
+the police tent.'
+
+The man hesitated a moment, and then, muttering angrily, moved slowly
+away to the spot where he had left the dense line of spectators by the
+ropes.
+
+'Who is he, father?' Dorothy Hawtrey asked; 'does he really know you?'
+
+'Yes, my dear, he is the son of an old steward; he was a wild, reckless
+young scamp, and when his father died, shortly after I came into the
+property, I naturally refused to appoint him to the position. He used
+some very strong language at the time, and threatened me with all sorts
+of evils. I have met him once or twice since, and he never loses an
+opportunity of showing that he has not forgiven me; but never mind him
+now, here come the horses for their preliminary canter.'
+
+Captain Hampton and his friend remained by the carriage until the race
+was over. The former had been introduced by Dorothy to the other three
+occupants of the carriage--Lady Linkstone, her daughter Mary, and Miss
+Nora Cranfield.
+
+As soon as it was over the crowd broke up, the shouts of the men with
+the cocoanuts and Aunt Sallys rose loudly, and grooms began to lead up
+the horses to many of the carriages.
+
+'We are going to make a start at once, Ned,' Mr. Hawtrey said; 'I cannot
+offer you a seat back to town, but if you have no engagement I hope that
+you will dine with us. Will you come too, Mr. Danvers?'
+
+Danvers was disengaged, and he and Edward Hampton accepted the
+invitation at once. Ned's father had owned an estate adjoining that of
+the Hawtreys' in Lincolnshire, and the families had been neighbours for
+many years. Ned, who was the youngest of three sons had been almost as
+much at the Hawtreys' as at his own home, as Mr. Hawtrey had a nephew
+living with him who was just about the lad's age, and during the
+holidays the two boys were always together. They had entered the army
+just at the same time, but James Hawtrey had, a few months after he went
+out to India, died of fever.
+
+'Who was the man who came up and spoke to them five minutes before the
+race started?' he asked Danvers as they strolled away together.
+
+'There were two or three of them.'
+
+'I mean the man who said it was too bad, Dorothy not coming down on his
+drag.'
+
+'That is Lord Halliburn; he is very attentive there, and the general
+opinion is that it will be a match.'
+
+'He didn't look as if he had much in him,' Hampton said, after a pause.
+
+'He has a title and a very big rent roll, and has, therefore, no great
+occasion for brains; but in point of fact he is really clever. He is
+Under-Secretary for the Colonies, and is regarded as a rising young
+peer. He is not a bad fellow at all, I believe; keeps a few racers but
+does not bet, and has no vices as far as I have ever heard. That is his
+drag; he drives a first-rate team.'
+
+'Well, I hope he is a good fellow,' Captain Hampton said shortly. 'You
+see I never had a sister of my own. That little one and I were quite
+chums, and I used to look upon her almost in the light of a small
+sister, and I should not like to think of her marrying anyone who would
+not make her happy.'
+
+'I should think she has as fair a chance with Halliburn as with most
+men,' Danvers said. 'I know a man who was at Christ Church with him. He
+said that he was rather a prig--but that a fellow could hardly help
+being, brought up as he had been--but that, as a whole, he was one of
+the most popular men of his set. Now we may as well be walking for the
+station--that is, if you have had enough of it.'
+
+'I am quite ready to go. After all, an English racecourse makes but a
+dull show by the side of an Indian one. The horses are better, and, of
+course, there is no comparison between the turnouts and the dresses of
+the women, though they manage to make a brave show at the principal
+stations; but as far as the general appearance of the crowd goes, you
+are not in it here. The natives in their gay dresses and turbans give a
+wonderfully light and gay appearance to the course, and though,
+possibly, among quite the lower class they may not all be estimable
+characters, at least they do not look such a pack of unmitigated
+ruffians as the hangers-on of an English racecourse. That was a nice
+specimen who attacked Hawtrey.'
+
+'Yes, the fellow had a thoroughly bad face, and would be capable, I
+should say, of any roguery. It is not the sort of face I should expect
+to see in the dock on a charge of murder or robbery with violence, but I
+should put him down as an astute rogue, a crafty scoundrel, who would
+swindle an old woman out of her savings, rob servant girls or lads from
+the country by means of specious advertisements, or who in his own line
+would nobble a horse or act as the agent for wealthier rogues in getting
+at jockeys and concocting any villainous plan to prevent a favourite
+from winning. Of course, I know nothing of the circumstances under which
+he lost his place with Hawtrey, but there is no doubt that he has
+cherished a bitter hatred against him, and would spare no pains to take
+his revenge. If Hawtrey owned racehorses I should be very shy of laying
+a penny upon them after seeing that fellow's face.'
+
+'Well, as he does not own racehorses the fellow has no chance of doing
+him a bad turn; he might forge a cheque and put Hawtrey's name to it,
+but I should say he would have some difficulty in getting any one to
+cash it.'
+
+There were at dinner that evening only the party who had been in the
+barouche, Danvers, Hampton, and Sir Edward Linkstone.
+
+'I wish there had been no one else here this evening,' Dorothy Hawtrey
+said to Captain Hampton before dinner, 'there is so much to talk about.
+First, I want to hear all you have been doing in India, and next, we
+must have a long chat over old times; in fact, we want a cozy talk
+together. Of course you will be tremendously engaged just at present,
+but you must spare me a long morning as soon as you possibly can.'
+
+'I suppose I am not going to take you into dinner?'
+
+'No, Sir Edward Linkstone does that. We cannot ask him to take in his
+daughter or Nora Cranfield, who is staying at his house, and besides, it
+would not be nice. I should not like to be sitting by you, talking the
+usual dinner talk, when I am so wanting to have a real chat with you.
+You will take in Mary Linkstone, she is a very nice girl.'
+
+The dinner was a pleasant one, and the party being so small the
+conversation was general. It turned, however, a good deal on India, for
+Sir Edward Linkstone had been Judge of the Supreme Court at Calcutta,
+and had retired just about the time that Hampton had gone out there.
+After the ladies had left the room, Danvers remarked to their host:
+
+'That was an unpleasant-looking character who accosted you just before
+the race started for the Oaks, Mr. Hawtrey.'
+
+'Yes; I don't know that I have many enemies, beyond perhaps some
+fellows, poachers and others, whom I have had to commit for trial, but I
+do consider that fellow to be a man who would injure me if he could. His
+father, John Truscott was my father's steward, or agent as it is the
+fashion to call them now, on his estate in Lincolnshire. He had been
+there for over thirty years, and was a thoroughly trustworthy and
+honourable man, a good agent, and greatly liked by the tenants as well
+as by my father. As you may know, I came into the estates when I came of
+age. My father had died two years before. Well, I knew that Truscott had
+had a good deal of trouble with his son, who was three or four years
+older than myself.
+
+'Truscott kept a small farm in his own hands, and he made a hobby of
+breeding blood stock. Not to any great extent; I think he had only some
+five or six brood mares, but they were all good ones. I think he did
+very well by them; certainly some of the foals turned out uncommonly
+well. Of course he did not race them himself, but sold them as
+yearlings. As it turned out it was unfortunate, for it gave his son a
+fancy for the turf. I suppose it began by his laying bets on the horses
+they had bred, then it went on and he used to attend racecourses and get
+into bad company, and I know that his father had more than once to pay
+what were to him heavy sums to enable him to clear up on settlement day.
+I don't know, though, that it would have made much difference, the
+fellow might have gone to the bad anyhow. He had always a shifty, sly
+sort of look. About four years after I came into the estates I was down
+in Lincolnshire at our place, when Truscott was taken ill, and I
+naturally went to see him.
+
+'"I don't think I shall be long here, Mr. Hawtrey," he said, "and you
+will have to look out for another steward. I used to hope that when my
+time came for giving up work my son would step into my shoes. He has
+plenty of brains, and as far as shrewdness goes he would make a better
+steward than I have ever done. For the last year, since I began to fail,
+he has been more at home and has done a good deal of my work, and I
+expect he reckons on getting my place, but, Mr. Hawtrey, you must not
+give it to him. It is a hard thing for a father to say, but you could
+not trust him."
+
+'I felt that myself, but I did not like to admit it to the old man, and
+I said:
+
+'"I know he has been a bit wild, Truscott, but he may have seen that he
+was behaving like a fool, and as you say he has been helping you more
+for the last year, he may have made up his mind to break altogether from
+the life he has been leading."
+
+'"It is not in him, sir," he said. "I could forgive his being a bit
+wild, but he is not honest. Don't ask me what he has done, but take my
+word for it. A man who will rob his own father will rob his employer. I
+have done my best for your father and you; no man can say that John
+Truscott has robbed him, and I should turn in my grave if our name were
+dishonoured down here. You must not think of it, sir; you would never
+keep him if you tried him; it would be a pain to me to think that one of
+my blood should wrong you, as I know, surely, Robert would do, and I
+implore you to make a complete change, and get some man who will do the
+estate justice."
+
+'Of course I assented; indeed, I had heard so much of the fellow's
+doings that I had quite made up my mind that when his father retired I
+would look for a steward elsewhere. At the same time I know that if the
+old man had asked me to try him for a time, I should have done so. A
+week later John Truscott died, and the day after his funeral, which I,
+of course, attended, his son came up to the house. Well, it was a very
+unpleasant business; he seemed to assume that, as a matter of course, he
+would succeed his father, and pointed out that for the last year he had,
+in fact, carried on the estate for him. I said that I did not doubt his
+ability, but that I had no idea of making a man who was a frequenter of
+racecourses, and who, I knew, bet so heavily that his father had had to
+aid him several times, manager of the estate.
+
+'He answered that he had had his fling, and would now settle down
+steadily. Of course, after what his father had said I was obliged to be
+firm. When he saw that there was no chance of altering my decision he
+came out in his true colours; broke out in the most violent language,
+and had I not been a good deal more powerful man than he was I believe
+he would have struck me. At last I had to ring the bell and order the
+footman to turn him out. He cooled down suddenly, and deliberately
+cursed me, swearing that he would some day be revenged upon me for my
+ingratitude to his father, and the insult I had passed upon him in thus
+refusing to appoint him after the thirty years' services the old man had
+rendered me. I have no doubt he thoroughly meant what he said, but
+naturally, I never troubled myself about the matter.
+
+'The threats of a disappointed man seldom come to anything, and as there
+was no conceivable way in which he could injure me his menaces really
+meant nothing. I have come across him four or five times since. I dare
+say that I should have met him oftener were I a regular attendant on
+racecourses, but it is years since I have been to one, and only did it
+to-day because Dorothy had set her heart on seeing the Oaks for the
+first time. However, whenever I have met him he has never failed to
+thrust himself upon me, and to show that his animosity is as bitter as
+it was on the day that I refused to appoint him steward. He left my
+neighbourhood at once, turned the stock into money, and as I know that
+he came into three or four thousand pounds at his father's death he had
+every chance of doing well. I believe that he did do well on the turf
+for a time, but the usual end came to that. When I met him last, some
+seven or eight years ago, I happened to be with a member of the Jockey
+Club who knew something of the fellow. He told me that he had been for a
+time a professional betting man, but had become involved in some
+extremely shady transactions, and had been warned off the turf, and was
+now only to be seen at open meetings, and had more than once had a
+narrow escape of being lynched by the crowd for welshing. From his
+appearance to-day it is evident that he is still a hanger-on of
+racecourses. I saw he had the name of Marvel on his hat. I should say
+that probably he appears with a fresh name each time. I think the chance
+of meeting him has had something to do with my giving up going to races
+altogether. It is not pleasant being insulted by a disreputable-looking
+scoundrel, in the midst of a crowd of people.'
+
+'He has never done you any harm, Mr. Hawtrey?' Captain Hamilton asked,
+'because certainly it seemed to me there was a ring of triumphant malice
+in his voice.'
+
+'Certainly not, to my knowledge,' Mr. Hawtrey replied. 'Once or twice
+there have been stacks burnt down on the estate, probably the work of
+some malicious fellow, but I have had no reason for suspecting Truscott,
+and indeed, as the damage fell on the tenant and not on me, it would
+have been at best a very small gratification of spite, and I can hardly
+fancy he would have gone to the trouble and expense of travelling down
+to Lincolnshire for so small a gratification of his ill-will to me.
+Besides, had he had a hand in it, it would have been the stables and the
+house itself that would have been endangered.'
+
+'The same idea struck me that occurred to Hampton,' Danvers said, 'but I
+suppose it was fancy. It sounded to me as if he had already paid, to
+some extent, the debt he spoke of, or as if he had no doubt whatever
+that he should do so in the future.'
+
+The subject dropped, but when, after leaving, Hampton went into the Club
+to which Danvers belonged, to smoke a cigar, he returned to it.
+
+'I can't help thinking about that fellow Truscott. It is evident, from
+what Hawtrey says, that he has never done him any serious harm, and I
+don't see how the rascal can possibly do so; but I am positive that the
+man himself believes that he either has done or shall be able to do so.'
+
+'That was the impression I had too, but there is never any telling with
+fellows of that class. The rogue, when he is found out, either cringes
+or threatens. He generally cringes so long as there is a chance of its
+doing him any good, then, when he sees that the game is altogether up,
+he threatens; it is only in one case in ten thousand that the threats
+ever come to anything, and as twenty years have gone by without any
+result in this case we may safely assume that it is not one of the
+exceptions.
+
+'Do you remember Mrs. Hawtrey?'
+
+'Yes, I remember her well. The first year or two after their marriage,
+Hawtrey had a place near town. I think she had a fancy that Lincolnshire
+was too cold for her. They came down when I was about eight years old.
+Dorothy was about a year old, I fancy. Mrs. Hawtrey and my mother became
+great friends. We could go from one house to the other without going
+outside the grounds, and as I was the youngest of a large family I used
+to walk across with her, and if Dorothy was in the garden she would come
+toddling to me and insist upon my carrying her upon my shoulder, or
+digging in her garden, or playing with her in some way or other. I don't
+know that I was fonder of children in general than most boys were, but I
+certainly took to her, and, as I said, we became great chums. She came
+to us two or three months after her mother died; her father went away on
+the Continent, and the poor little girl was heart-broken, as well she
+might be, having no brothers or sisters. She was a very desolate little
+maiden, so of course I did what I could to comfort her, and when my
+father and mother died, within three days of each other, three years
+later, I think that child's sympathy did me more good than anything.
+That is the only time I have seen her since I entered the army, and then
+I was only at home a few days, for the regiment was at Edinburgh, and it
+was a busy season. I suppose I could have got longer leave had I tried,
+but there was no object in staying at home. I had never got on
+particularly well with John, who was now master of the house; he was
+married, and had children, and after they arrived I thought the sooner I
+was off the better.'
+
+'What became of Tom? We were in the sixth together, you know; when you
+were my fag. You told me, didn't you, that he had gone out to China or
+something of that sort?'
+
+'Yes; there had been an idea that he would go into the Church, but he
+did not take to it; he tried one or two things here and would not stick
+to them, and my father got him into a tea firm, and he went out for them
+two years afterwards to Hong Kong; but that did not suit him either, so
+he threw it up and went to Australia, and knocked about there until he
+came into ten thousand at my father's death. He went in for
+sheep-farming then, and I have only heard once of him since, but he said
+that he was doing very well. I shall perhaps hear more about him when I
+see John. I must go down to Lincolnshire to-morrow, and I suppose I
+shall have to stay a week or so there; it is the proper thing to do, of
+course, but I wish that it was over. I have never been in the old place
+since that bad time. I don't at all care for my brother's wife. I have
+no doubt that she is a very good woman, but there is nothing sympathetic
+about her; she is one of those women with a metallic sort of voice that
+seems to jar upon one as if she were out of tune.'
+
+'And afterwards--have you any plans?'
+
+'None at all. I shall look out for a couple of rooms, somewhere about
+Jermyn Street, and stay in town to the end of the season. Then I shall
+hire a yacht for a couple of months, and knock about the coast or go
+across to Norway. I wish you would go with me; I did Switzerland and
+Italy the last year before I went away, and I don't care about going
+there when every place is filled with a crowd. I have only got a year,
+and I should like to have as pleasant remembrances to take back with me
+as possible. Do you think you will be able to come with me? Of course I
+shall not be able to afford a floating palace. I should say about a
+thirty-tonner that would carry four comfortably would be the sort of
+thing. I will try to get two fellows to go to make up the party; some of
+my old chums if I can come across them. Of course I can get any number
+of men home on leave like myself, but I don't want anyone from India,
+for in that case we should talk nothing but shop. You saw how we drifted
+into it at dinner. I should like not to hear India mentioned until I am
+on board a ship on my way out again.'
+
+'When would you think of going?'
+
+'Oh, I should say after Ascot--say the second week in July.'
+
+'I can hardly go with you as soon as that; I cannot get away as long as
+the courts are sitting, or until they have, at any rate, nearly finished
+work; but I might join you by the end of the month, unless I have the
+luck to get retained in some important case that would make my fortune,
+and I need scarcely say that is not likely.
+
+'But you are doing well, ain't you, Danvers? I see your name in the
+papers occasionally.'
+
+'I am doing quite as well as I have any right to expect; better, a good
+deal, than many men of my own standing, for I have only been called
+seven years, and ten is about the minimum most solicitors consider
+necessary before they can feel the slightest confidence in a man. Still,
+it does not do very much more than pay for one's chambers and clerk.'
+
+A week later Ned Hampton was established in lodgings in Jermyn Street.
+He had been down for three days into Lincolnshire, but had not cared
+much for the visit. He had never got on very well with his elder
+brother, and they had no tastes or opinions in common. Mrs. Hampton was
+a woman with but little to say on any subject, while her husband was at
+this time of year absorbed in his duties as a magistrate and landlord,
+although in the winter these occupied a secondary position to hunting
+and shooting. The only son was away at school, the two girls were all
+day with their governess; and, after three as dull days as he had ever
+spent in his life, Ned pleaded business that required his presence in
+London, and came back suddenly. He had been a good deal in society
+during his visits to London in the three years that intervened between
+his obtaining his commission and sailing for India. He had, therefore,
+many calls to make upon old acquaintances, and as at his military club
+he met numbers of men he knew, he soon had his hands full of
+engagements. He still managed, however, to spend a good deal of time at
+the Hawtreys', where he was always welcome. One morning, when he dropped
+in, Dorothy, after the first greeting, said, 'I have a piece of news to
+tell you. I should not like you to hear it from anyone else but me.'
+There was a heightened colour in her cheek, and he at once guessed the
+truth.
+
+'You have accepted Lord Halliburn? I guessed it would be so. I suppose I
+ought to congratulate you, Dorothy. At any rate, I hope you will be very
+happy with him.'
+
+'Why should you not congratulate me?'
+
+'Only because I do not know Lord Halliburn sufficiently well to be able
+to do so. Of course, I understand that he is a good match; but that, in
+my mind, is quite a secondary consideration. The real question is, is he
+the sort of man who will make you happy?'
+
+'I should not have accepted him unless I thought so,' she said gravely.
+'Mind,' she added with a laugh, 'I don't mean to say that I am
+insensible to the advantages of being a peeress, but in itself that
+would not have decided me. He is pleasant, and has the advantage of
+being very fond of me, and everyone speaks well of him.'
+
+'All very good reasons, Dorothy, if added to the best of all--that you
+love him.'
+
+The girl nodded.
+
+'Of course, Ned. I don't think that I have the sort of love one imagines
+as a young girl; not a wild, unreasoning sort of love; but you don't
+find that much in our days except in books. I like him very much, and,
+as I said before, he likes me. That does make such a wonderful
+difference, you see. When a man begins to show that he likes you, of
+course one thinks of him a good deal and in quite a different way from
+what you would otherwise do, and so one comes in time to like him in the
+same way he likes you. That seems to me the way with most girls I have
+known married. You don't see any harm in that?'
+
+'Oh no; I suppose it is the regular way in society; and, indeed, I don't
+see how people could get to care more than that for each other when they
+only meet at balls and flower shows and so on. Well, I think I may
+congratulate you. There is no doubt whatever about its being a good
+match, and I don't see why you should not be very happy, and no doubt
+your liking, as you call it, will grow into something more like the love
+you used to dream about by-and-by.'
+
+The girl pouted.
+
+'You are not half as glad as I expected you to be--and please don't
+think that I am marrying without love. I only admit that it is not the
+sort of love one reads of in novels, but I expect it is just as real.'
+
+'If it is good enough to wear well that is all that is necessary,'
+Captain Hampton said, more lightly than he had before spoken. 'You know,
+Dorothy, you have my very best wishes. You were my little sister for
+years, you know, and there is no one whose happiness would give me so
+much pleasure.'
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III
+
+
+Mr. Hawtrey and his daughter were sitting at breakfast a fortnight
+later, the only other person present being a cousin, Mrs. Daintree, who
+had come up to stay with them for the season to act as chaperon to
+Dorothy. She had been unwell and unable to form one of the party at
+Epsom. The servant brought in the letters just as they sat down,
+carrying them as usual to his master, as Dorothy was busy with the tea
+things. As Mr. Hawtrey looked through them his eye fell upon a letter.
+On the back was written in a bold handwriting, 'Unless the money is sent
+I shall use letters.--E. T.'
+
+He turned it over, it was directed to his daughter. He was about to
+speak, but as his eye fell on Mrs. Daintree he checked himself, placed
+the missive among his own letters, and passed those for his daughter and
+cousin across to them. He was very silent during breakfast. Dorothy
+detected by his voice that something was wrong with him, and asked
+anxiously if he was not feeling well. When the meal was over he said to
+her:
+
+'Before you go out, Dorothy, look in upon me in the library.'
+
+Ten minutes later she came into the room.
+
+'Dorothy,' he said, 'are you in any trouble?'
+
+'Trouble, father?' she repeated, in surprise. 'No; what sort of trouble
+do you mean?'
+
+'Well, dear,' he said kindly, 'girls do sometimes get into scrapes. I
+did not think you were the sort of girl to do so, but these things are
+more often the result of thoughtlessness than of anything more serious,
+and the trouble is that instead of going frankly to their friends and
+making a clean breast of it, girls will try and set matters right
+themselves, and so, in order to avoid a little unpleasantness, may ruin
+their whole lives.'
+
+Dorothy's eyes opened more and more widely as her father went on.
+
+'Yes, father, I have heard of such things, but I don't know why you are
+saying so to me. I have never got into any scrape that I know of.'
+
+'What does this mean then?' he said, handing her the envelope.
+
+She read it with an air of bewilderment, looked at the address, and
+re-read the words.
+
+'I have not the faintest idea, father.'
+
+'Open the envelope,' he said sternly. She broke the seal, but there was
+no enclosure whatever. 'You do not know who this E. T. is? You have not
+written any letters that you would not care to have read aloud? You have
+had no demand for money for their delivery? Wait a moment before you
+speak, child; I don't mean for a moment that there could be anything
+wrong in any letter that you have written. It can only be that in some
+country house where you have been staying, you have got into some
+foolish flirtation with some one, and have been silly enough to
+correspond with him. I will not suppose that a man to whom you would
+write would be blackguard enough to trade upon your weakness, but the
+letters may have fallen into some one else's hands; his valet, perhaps,
+who, seeing your engagement to Lord Halliburn, now seeks to extort money
+from you by threatening to send your letters to him. If so, my dear
+child, speak frankly to me. I will get the letters back, at whatever
+cost, and will hand them to you to burn, without looking at them, and
+will never mention the subject again.'
+
+'There is nothing of the sort, father. How could you think that I could
+do anything so foolish and wrong? Surely you must know me better than
+that.'
+
+'I thought I did, Dorothy; but girls do foolish things, especially when
+they are quite young and perhaps not out of the schoolroom, and know
+nothing whatever of the world. They fancy themselves in love, and are
+foolish enough sometimes to allow themselves to be entrapped into
+correspondence with men of whose real character they know nothing; it is
+a folly, but not one to deal hardly with.'
+
+'At any rate, father, I have not done so. If I had I would say so at
+once. I have not the remotest idea what that letter means, or who wrote
+it. If it were not that it had my name and address on the other side, I
+should not have had an idea that it was meant for me. Except trifling
+notes of invitation and that sort of thing I do not think that I had
+ever written to any man until I was engaged to Algernon.'
+
+'Well, that is a relief,' Mr. Hawtrey said, more cheerfully than he had
+before spoken. 'It was a pain to me to think even for a moment that you
+could have been so foolish. It never entered my head to think that you
+could have done anything absolutely wrong. However, we must now look at
+this rascally letter from another point of view. Here is a man writing
+to demand a sum of money for letters. Now, it is one of two things.
+Either he has forged letters in his possession, for which he hopes to
+extort money, or he has no letters of any kind, and his only intention
+in writing in this manner on an envelope is in some way to cause you
+pain and annoyance. We may assume that the initials are fictitious;
+whoever wrote the letter would certainly avoid giving any clue to his
+identity. Sit down, Dorothy. We must talk the matter over quietly and
+see what had best be done.'
+
+'But this is dreadful, father!' Dorothy said, as she seated herself in
+an arm-chair.
+
+'Not dreadful, dear, though I admit that it is unpleasant, very
+unpleasant; and we must, if possible, trace it to the bottom, for now
+that this annoyance has begun there is no saying how much farther it may
+be pushed. Is there anyone you can think of who would be likely to have
+a spite against you? I do not say any of the four or five gentlemen
+whose proposals you have declined in the course of the past year; all
+were gentlemen and beyond suspicion. Any woman servant you may have
+dismissed; any man whose request for money for one purpose or another
+you may have refused; anyone, in short, to whom you may have given
+offence?'
+
+'Not that I know of, father. You know my last maid left to get married,
+and I had nothing to do with hiring or discharging the other servants;
+they are all under the housekeeper. I really do not know of anyone who
+has cause for ill-feeling against me.'
+
+'I shall write at once to the Postmaster General and request him to give
+orders that no more letters of the kind shall be openly delivered.
+Peters can hardly have helped reading it; it has evidently been written
+in a large, bold handwriting, so that it can be read at a glance. Of
+course, I shall speak to him, but he will probably have chatted about it
+downstairs already. I shall go down to Scotland Yard and inform them of
+the annoyance, and ask their advice there, though I don't see that they
+can do anything until we can furnish them with some sort of clue. We may
+find one later on; this envelope certainly gives us nothing to go on,
+but we may be sure others will follow.'
+
+'It is dreadful, father,' Dorothy repeated, as she rose, 'to think that
+such malicious letters as this can be sent, and that they may be talked
+about among the servants.'
+
+'Well, I do not think there will be any more coming here, dear. I should
+imagine the Post Office authorities will have no objection to retain
+them. If there should be any difficulty about it, I will have a lock put
+on the letter-box and keep the key myself, so that, at least, the
+servants here will know nothing about it. Are you going out with your
+cousin this morning?'
+
+'I was going, but I shall make some excuse now; I could not be
+chattering about all sorts of things with her.'
+
+'That is just what you must do, Dorothy. It has taken the colour out of
+your cheeks, child, though I suppose cold water and a rub with a hard
+towel will bring it back again, but, at any rate, do not go about as if
+you had something on your mind. You may be sure that the servants will
+be looking at you curiously, whatever I may say to Peters; if they see
+you are in no way disturbed or annoyed, the matter will soon pass out of
+their minds, but, on the other hand, if they notice any change, they
+will be saying to themselves there must be something in it.'
+
+As soon as his daughter had left the room Mr. Hawtrey touched the bell.
+
+'I am going out, Peters; if anyone calls to see me you can say that I
+shall not be in till lunch-time. I may be detained at Scotland Yard. I
+am going there to set the police on the track of the fellow who sent
+that letter to Miss Hawtrey this morning. I suppose you noticed it?'
+
+'Yes, sir,' the man replied, in a hesitating tone; 'as I took the
+letters out of the box and laid them on the hall table, the envelope was
+back upwards, and I could not help seeing what was on it.'
+
+'I can quite understand that, Peters, and am not blaming you. The words
+were evidently written with the intention that they should be read by
+everyone through whose hands it passed. It is evidently the work of some
+malicious scoundrel, though we have not, of course, the slightest clue
+as to whom it may be, but I have no doubt the police will be able to get
+on his track. If you have mentioned it to any of the other servants,
+tell them that on no account is the matter to be spoken of outside the
+house. Our only chance of catching the scoundrel is that he should be
+kept entirely in the dark. Probably the fellow is in communication with
+some one either in the house or acquainted with one of the servants. If
+he hears nothing about it, he may suppose the letter has not attracted
+notice, as he intended it should do, and we shall have some more of
+them, and this will increase our chance of finding him.'
+
+'I have not mentioned anything about it, sir.'
+
+'All the better, Peters. Should another come do not bring it in with the
+other letters, but hand it in to me privately. Miss Hawtrey is naturally
+greatly pained and annoyed, and I should not wish her to know if any
+more letters come.'
+
+'It is hardly a matter that we can take up,' an inspector at Scotland
+Yard said when Mr. Hawtrey showed him the envelope and explained the
+matter. 'I suppose at bottom it is an attempt to extort money, though
+one does not see how the writer intends to go about it. If there should
+be any offer to drop the annoyance on the receipt of a sum of money sent
+to a post-office or shop, to be called for, we would take it up, watch
+the place, and arrest whoever comes for the letter. At present there is
+nothing to go upon, and I don't see that we can do anything in the
+matter. If you think it worth while you might put it into private hands,
+but it would cost you a good deal of money, and I don't see that anyone
+could help you much.'
+
+'I do not care what it costs,' Mr. Hawtrey said hotly. 'Can you
+recommend any of these private detectives?'
+
+The inspector shook his head.
+
+'There are some trustworthy men among them, sir, and some thorough
+rogues, but we make a point of never recommending anyone. No doubt your
+own solicitor would be able to tell you of some good man to go to.'
+
+Mr. Hawtrey hailed a cab when he went out and told the man to drive to
+Essex Street. Just as he turned down from the Strand he saw Danvers turn
+out from the approach to the Middle Temple. He stopped the cab and
+jumped out.
+
+'I was just going to my lawyer,' he said, 'but I dare say, Danvers, you
+can save me the loss of time. It generally means at least half an hour's
+waiting before he is disengaged. Can you tell me of a shrewd fellow who
+can be trusted to undertake a difficult piece of business?'
+
+'That is rather vague, Mr. Hawtrey,' Danvers laughed. 'I might reply
+that such a man stands before you.'
+
+'No, I mean a sort of detective business.'
+
+'There are plenty of shrewd fellows who call themselves private
+detectives, Mr. Hawtrey. A good many of them are too shrewd altogether.
+Of course, I have been in contact with several of them, and the majority
+are rogues of the first water. Still, there are honest men among them.
+If I knew a little more what sort of work you wanted done I should be
+better able to tell what kind of man you require for it.'
+
+'It is a deucedly unpleasant business, Danvers, but I will gladly tell
+you what it is, for I want the advice of some one like yourself,
+accustomed to deal with difficult cases. Can you spare ten minutes?'
+
+'With pleasure. I have no case on to-day. Will you come to my chambers?
+It is not half a minute's walk, and they are on the ground floor.'
+
+'What do you think of it, Danvers?' Mr. Hawtrey asked, after he had
+shown the envelope and related briefly his interview with his daughter.
+
+'I don't know what to think of it,' Danvers said after a pause. 'Knowing
+Miss Hawtrey as I have the pleasure of doing, I, of course, entertain no
+doubt whatever of the truth of her denial, and believe she is as
+completely in the dark as yourself as to what this thing means. I must
+own that it is not often that I should take a young lady's word so
+implicitly in such a matter. I have seen and still more heard from
+solicitors of so many astounding cases of the troubles girls have got
+into, sometimes from thoughtlessness only, sometimes, I am bound to
+confess, from what seems to me to be an entire absence of moral
+perception, that scarcely anything in that way would surprise me.
+
+'That Miss Hawtrey would do anything absolutely wrong is to me out of
+the question; though she might, from thoughtlessness, when a girl, as
+you put it to her, have got into some silly entanglement, for such
+things happen continually; but after the line you took up with her I can
+but dismiss this from my mind as altogether out of the question, and we
+must look at the matter entirely from the point of view that it is
+either an attempt to extort money, or is simply the outcome of sheer
+malice, an attempt to give pain, and to cause extreme annoyance. Miss
+Hawtrey is, you say, wholly unaware of having at any time given such
+offence to anyone as to convert him or her into an enemy. Of course,
+there are people who are just as bitter over an imaginary injury as over
+a real one, but I am more inclined to think that this letter is the
+result of malice than an attempt to extort money.'
+
+'I do not see how money could be extorted by such a letter as this, when
+there is no foundation for the threat.'
+
+'Quite so, Mr. Hawtrey. No one who wanted to blackmail a young lady
+would proceed in so clumsy a manner as this. He would write to her, to
+begin with, a letter full of vague hints and threats, in the hope that
+although he himself was ignorant of any occurrence in her life that
+would give him a hold upon her, her own conscience might bring to her
+remembrance some act of past folly or thoughtlessness which, with an
+engagement just made, she would certainly shrink from having raked up.
+For instance, she might have had some foolish flirtation, some
+sentimental correspondence, or stolen meeting--things foolish but in no
+way criminal--that at such a moment she would not wish to be brought to
+the ears of the man to whom she was engaged. A cleverly but vaguely
+worded letter might then cause her to believe that this affair was known
+to the writer, and she would endeavour to hush it up by paying any sum
+in her power.
+
+'Having written two or three letters of this kind without success, her
+persecutor might then send an envelope like this to show her that he was
+thoroughly resolved to carry out his threats unless she agreed to his
+terms. But as a first move it can mean nothing; and the person to whom
+it is addressed, knowing that it has already been seen by the postman,
+the servants, and perhaps by others, would in any case be driven to hand
+it over to her friends. Miss Hawtrey has received no preliminary
+letters, therefore it is clear to me that this is not an attempt to
+extort money. We have nothing, therefore, to fall back upon but the idea
+of sheer malice, and I have known so many cases of wanton and ingenious
+mischief-making, arising from such paltry and insufficient causes, that
+I can be surprised at nothing.'
+
+'Still, I don't see how anyone could do such an infamous and cruel thing
+as this, Danvers, without some real cause for malice. My daughter is
+altogether unconscious of having an enemy, there is nothing for us to go
+upon, and I do not see how the business of discovery is to be
+commenced.'
+
+'At present, certainly, we seem to have no clue to help us. The letter
+was posted, you see, in London, but that is of no use whatever; were it
+from a small country town or rural district the matter would be
+comparatively easy, but London is hopeless. I have no doubt some more
+letters of this kind will come, and I should say that although the
+post-marks may afford you no information, the postal authorities might
+be able to help you. I do not know whether the stamps at all the
+district post offices are identical, but it is possible that there may
+be some private mark on them, some little peculiarity, by which the
+post-office people would be able to tell you the office at which it was
+posted.
+
+'But even this would help us but little, as the letters are collected
+and sent to the central district office, and are there, I believe,
+stamped. At any rate, I see no use in your employing a man now, Mr.
+Hawtrey. If you get a clue, even the smallest, I have a fellow in my
+mind's eye who would, I think, suit you. He was at one time a clerk with
+Buller and Sons. They gave up the criminal part of their business when
+the eldest son, who had charge of that branch, died, and this man,
+Slippen, was no longer wanted. He then set up on his own account, as a
+sort of private detective. He has been employed in two or three delicate
+cases in which I have held briefs, and is certainly a very shrewd
+fellow.'
+
+'It would be a relief to me to be doing something,' Mr. Hawtrey said. 'I
+think I should like to see the man.'
+
+Danvers was silent for a minute.
+
+'I think, Mr. Hawtrey,' he said at last, 'it would be better if you were
+to entrust the matter to me. I will see him, and without mentioning
+names state the facts, and say that he may be asked to undertake the
+case later on. The fewer people know of the affair the better. Whispers
+will get about, and whispers would be more unpleasant than if the whole
+story were told openly in court. If you like I will send my clerk over
+to his place at once and make an appointment for him to come round here
+this afternoon. If you are going to be at home this evening I will look
+in and tell you what his opinion of the matter is, and whether he has
+any suggestions to offer. If that will not suit you I will meet you
+to-morrow at any time you may appoint.'
+
+'This evening will do very well, Danvers. Dorothy is going with her
+cousin and a party to the theatre, so if you will come round any time
+after eight o'clock you will find me alone, and we can have our chat
+over a glass of port and a cigar.'
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+'Well, have you seen your man?' he asked, as Danvers came into his study
+that evening. 'But do not answer until you have made yourself
+comfortable, and poured yourself out a glass of port; do not light your
+cigar for a few minutes, the wine is too good to be spoilt.'
+
+'Yes, I have seen him,' Danvers replied, as he followed his instructions
+deliberately.
+
+'And what does he say?'
+
+'Well, you see, Mr. Hawtrey, he has not the advantage we have of knowing
+the lady. He naturally has seen a good deal of the seamy side of life,
+and upon my stating the case to him, he said, without a moment's
+hesitation, "Of course the thing is as plain as a pikestaff, Mr.
+Danvers. The man has got hold of some secret, or is holding some
+compromising letters, and has tried to get her to come to terms. She
+hangs back and he shows his teeth, and writes her this open message,
+which, if it had not happened to fall into her father's hands, would no
+doubt have brought her to her knees at once."
+
+'My assurance that it was absolutely certain that the lady in question
+was in entire ignorance of the whole affair, and was as much in the dark
+as we were as to the author of the letter, was received by him with
+incredulity. "I have been concerned in cases like this, or at least a
+good deal like it, a dozen--or, I might say, a score--of times. In every
+case the lady maintained stoutly that she knew nothing about it, that
+she had never written a letter to any man whatever, and had received
+none previous to the one that happened to fall into the wrong hands. In
+three or four instances I was deceived myself, but there is no telling
+with women. When a man tells a lie, he either hesitates or stumbles, or
+he says it off as if it were a lesson he had got by heart, or else he is
+sulky over it, and you have to get it out of him bit by bit, just as if,
+though he had made up his mind to lie, he did not wish to tell more lies
+than necessary. With a woman it is altogether different. When she makes
+up her mind to tell a lie, she does it thoroughly. Sometimes she is
+indignant, sometimes she is plaintive; but, anyhow, she is so natural
+that she would deceive Old Nick himself. Most of them are born
+actresses, sir, and when they take up a part they do it with the
+determination of carrying it through thoroughly." Of course, I told him
+that, whatever it might be generally, this case was altogether an
+exception; that it was a moral and absolute certainty that the lady had
+nothing to do with it, and that the investigation, when it was once
+undertaken, would have to proceed, say, on the line that the author of
+these communications was a man or a woman having a personal enmity
+against a lady, and instigated by a desire to annoy and pain her.
+
+'"Well, sir," he said, "of course, if you employ me in this matter it
+will be my business to carry it out according to instructions; but I am
+afraid that it is not likely anything will come of my search."
+
+'"But," I said, "there is nothing impossible or improbable in the fact
+that someone should have a grudge against her; she has just become
+engaged to be married."
+
+'"That alters the case altogether," he said quickly; "there may be some
+other woman who wants to marry the man, or there may be some one who may
+consider that she will be left in the lurch if this marriage comes off;
+and either of these might endeavour to make a scandal, or to get up a
+quarrel that might cause the engagement to be broken off. If you had
+mentioned about the engagement before, that is the first idea that would
+have occurred to me. There are very few things a jealous woman will
+stick at. The case looks more hopeful now, and when I come to know the
+man's name, I ought very soon to be able to put my finger on the writer
+of the letter, if it is a woman. At any rate, if there is no other clue,
+that is the one I should take up first."
+
+'That brought our interview to an end. I paid him a couple of guineas
+for his advice, and he fully understood that he might, or might not, be
+called in on some future occasion.'
+
+'It is a confounded nuisance,' Mr. Hawtrey said thoughtfully; 'is the
+fellow really trustworthy, Danvers?'
+
+'He can be trusted to keep the matter to himself,' the barrister said;
+'these men are engaged constantly in delicate business, such as getting
+up divorce suits, and it would ruin their business altogether were they
+to allow a word to escape them as to the matter in hand. At any rate, I
+know enough about Slippen to be able to answer for his discretion.
+However, I hope that there will be no occasion to move in the matter at
+all. Of course you will not do so unless there is a repetition of the
+annoyance?'
+
+'I have little hope there will not be, Danvers,' Mr. Hawtrey groaned;
+'whoever wrote that letter is certain to follow it up. Whatever effect
+it was intended to produce he could hardly count on its being effected
+by a single attack.'
+
+'I own that I am afraid so, too,' Danvers agreed. 'You will, I hope, let
+me know if it is so.'
+
+'That you may be sure. I am afraid that now you have taken the trouble
+to aid me in the matter, you will have to go through with it altogether.
+This is utterly out of my line; anything connected with poaching or
+stealing fruit, or drunken assaults, my experience as a county
+magistrate enables me to treat with something like confidence, but here
+I am altogether at sea and your experience as a barrister is of the
+greatest benefit to me. What time do you get to your chambers in the
+morning?'
+
+'I am almost always there by half-past nine, and between that hour and
+half past ten you are almost certain to find me; but if you come later
+my clerk will be able to find me in the courts, and unless I am engaged
+in a case being tried I can always come out to you.'
+
+'I have been wanting to see you, father,' Miss Hawtrey said, as soon as
+the latter returned home, 'I expect Lord Halliburn will be here soon
+after lunch, and cousin Mary and I are going with him to the Botanical.
+Had I better tell him about this or not?'
+
+'That is a difficult question to answer, Dorothy, and I should be sorry
+to offer any advice about it. You know Lord Halliburn a good deal better
+than I do, and can best judge how he will take a matter like this; he
+must certainly be told sooner or later, for even if there is no
+repetition of this before your marriage there may be afterwards. Many
+men would laugh at the whole thing, and never give it a moment's
+thought, while others, although they would not doubt the assertion of
+the woman they were engaged to, would still fret and worry over it
+amazingly.'
+
+'I am sure he would not doubt me for a moment, father, but I should
+think that he really might worry over it.'
+
+'That is rather my opinion too, Dorothy; still, it is clear that he must
+be told either by you or me. However, there is no occasion to tell him
+to-day. A flower show is not the place you would choose for the purpose,
+even if you had not Mary Daintree with you. We shall see if another
+letter comes or not; if it does he must be told at once.'
+
+Dorothy looked a little relieved at the necessity for telling Lord
+Halliburn being postponed for the day.
+
+'It is of no use worrying over it, my dear,' her father said kindly. 'It
+is an annoyance, there is no denying, but it is nothing to fret over,
+and as the insinuations are a pack of lies the cloud will blow away
+before long.'
+
+The next morning, as soon as breakfast was over, Mr. Hawtrey drove to
+the central post office, where the postal authorities had promised the
+day before that they would retain any communications of the kind he
+described. He had been introduced to the official in charge of the
+department where complaints of stolen letters were investigated and
+followed up.
+
+'I have an envelope for you, Mr. Hawtrey,' that gentleman said, when he
+entered, 'and have been more fortunate than I expected, for I can tell
+you where it was posted; it was dropped into the letter-box at No. 35
+Claymore Street, Chelsea. It is a grocer's shop. In tying up the bundles
+the man's eye fell on this; it struck him at once as being an attempt to
+annoy or extort money, and he had the good sense to put it into an
+envelope and send it on here with a line of explanation, so as to leave
+us the option of detaining it if we thought fit.'
+
+'I am very pleased to hear it,' Mr. Hawtrey said. 'It is a great thing
+to know there is at least one point from which we can make a start.'
+
+'It is not much, but it may assist you. You must remember, however, that
+it is scarcely likely that the next letter will be posted at the same
+office; fellows of this kind are generally pretty cautious, and the next
+letter may come from another part of London altogether. I have sent a
+note to the man at this post office, telling him that he did right in
+stopping the letter, and that he is to similarly detain any others of
+the same kind that may be posted there. I will send them on to you. The
+men on your round have been already ordered not to deliver any letters
+of the kind, but to send them back here. I sincerely hope, Mr. Hawtrey,
+that you may succeed in getting hold of the fellow, but if you do I am
+afraid it will not be through our department; the chances against
+detecting a man posting a thing of this kind are almost infinite.'
+
+It was just half past ten when Mr. Hawtrey reached Danvers' chambers. He
+found that the occupier had not yet gone to the Court.
+
+'There is another of them,' Mr. Hawtrey said, throwing the letter down
+before him. 'I got it at the central office.' It was in the same
+handwriting as that on the previous day: 'Unless you agree to my terms
+your letters will be sent to Lord H----.' 'The post-office people have
+discovered that this letter was posted at a receiving office at Claymore
+Street, Chelsea.'
+
+'That would be valuable, Mr. Hawtrey, if there were any probability of
+the next being posted at the same place. I could make an arrangement to
+have a boy placed inside by the box so that he could see each letter as
+it fell in. Then he would only have to run out and follow whoever had
+posted it. I should probably require some special order from the
+Postmaster-General for this, but I dare say I could get that. At any
+rate, we can wait a day or two. If the next letter is posted there we
+will try that plan; if it is posted elsewhere it will, of course, be
+useless.'
+
+Mr. Hawtrey next drove to Lord Halliburn's, in Park Lane.
+
+'I have come on very unpleasant business, Halliburn,' he said. 'Dorothy
+would have told you herself about it yesterday, but I thought it better
+to let it stand over for a day, especially as she would not have an
+opportunity of discussing it with you,' and he then laid the two letters
+before him, and told him the steps he had taken and the conjectures that
+he and Danvers had formed on the subject of the sender.
+
+Lord Halliburn was a young man of about nine-and-twenty. He somewhat
+prided himself on his self-possession, and, although generally liked,
+was regarded, as Danvers had told his friend, as somewhat of a prig. His
+face expressed some annoyance as he heard the story.
+
+'It is certainly unpleasant,' he said. 'I am, of course, perfectly sure
+that Dorothy is in no way to blame in the matter. This can be only a
+malicious attempt to annoy her. Still, I admit it is annoying. Things of
+this sort are sure to get about somehow. I am certain that everyone who
+knows Dorothy will see the matter in the same light as we do, but those
+who do not will conclude that there is something in it. Probably enough
+ere long there will be a mysterious paragraph in one of those society
+papers. Altogether it is certainly extremely annoying. The great thing
+is to find out who sent them. I quite agree with you it cannot be an
+attempt to extort money; had it been so, the demands would have been
+sent under seal and not in this manner. I suppose you have no idea of
+anyone having any special enmity against either you or her?'
+
+'Not the slightest. The man who, as I told you, Danvers consulted
+without mentioning any names, was of opinion that it might be the work
+of some woman, and was intended to cause unpleasantness between you and
+Dorothy. Of course, in that case you might be more able to form an idea
+as to the writer than I can be.'
+
+'No, indeed, there is no woman in my case,' Lord Halliburn said. 'I have
+always been perfectly free from entanglements of that kind; nor have I
+ever had anything like a serious flirtation before I met Miss Hawtrey;
+indeed, as you know, I have been travelling abroad almost constantly
+since I left college. I can assure you, on my honour, that I cannot
+think of anyone who could have a motive, however slight, for making
+mischief between us. Of course, it would be out of the question that
+mischief could be made out of such things as these; they are too
+contemptible for notice, beyond the fact that they are naturally
+annoying. I shall see Dorothy this afternoon, and shall tell her not to
+give the matter a thought, but at the same time I shall be extremely
+glad if you can put your hand on the sender of these things.'
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV
+
+
+Mr. Hawtrey's hope that a clue had been obtained was speedily
+dissipated, for the next letter was posted in the south of London, and
+the one after it at Brompton. It was clear that the man who sent them
+did not confine himself to one particular office, and that it would be
+useless to set a watch on that in Claymore Street, Chelsea. Edward
+Hampton coming in that afternoon, he relieved his mind by telling what
+had happened.
+
+'It is a comfort to talk it over with some one, Ned. You were a
+police-officer for some time out in India, I think, and may be able to
+see your way through this business. Danvers has been very kind about it,
+but so far nothing has come of his suggestions.'
+
+'My Indian police experience is not much to the point. I had a police
+district for a year, but my duties consisted principally in hunting down
+criminals. Have you told Lord Halliburn?'
+
+'Yes; as soon as the second letter came I went to him; it was only right
+that he should know.'
+
+'Certainly. How did he take it, Mr. Hawtrey? if I may ask.'
+
+'He was naturally annoyed at it; though, of course, he agreed with me
+that it was simply a piece of malice. A detective, to whom Danvers had
+spoken, without mentioning any name, suggested that it might be the work
+of some woman who had a grudge against him, or felt herself aggrieved at
+his engagement. I mentioned this to him, and he assured me that, so far
+as he knew, there was no one who had any complaint against him, and that
+he had never had any entanglement of any kind.'
+
+'It is a horribly annoying thing, Mr. Hawtrey, and I am sure Miss
+Hawtrey must feel it very much. I thought she was not looking quite
+herself when I met her at dinner the night before last. Still, there
+must be some way of getting to the bottom of it. If it is not the work
+of an enemy, either of Lord Halliburn or of your daughter, it may be the
+work of one who has an enmity against yourself--one who is striking at
+you through yours.'
+
+'That is just possible, Ned; but beyond men I have sentenced on the
+bench I don't know of anyone who would put himself out of his way to
+annoy me. Assuredly this cannot be the work of any Lincolnshire rustic.'
+
+'But you have certainly one enemy who is just the sort of man to
+conceive and carry out such a blackguard business as this--I mean that
+man who was impertinent to you on the racecourse, and whose history you
+told us that evening.'
+
+'I had not thought of him. Yes, that suggestion is certainly a probable
+one. He is evidently deeply impressed with the sense of injury, though,
+Heaven knows, I did not have the slightest ill-feeling against him, but
+was driven to do what I did by his own courses, and especially by his
+father's earnest request that he should not succeed him. There is no
+doubt as to his malice, and there can be as little as to his
+unscrupulousness.'
+
+'Danvers and I were both of opinion, Mr. Hawtrey, that by his tone and
+manner when he spoke to you about payment of debts, that he had already
+done you some injury or had some distinct plan in his head. At that time
+your daughter was not engaged to Lord Halliburn, and his ideas may have
+been vague ones until the public notice of the engagement met his eye,
+when he may have said to himself, "This is my opportunity for taking my
+revenge, by annoying both father and daughter."'
+
+'It is possible, Ned. I can hardly bring myself to think that the son of
+my old friend would be capable of such a dastardly action, but I admit
+that there is at least a motive in his case, and that I can see none in
+that of anyone else.'
+
+'At any rate, Mr. Hawtrey, here is a clue worth following, and as I have
+nothing whatever to do, and my own time hangs rather heavily on my
+hands, I will, if you will allow me, undertake to follow it up.'
+
+'But with no evidence against him, not a particle, what can you do,
+Ned?'
+
+'My business will be to get evidence. The first thing is to find out
+where the fellow lives, and to have him watched and followed, and if
+possible, caught in the act of posting one of these letters.'
+
+'Remember, Ned, I would above all things avoid publicity, for Dorothy's
+sake. Nothing is more hateful than for a girl to be talked about, and it
+is only as a last resource that I would bring a charge against him at
+the Police Court.'
+
+'I can quite understand that, and will certainly call in no police to my
+aid until I have previously consulted you and received your sanction to
+do so. It will be easy enough to find him, for I should know him in an
+instant, and shall probably meet him at the first racecourse I go to. It
+is not as if I knew nothing of his habits.'
+
+For the next week Captain Hampton frequented every racecourse within a
+short distance of London, but without meeting the man he was looking
+for. Men of the same class were there in scores--some boisterous, some
+oily-mouthed, some unmitigated ruffians, others crafty rogues.
+
+Several times he accosted one of these men, and inquired if he had seen
+a betting man having the name of Marvel on his hat; each time the
+response was the same.
+
+'I have not seen him here to-day. I know who you mean well enough, but
+he is not here. I can lay you the odds if you like. You would be safe
+with me.'
+
+Further inquiry elicited the conjecture that 'he might have gone up
+North, or to some other distant races.'
+
+'There are two meetings pretty well every day,' one said, 'sometimes
+three, and a man cannot be at them all. What do you want him for? If it
+is to get money out of him, you won't find the job a very easy one,
+unless he has happened to strike on a vein of luck. You had much better
+take the odds from me.'
+
+Captain Hampton explained that his business was a private one, and
+altogether unconnected with betting.
+
+'Well, if you will give me your name I will let him know that you want
+to see him, if I happen to run up against him. I should say that he will
+be at Reading next week.'
+
+But Captain Hampton said his name would be unknown to Marvel, and the
+bookmaker, after looking him over suspiciously, concluded that it was of
+no use wasting further time, and turning away set up a stentorian shout
+of 'Six to one, bar one.'
+
+Captain Hampton tried Reading, but was as unsuccessful here as in his
+previous attempts.
+
+'Want Marvel?' one man he asked repeated. 'Well, I have not seen him
+here, and I haven't seen him for the last ten days; so I expect he has
+either gone down on a country tour, or he is ill, or he is so short of
+the dibs that he can't pay his fare down. He would be here if he could;
+for he would manage to make enough money to pay his expenses, anyhow. It
+is hard when a man cannot do that.'
+
+Captain Hampton was not to be baffled, and after examining a sporting
+paper took a ticket early next morning for the North. He was away a
+week, and returned home disheartened. He had not seen the man nor did
+any of those he had questioned know the name of Marvel. 'It is like
+enough I may know the man,' one said confidentially, 'but I don't know
+the name; names don't go for much in the outside ring. A man is Marvel
+one day, and if when the racing is over he cannot pay his bets and has
+to go off quiet, he alters the cut of his hair next time and puts a
+fresh name on his hat, and is ready to take his davy, if questioned,
+that he was not near the course, and never heard the name of Marvel; and
+as he is sure to have some one with him to back him up and swear that he
+was with him at the other side of England on that day, the chap as wants
+his money concludes that he may as well drop it.'
+
+The day after his return Ned Hampton went to Epsom and there recognised
+with a start of satisfaction the man of whom he was in search. He had no
+name in his hat, and was talking to two or three men of his own class,
+one of whom he recognised as the man who had offered to tell Marvel that
+he wished to see him. He moved up in the crowd, and placed himself close
+to the men, but with his back towards them. Marvel was speaking.
+
+'But what sort of fellow was he?'
+
+'A military-looking swell.'
+
+'And he said I should not know his name? I should know it sharp enough
+if it was down in my book without a pencil mark through the bet. There
+are people, you know, who, quite accidentally of course, I haven't
+settled up with.'
+
+There was a laugh among the group. 'A good many I should fancy, Jacob,
+but I don't think this chap could have been one of them. A man who has
+been left in the lurch generally takes it out in strong language. If
+this chap had wanted you for a tenner and you had not forked over, he
+would probably have spoken of you as a swindling scoundrel and said that
+if he met you he would take it out of you in another way if he could not
+get the money. Now he didn't seem put out at all; he wanted to see you
+about something or other, but I don't think it was anything to do with
+money. I can always tell when there is anything wrong about that. A man
+may put it as mild as he likes, but there is something in it that says
+he is nasty.'
+
+'Well, I don't want to see him whoever he is,' Marvel said, 'so if he
+comes across any of you again tell him you hear I've retired, or that I
+have drowned myself, or anything else you like, but that anyhow I ain't
+likely to be on any of the courses again this season. And mind, you
+don't know anything about where I live or where he is likely to get any
+news of me.'
+
+'But where have you been the last fortnight, Jacob?'
+
+'I have been on another job altogether, and if it turns out well you
+ain't likely to see much more of me here. I have had about enough of
+it.'
+
+As he found that he was not likely to hear more, Hampton moved away in
+the crowd, but continued to keep Marvel in sight. In two or three
+minutes the man separated from his companions, moved off the course, and
+stood for a minute or two with his hands in his pockets, meditating.
+Then his mind was made up. He pushed his way through the crowd, crossed
+the course, and walked quickly towards one of the entrances. Captain
+Hampton followed him closely, and was by no means surprised to see him
+walk to the station.
+
+'He is evidently nervous about what they have told him,' he said to
+himself, 'and although he cannot tell what my business with him may be,
+he is determined to avoid me. All the better; I should have had great
+difficulty in keeping my eye on him in the crowd later on, and now I
+won't lose sight of him again.'
+
+Entering the station, the man waited until a train came up and then took
+his place in a third class carriage. Hampton entered the next
+compartment, but, to his great annoyance, found on arriving at Waterloo
+that Marvel was not in the carriage.
+
+'Confound it,' he muttered angrily, 'he must have slipped out at one of
+the other stations without my noticing him. It must have been at
+Vauxhall, just as those four men were pushing past me to get out. I am a
+nice sort of fellow to take up the amateur detective business. To hunt
+for a man for nearly three weeks and then when I have found him to lose
+him again like this. I will go across and see Danvers. Of course he will
+have the laugh against me. Well, I can't help that; I will take his
+advice about it. I am evidently not fit to manage by myself.'
+
+Danvers had just returned from the Courts when Captain Hampton reached
+the chambers.
+
+'Hullo, Hampton, where do you spring from? Everyone has missed you from
+your accustomed haunts. Some said you had eloped with an heiress; others
+that you are wanted for forgery. I met the Hawtreys last night at
+dinner. They both asked me after you. The young lady quite seemed to
+take your disappearance to heart. The more so, I think, because she had
+sent down a servant with a note to your lodgings, and the girl had
+learnt from your landlady that you had been away for a week. Of course,
+I could not enlighten her. Her father took me apart and asked me quite
+seriously about you. He seemed to think that you had been trying to
+ferret out something about this confounded letter business. He told me
+he had talked it over with you, regarding you as almost one of the
+family.'
+
+'That is just what I have been about, Danvers, and I have made an
+amazing ass of myself.'
+
+'You don't mean to say that!' Danvers exclaimed in affected surprise.
+'Well, I know you used to do it at school sometimes, but I hoped that
+you had got out of the habit.'
+
+'Bosh!' Hampton laughed. 'But I own I have done it this time. You
+remember that fellow on the racecourse?'
+
+'You mean at the Oaks. Of course I remember him.'
+
+'Well, it struck me that he might be the man who had sent the letters.
+He had, as Hawtrey told us in the evening, a bitter grudge against him,
+and such a dirty trick as this was just the sort of thing that a
+disreputable broken-down knave like him might concoct to gratify his
+malice.'
+
+'You are right there; I wonder the idea did not occur to me. Well, I
+retract what I said just now; so far you have told me nothing to justify
+the epithet you bestowed on yourself.'
+
+'My first idea,' Hampton went on, without noticing the interruption,
+'was that as I had nothing particular to do I would go down to some of
+the races near town where I felt certain I should find him, follow the
+fellow back, and track him to his home. Then I had intended to come to
+you and ask your advice as to the next step to be taken.'
+
+'There you showed your sagacity again, Hampton. Well, what came of it?'
+
+'I went for a fortnight to every racecourse near town and asked after
+Marvel from bookmakers of his stamp. They all seemed rather surprised at
+his absence, and suggested that perhaps having failed to pay up here he
+had gone to one of the country meetings up in the North. I was up in
+Yorkshire for a week but with no better result. I came up last night and
+went to Epsom this morning and there spotted my man.' He then related
+the conversation he had overheard and the manner in which he had allowed
+the man to slip through his fingers. Danvers could not help laughing,
+though he, too, was vexed.
+
+'I can quite understand your missing him at Vauxhall, Hampton. Of course
+it is easy to be wise after the event. It would not have done for you to
+have got in the same compartment with him at Epsom. You don't look like
+a third-class passenger, and the idea that you were the military swell
+who had been enquiring after him would probably have occurred to him;
+but if you had got out at a station or two further on, and then taken
+your place in his carriage, that idea would hardly have entered his
+mind.'
+
+'Well, the result is I have thrown away three weeks of my leave in
+taking a lot of trouble and we are no nearer than we were before.'
+
+'Not much, except that we have learnt that the man is engaged on a
+different matter, in which he intends to make money, and also that there
+is but little probability of his being met with again for some time on a
+racecourse. Of course, this business may be altogether unconnected with
+that of the Hawtreys, but on the other hand it may be. I am afraid there
+is little clue left for us to follow up. Getting out at Vauxhall might
+mean that he lived in that neighbourhood, or at Camberwell, or Peckham,
+or Kennington, or anywhere about there; or he might have crossed the
+river, and there is all the region between Chelsea and Westminster to
+choose from. If we knew that he went under the name of Marvel something
+might be done, but it is a hundred to one against that being the name he
+goes by in his domestic circle. If you have come to me for advice I can
+give you none; I can see nothing whatever to do but to wait for new
+developments. Have you seen the "Liar" this week?'
+
+'No; I never look at it.'
+
+'Well, you see there is a nasty paragraph there that unmistakably
+alludes to the affair. I have no doubt it is Halliburn's doing; he got
+so annoyed at these letters keeping on coming--and indeed it seems that
+some have been sent to him with 'Look before you leap,' 'Be sure that
+all is right before it is too late,' and things of that sort--that he
+went off to Scotland Yard, kicked up a row there, showed the envelopes
+he had received to the authorities, and gave them the whole history
+about the others. Of course, they promised that they would do what they
+could, and equally of course they will be able to do nothing. Well, I
+suppose some understrapper there got to hear of it, and probably sold
+the thing to one of the men who gather up garbage for the "Liar." I have
+got the paper. There, that is the paragraph: "There is a possibility
+that a marriage that has been arranged in high life may not come off
+after all. The noble lord who was to figure as bridegroom has received
+the unpleasant information that the young lady has been pestered with
+demands for money in exchange for compromising letters, and has himself
+received missives calculated to make one in his position extremely
+uncomfortable. Further developments may be looked for."'
+
+'It is scandalous,' Captain Hampton exclaimed passionately, 'that a
+blackguard rag like this is allowed to exist!'
+
+'Quite so, Hampton; I agree with you most heartily. Still, there it is,
+and others like it, and we have got to put up with it. If it had not
+been for that fool, Halliburn, taking things into his hands this notice
+would never have got in. One of Hawtrey's servants came round in a cab
+to fetch me this morning. I found him foaming with rage, talking about
+horsewhipping and all sorts of things. It is curious how that sort of
+thing still lingers in the minds of country squires. I told him, of
+course, that would make it ten times worse. Then he talked of an action,
+and I said, "Now, my dear Mr. Hawtrey, you are getting altogether beyond
+my province. As a friend I am very glad to give you my advice as long as
+it is merely a question of endeavouring to find out the authors of these
+libels. Now it has assumed an altogether different phase, and you must
+go to your lawyer for advice. I am sure that he will tell you that you
+can do nothing, especially as in point of fact the statements are
+perfectly true. Still, there is no saying how far the thing will go, and
+whether it may not be necessary eventually to take legal steps;
+therefore it is only fair to your solicitor that you should put him in
+possession of the whole circumstances as far as they have gone."
+
+'"Very well," he said, "I will go down at once to Harper and Hawes, and
+take their advice about it."'
+
+'There is one comfort,' Captain Hampton said; 'there are not many people
+who will understand to whom this paragraph relates. I suppose there have
+been a dozen lords of one sort and another who have become engaged
+during the season, so that, except for us who are behind the scenes,
+there is nothing to point distinctly to the identity of the parties.'
+
+'You need not count on that,' Danvers said shortly. 'This paragraph is
+merely intended to whet the curiosity of the public. You will see that
+next week there will be another, saying that they are now able to state,
+beyond fear of contradiction, that the nobleman and young lady who have
+been persecuted by anonymous letters are Lord Halliburn and Miss
+Hawtrey.'
+
+'This sort of thing makes one regret that duelling has gone out of
+fashion,' Captain Hampton said savagely. 'There is nothing would give me
+greater pleasure than to parade the editor of that blackguard paper at
+six o'clock to-morrow morning on Wimbledon Common!'
+
+'It would no doubt be a pleasure to you, my dear Hampton,' Danvers said
+tranquilly, 'and the result might be a matter of unmingled satisfaction
+to all decent people; but, you see, it cannot be done. If it could have
+been he would have been shot years ago, noxious beast that he is. It
+being impossible, let us change the subject. What are you going to do
+this evening?'
+
+'I am going to have dinner first.'
+
+'It is only six o'clock, my dear fellow.'
+
+'All the better. I want to get it over, so as to go round and catch the
+Hawtreys before they go out--that is to say, if they are going to a ball
+or anything of that sort, and not to a dinner; Mr. Hawtrey knows I have
+been doing what I could to find out this betting fellow, but has not
+mentioned it to his daughter, for the same reason, probably, that I have
+taken pains to avoid meeting them since I began the search. At any rate,
+I should not like her to think that I have been away for this three
+weeks on my own pleasure, in perfect indifference to the unpleasant
+position in which she is placed, so I shall go to report progress--or,
+rather, want of progress--and to assure them that I will continue the
+search until I have run this fellow to earth.'
+
+Danvers looked at his friend through his half-closed eyes with a gleam
+of quiet amusement.
+
+'The Indian sun does not seem to have cooled the enthusiasm of your
+youth, Hampton. You used to throw yourself then like a young demon into
+the middle of a football scrimmage, and rowed stroke in that four of
+yours till you rowed your crew to a standstill, and then tugged away all
+to yourself, till they got their wind again. To us, jaded men----'
+
+'Shut up, man!' Hampton said hotly, 'this is no joking matter. Here is
+the honour and happiness of a girl who, when she was a little child, was
+very dear to me'--Danvers' eyes twinkled momentarily--'and I should be a
+brute if I did not do everything I could to put the matter straight; and
+I am quite sure,' he went on more quietly, 'that although, of course,
+they are not such friends of yours as they are of mine, you would spare
+no trouble yourself if you only saw any way in which you could be of
+real assistance.'
+
+'Perhaps so, old man, perhaps so; but I should not get into fever heat
+about it. You see, the matter at present principally concerns Halliburn.
+It is his business and privilege to stand first in the line of defence
+of the character of the young lady to whom he is engaged.'
+
+'And a nice mess he has made of his first move,' Captain Hampton agreed,
+pointing to the copy of the 'Liar.' 'Well, I won't wait any longer; they
+dine at seven o'clock when they are alone, and I will go round at eight
+on the chance of finding them in.'
+
+Danvers sat looking at the empty grate for some minutes after he had
+left. 'It is about even betting, I should say,' he muttered to himself,
+'and I think, if anything, the odds are slightly on Hampton, though he
+has not the slightest idea at present that he has entered for the race.
+The other one has got the start, but Hampton always had no end of last,
+and he will take every fence well, and it seems to me there are likely
+to be some awkward ones. Besides, I am not half sure that the other
+fellow will run straight when the pinch comes.'
+
+When Captain Hampton presented himself at the house in Chester Square,
+he found, to his satisfaction, that Mr. Hawtrey and his daughter were at
+home.
+
+'They have just finished dinner, sir,' the servant said; 'dessert is on
+the table.'
+
+'Then I will go in,' Captain Hampton said, and, opening the dining-room
+door, walked in.
+
+'I am presuming on my old footing to enter unceremoniously, Mr.
+Hawtrey,' he said.
+
+'I am glad to see you. You are heartily welcome, Ned. This reminds one
+of old times indeed.'
+
+Dorothy's welcome was sensibly cooler, while Mrs. Daintree, who had from
+the first set herself strongly against his intimacy at the house, was
+absolutely frigid.
+
+Ned saw that Dorothy's colour had perceptibly paled since he last saw
+her, and that she looked harassed and anxious.
+
+'It is three weeks since I saw you,' he said.
+
+'Is it?' she asked with an air of indifference. He laughed outright.
+
+'That was really very well done, Dorothy, and I quite understand what it
+means. You think I have been neglecting you altogether, and amusing
+myself while you were in trouble; and were that the case I should
+deserve all the snubbing, and more, that you could give me. I believe
+that your father has not told you what I have been doing, and I do not
+wish to enter into details now,' and he glanced towards Mrs. Daintree,
+'but I feel that I must, in justice to myself, assure you that the whole
+of my time has been occupied in the matter, and that although I have no
+success to boast of, I have, at least, tried my very best to deserve
+it.'
+
+'That is good of you, Ned,' the girl said brightly. 'I have been feeling
+a little hurt at your desertion, and thought it did not seem like you to
+leave me in trouble. I always used to rely upon you when I got into a
+scrape. I don't want to know what you have been doing, though father can
+tell me if he likes, but I am quite content to take your word for it.
+Now I must go; it is time for us to dress. I wish I could stay at home
+and have a quiet evening, but you see I am no longer quite my own
+mistress.'
+
+'Well, Hampton, what have you been doing, and why have you not been to
+see me before? I heard you were in town--at least, I heard so ten days
+ago.'
+
+'I should have come, sir, before, had I had anything to tell you. I have
+nothing much now, and in fact have to-day bungled matters considerably;
+still, I shall start on a fresh search to-morrow, and hope to be luckier
+than I have been so far.' He then gave a detailed account of his visits
+to racecourses, of his meeting with Truscott that morning, of the
+conversation he had overheard, and of the manner in which the man had
+eluded him.
+
+'Well, Ned, you certainly have deserved success, and I am indeed obliged
+to you for the immense trouble you have taken over the matter. It is too
+bad your spending your time over this annoying affair, when you are only
+home on a year's leave. What you have learned is, of course, no direct
+proof that Truscott has a hand in this affair; at the same time, what he
+said confirms to some extent your suspicions of him. Would it not be as
+well to put the search for him into the hands of a detective, now that
+there is some one definite to search for? One of these men might be
+useful, and I really would vastly rather employ one than know that you
+are spending day after day searching for him yourself. These men are
+accustomed to the work; they know exactly the persons to whom to apply;
+they have agents under them, who know infinitely better the sort of
+place where such a fellow would be likely to take up his quarters than
+you can do.'
+
+'No doubt that is so,' Captain Hampton admitted reluctantly. 'I should
+have liked to have run him down myself, now that I have hunted him so
+long. Still, that is a matter of no importance, the great thing is to
+lose no time. I will get Danvers to give me a note to the man he spoke
+to first.'
+
+'On my behalf, remember, Ned; he must be engaged on my behalf.'
+
+'Very well, sir, if you wish it so; but I would rather that you and I
+arrange with him direct, and that it is not done by your solicitors.
+Danvers told me that you were going to them this morning about that
+infamous paragraph in the "Liar."'
+
+'Certainly they shall have nothing to do with it,' Mr. Hawtrey said
+hotly; 'I was a fool to go to them at all; I might as well have gone to
+two old women. They have been lawyers to our family for I don't know how
+many years, and are no doubt excellent men in their capacity of family
+lawyers, but this matter is altogether out of their line. They looked at
+each other like two helpless fools when I told them the story, and said
+at once that they would not undertake to advise me, but that I had
+better go to Levine, or one of the other men who are always engaged in
+these what they call delicate cases, that is to say, hideous scandals.
+However, I have made up my mind to keep clear of them all as far as I
+can; but, of course, I must be guided to some extent by Halliburn's
+opinion, or rather his wishes. As to his opinion, I have no confidence
+in it one way or the other. I'm glad you did not say anything about what
+you had been doing before my cousin; she is worrying herself almost into
+a fever about it, the more so because there is no one to whom she can
+talk about it. She means well, but were it not that just at present it
+is absolutely necessary that Dorothy should show herself everywhere with
+a perfectly unconcerned air, I would make some excuse to send Mrs.
+Daintree down to the country again; as it is, I must keep her as a
+chaperon, but she is very trying I assure you, and I believe would come
+into my study to cry over the affair half-a-dozen times a day, if I
+would but let her. Now, Ned, you must excuse me, the carriage will be
+round in a few minutes, and as, with one thing and another, I got back
+too late to dress for dinner, I have not another minute to spare. Shall
+I give you a note authorising you to arrange with the detective?'
+
+'There is no occasion for that; I shall speak in your name, and as he
+will want to have an interview with you before long, you can then
+confirm any arrangement I have made as to his remuneration.'
+
+Hampton called in on Danvers in the morning for the address of the
+detective, Slippen, and a card of introduction. The address was in
+Clifford's Inn, and on finding the number Hampton saw the name over a
+door on the ground floor. A sharp looking boy was sitting on a high
+stool swinging his legs. He evidently thought that amusement somewhat
+monotonous and was glad of a change, for he jumped down with alacrity.
+
+'The governor is in, sir, but he has got a party in with him. I will
+take your card in. I expect he will be glad to get rid of her, for she
+has been sobbing and crying in there awful.'
+
+'I am in no particular hurry,' Captain Hampton said, amused at the boy's
+confidential manner.
+
+'Divorce, I expect,' the lad went on, as Captain Hampton took a seat on
+the only chair in the dark little office. 'I allus notice that the first
+time they comes they usually goes on like that. After a time or two they
+takes it more business-like. They comes in brisk, and says, "Is Mr.
+Slippen in?" just the same as if they was asking for a cup of tea. When
+they goes out sometimes they look sour, and I knows then that he,' and
+he jerked his thumb towards the inner office, 'hasn't any news to tell
+'em; sometimes they goes out looking red in the face and in a regular
+paddy, and you can see by the way they grips their umbrellas they would
+like to give it to some one.'
+
+'You must find it dull sitting here all day. I suppose you haven't much
+writing to do?'
+
+'I doesn't sit here much. I am mostly about. There ain't many as comes
+here of a day, and he can hear the knocker. Those as does come calls
+mostly in the morning, from ten to eleven. There, she is a-moving.'
+
+The inner door opened, and a stout woman came out looking flushed and
+angry; the boy slid off his stool and opened the door for her, and then
+took Captain Hampton's card in. A moment later Mr. Slippen himself
+appeared at the door.
+
+'Will you walk in, Captain Hampton? I am sorry to have kept you waiting.
+I rather expected,' he said, as he closed the door behind him, 'that I
+should have a call, either from Mr. Danvers or some one from him, when I
+saw that paragraph in the "Liar." I made sure it was the case he was
+speaking to me about, and I said to myself, "They are safe to be doing
+something now."'
+
+'Yes, it is that case that I come about. I am here on the part of Mr.
+Hawtrey, the father of the young lady. I am an intimate friend of the
+family. Mr. Danvers gave you the heads of the matter.'
+
+The detective nodded; he was a rather short, slightly-built man, with
+hair cut very short and standing up aggressively; his eyes were widely
+opened, with a sharp, quick movement as they glanced from one point to
+another, but the general expression of the face was pleasant and
+good-tempered.
+
+'He told you my opinion so far as I could form it from the very slight
+data he gave me?'
+
+'Yes, you thought at first that the writer of the threats really had
+possession of compromising letters; but upon hearing that she was
+engaged you thought it likely that the letters might be the work of some
+aggrieved or disappointed woman.'
+
+'That is it, sir.'
+
+'So far as we can see,' Captain Hampton went on, 'neither view was
+correct; certainly the first was not. We have, as we think, laid our
+fingers on the writer, who is a man who believes himself to have a
+personal grievance against Mr. Hawtrey himself.' He then related the
+whole story.
+
+'He may be the man,' Mr. Slippen said, when he had finished. 'At any
+rate there is something to go on, which there was not before. There will
+be no great difficulty in laying one's hand on him, but at present we
+have not a shred of real evidence--nothing that a magistrate would
+listen to.'
+
+'We quite see that. Still, it will be something to find him; then we can
+have him watched, and, if possible, caught in the act of posting the
+letters.'
+
+'You will find that difficult--I do not mean the watching him nor seeing
+him post his letters, but bringing it home to him. I would rather have
+to deal with anything than with a matter where you have got the Post
+Office people to get round. Once a letter is in a box it is their
+property until it is handed over to the person it is directed to. Still,
+we may get over that, somehow. The first thing, I take it, is to find
+the man. You say his betting name is Marvel?'
+
+'That is the name he had on his hat at Epsom on the Oaks day, but he may
+have a dozen others.'
+
+'Ah, that is true enough. Still, no doubt he has used it often enough
+for others to know him by it; and now for his description.
+
+'Thank you, that will be sufficient. I think I will send a man down to
+Windsor at once; the races are on again to-day. He will get his address
+out of one or other of his pals. It will cost a five-pound note at the
+outside. If you will give me your address, I shall most likely be able
+to let you have it this evening.'
+
+'I wish to goodness I had come to you before,' Captain Hampton said.
+'Here I have been wasting three weeks trying to find the man, and
+spending fifty or sixty pounds in railway fares, stand tickets and
+expenses, and you are able to undertake it at once.'
+
+'It is a very simple matter, Captain Hampton. I have been engaged in two
+or three turf cases, and one of my men knows a lot of the hangers-on at
+racecourses. Watches and other valuables are constantly stolen there,
+and as often enough these things are gifts, and are valued beyond their
+mere cost in money, their owners come to us to try if we can get them
+back for them, which we are able to do three times out of four. Whoever
+may steal the things, they are likely to get into one of four or five
+hands, and as soon as we let it be known that we are ready to pay a fair
+price for their return and no questions asked, it is not long before
+they are brought here. I don't say I may be able to find out this man's
+exact address, but I can find out the public-house or other place where
+he is generally to be met with. I don't suppose the actual address of
+one in ten of these fellows is known to others. They are to be heard of
+in certain public-houses, but even their closest pals often don't know
+where they live. Sometimes, no doubt, it is in some miserable den where
+they would be ashamed to meet anyone. Sometimes there may be a wife and
+family in the case, and they don't want men coming there. Sometimes it
+may be just another way. Many of these fellows at home are quiet,
+respectable sort of chaps, living at some little place where none of
+their neighbours, and perhaps not even their wives, know that they have
+anything to do with racing, but take them for clerks or warehousemen, or
+something in the city. So I don't promise to find out the fellow's home,
+only the place where a letter will find him, or where he goes to meet
+his pals, and perhaps do a little quiet betting in the landlord's back
+parlour.'
+
+'That will be enough for us, to begin with at any rate.'
+
+'Of course, the private address is only a matter of a day or two
+longer,' Mr. Slippen went on. 'I have only to send that boy of mine up
+to the place, and the first time the fellow goes there he will follow
+him, if it is all over London, till he traces him to the place where he
+lives. If, as he said, he is going to give up attending the races for
+the present, he may not go there for a day or two. But he is sure to do
+so sooner or later for letters.'
+
+'Thank you. It would be as well to know where he lives, but at any rate
+when we have what we may call his business address we shall have time to
+talk over our next move.'
+
+'Yes, that is where the real difficulty will begin, Captain Hampton. I
+expect you have got to deal with a deep one, and I own that at present I
+do not see my way at all clear before me.'
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V
+
+
+That evening Mr. Slippen's boy presented himself at Captain Hampton's
+lodgings with a note. It contained only the words 'Dear sir,--Our man
+uses the "White Horse," Frogmore Street, Islington. I await your
+instructions before moving further in the matter.'
+
+'Well, youngster, what is your name?' Captain Hampton asked, as he put
+the note on the table beside him.
+
+'Jacob Wrigley,' the lad replied promptly.
+
+'Here is half-a-crown for yourself, Jacob.'
+
+'Thank you, sir,' the boy said, as he took it up with a duck of the head
+and slipped it into his pocket.
+
+'Your office hours seem to be long, Jacob; that is, if you have been
+there since I saw you this morning.'
+
+'No, sir, I ain't a-been there since one o'clock, not till an hour ago.
+I have been down at Greenwich, keeping my eye on a party there. I got
+done there at six o'clock, and as the governor had said "Come round and
+tell me what you have found out, I shall be in up to nine o'clock,"
+round I went in course. The governor and me don't have no regular hours.
+Some chaps wouldn't like that, but it doesn't matter to me, 'cause I
+sleeps there.'
+
+'Sleep where, Jacob?'
+
+'In where you see me. The things is stowed away in that cupboard in the
+corner, and I get on first-rate. It is a good place, especially in
+winter. I lays the blankits down in front of the fire, and keeps it
+going all night sometimes.'
+
+'But haven't you got any place of your own to go to, Jacob?'
+
+The boy shook his head. 'I was brought up in a wan, I was,' the boy
+said. 'I hooked it one day, two years ago, 'cause they knocked me about
+so. I pretty nigh starved at first, but one day I saw a chap prigging an
+old gent's ticker. The old one shouted just as he got off; I was on the
+look-out and as the chap came along I chucked myself down in front of
+him and down he came. I grabbed him, and afore he could shake me off a
+lot of chaps got hold of him and held him till a peeler came up. They
+did not find the watch on him, but I had seen him as he ran pass
+something to a chap he ran close to and pretty nigh knocked down. I gave
+my evidence at the police court. The governor happened to be there, and
+arter it was over and the chaps had got six months, and the beak had
+said I gave my evidence very well, and gave me five bob out of the poor
+box, he came up to me and said, "You are a smart young fellow. Do you
+want a job?" I said I just did, and so he took me on; that is how it
+came about, you see. The only thing I don't like is, he makes me go to a
+night school. He says I shan't never do no good unless I can get to read
+and write; so I does it, but I hates it bitter.'
+
+'He is quite right, Jacob. You stick to it; it will come easier as you
+get on.'
+
+'Yes, I know I wants it, for letters and that sort of thing, but it is
+bitter hard. I would rather stand opposite a house all day in winter
+than I would sit for an hour trying to make my pen go where I wants it
+to. It allus will go the other way, and the drops of ink will come out
+awful. Good night, sir.'
+
+'Good night, lad. Tell Mr. Slippen when you see him that I shall
+probably be round to-morrow or next day.'
+
+On the following morning Captain Hampton called early at Chester Square.
+Mr. Hawtrey and Dorothy had just finished breakfast. Mrs. Daintree, as
+was her custom after being out late the night before, had taken hers in
+bed.
+
+'I have good news so far. I have discovered, or rather Slippen has,
+where Truscott is to be found. He frequents a public-house called the
+White Horse, Frogmore Street, Islington.'
+
+'That is good news indeed, Ned,' Mr. Hawtrey said warmly, as he shook
+hands with him. As he turned to Dorothy, he saw with surprise that she
+had turned suddenly pale, and that her hands shook as she put down the
+cup.
+
+'You are pleased, are you not, Dorothy?' he asked in surprise.
+
+The girl hesitated. 'Yes,' she said, 'of course, I am pleased in one
+way, but not in another. It frightens me to think that the man may be
+brought up, and that I may have to give evidence; it is horrid being
+talked about, but it would be much worse to stand up to be stared at,
+and to have it all put in the papers.'
+
+'Pooh, pooh, my dear, your evidence will be very simple,' her father
+said. 'You will only have to tell that you received the first of these
+letters, that you know nothing of the man, and that his assertion that
+he has letters of yours is utterly false.'
+
+'Yes, father, but I have noticed that in all trials of this sort they
+ask such numberless questions, and that they always manage somehow to
+put the witnesses into a false light. They will say, "How do you know
+that he has no letters of yours? Do you mean to tell this court that you
+have never written any letters?" And when I have said I have never
+written any letters that I should object to having read out in court
+they will insinuate that I am telling a lie, and that I have done all
+sorts of dreadful things; and though they will not be able to prove a
+word of it, I shall know, as I go out, that half the people will believe
+that I have. I shall hate it, and I am sure that Algernon will hate it
+even more.'
+
+'Well, Algernon has no one but himself to thank for its having come to
+this pass,' Mr. Hawtrey said sharply. 'It was his interference, and his
+going down to Scotland Yard, that caused that paragraph to appear in the
+paper. If he had left the matter alone nothing whatever would have been
+heard about it outside our circle. I like Halliburn, but I must say that
+at present nothing would give me more satisfaction than to hear that he
+had gone for a month upon the Continent, for he comes round here every
+afternoon, and worries and fusses over the matter until he upsets you
+and fills me with an almost irresistible desire to seize him by the
+shoulders and turn him out of the room.'
+
+'He is a little trying, father,' Dorothy admitted, 'but of course he
+does not like it.'
+
+'Nor do any of us. It is a hundred times worse for you than it is for
+him, and yet--But there, let us change the subject. What is it you were
+saying, Ned? Oh yes, you have heard where Truscott lives.'
+
+'Not exactly where he lives, but the public-house where he is to be met
+with, and in his case it comes to pretty well the same thing. I had
+nothing to do with finding it out. The man Slippen took it in hand, and
+in a few hours did more than I had done in three weeks. He sent a fellow
+down to Windsor, to some betting men he knew, and sent me word in the
+evening. It was rather mortifying, I must confess, and I feel as if I
+had been taken down several pegs in my own estimation.'
+
+'And what is to be done next, father?' Dorothy asked anxiously.
+
+'Ah, that is the point we shall have to talk over, my dear. At present
+we have not a thread of evidence to connect him with the affair. We
+must, in the first place, bring it home to him. Afterwards, we will see
+whether we must have him arrested and charged in court, or whether we
+can frighten him into making a confession. I am very much afraid that,
+after all that has been said about it, there will be nothing for it but
+a public prosecution; however, there will be time to think of that
+afterwards.' Captain Hampton saw Dorothy go pale again, and mentally
+resolved that he would do all in his power to save her from the ordeal
+from which she evidently shrank. He was a little surprised at her
+nervousness, for as a child she had been absolutely fearless, but he
+supposed that the worry, and perhaps the fidgeting of Halliburn had
+shaken her somewhat, as, indeed, was natural enough. 'You are going
+round to see this detective, I suppose?' Mr. Hawtrey asked.
+
+'Yes, I came in on my way for instructions. Slippen will no doubt
+propose that a sharp watch shall be kept over his movements, and I
+suppose that there can be no doubt that is the right thing to be done.'
+
+'I should say so, certainly.'
+
+'That, at least, Miss Hawtrey, will commit us to nothing afterwards, and
+I trust even yet we may find some way of avoiding the unpleasantness you
+feared.'
+
+'I may as well go with you, Ned,' Mr. Hawtrey said; 'I have nothing
+particular to do this morning; a walk will do me good. I am getting
+bilious and out of sorts with all this worry, and would give a good
+round sum to be quietly down in Lincolnshire again. Dorothy evidently
+feels it a good deal more than I should have thought she would,' he went
+on as they left the house.
+
+'It is a horribly annoying sort of thing to happen to anyone, Mr.
+Hawtrey; because it is so desperately difficult to meet anonymous
+slander of this sort, and of course her engagement makes it so much the
+worse for her.'
+
+'Yes, that is the rub, Ned. I am not at all pleased with the fellow; he
+seems to think of nothing but the manner in which it affects himself. I
+have had, once or twice, as much as I could do not to let out at him. I
+had it on the tip of my tongue to say, "Confound it, sir! What the deuce
+do I care for you or your family? The ancestors through whom you got
+your title were doubtless respectable enough, and as far as I know, may,
+two or three generations back, have been washer-women, when our people
+had already held their estates hundreds of years." Of course, Dorothy
+takes his part, but my own belief is that it is he who is worrying her,
+quite as much as the scandal itself.
+
+'Dorothy is not marrying for a title; she refused a higher one than his
+last autumn. I don't say that his being a lord might not have influenced
+her to some extent; I suppose all girls have vanity enough to like to
+carry off a man whom scores of others will envy her for, but I don't
+think that went very far with her. I believe that, as far as she knew of
+him, she liked him for himself; not, I suppose, in any desperate sort of
+way, but as a pleasant, gentlemanly sort of fellow of whom everyone
+spoke well, and whom she esteemed and thought she could be very happy
+with. She has no occasion to marry for money; of course my estate is, as
+I dare say you know, entailed, and will go to my cousin, Jack Hawtrey,
+who is a sporting parson down in Somersetshire--a good fellow, with a
+large family; but there will be plenty for her from her mother, besides
+my unentailed property.
+
+'I cannot help thinking that Halliburn's worrying, and the very evident
+fact that he thinks more of the scandal as affecting his future wife
+than of her feelings in the matter, may have shown her that she had
+over-estimated him, and that although he may be a very respectable and
+well-behaved young nobleman, he is a selfish and shallow-minded fellow
+after all. Dorothy may say nothing now, but she is not the sort of girl
+to forgive that sort of thing, and I don't mind saying it to you, as an
+old friend, Ned, that I should not be at all surprised if, when once
+this affair is thoroughly cleared up, she throws Halliburn over
+altogether.'
+
+Captain Hampton made no reply, but had his companion turned to look at
+him he could hardly have avoided noticing that the expression on his
+face expressed anything but sympathy with the tone of irritation in
+which he had himself spoken.
+
+Mr. Slippen was in when they arrived at Clifford's Inn. The door was
+opened by him when they knocked, a proof that the boy was not at his
+post.
+
+'Come in, Captain Hampton; I fancied that you would be down here.'
+
+'This is Mr. Hawtrey, Mr. Slippen,' said Ned, as they followed him into
+his room; 'he thought he would like to talk over with you the plan of
+campaign.'
+
+'I am glad you have come, sir; it is always more satisfactory to meet
+one's principal in matters of this kind; there is less chance of any
+mistake being made. It is surprising sometimes to find, after one is
+half through one's work, that one has been proceeding under an entirely
+false impression. One may think, for example, that one's client is bent
+upon carrying a matter out to the bitter end, and will not hear of
+anything of a compromise, and then one discovers that he is perfectly
+ready to condone everything, and to make every sacrifice to avoid
+publicity. Of course, if one had known that in the first place, it would
+have immensely facilitated matters.'
+
+'I should be very glad to avoid publicity myself,' Mr. Hawtrey said,
+'but unfortunately the matter has gone so far that I do not see how it
+can possibly be avoided.'
+
+Mr. Slippen shook his head.
+
+'I don't see, myself, at present,' he agreed, 'how the scandal is to be
+set at rest, except by the prosecution of its author--that is to say, if
+we can get evidence enough to prosecute him. Of course, if we had such
+evidence it would be easy enough to force him into making a complete
+retractation; but, if we did, such a retractation would hardly be
+satisfactory, as, supposing it were published, people would say, "How
+are we to know that this letter is written by the fellow who wrote the
+others? If it is the man, how is it that he is not prosecuted for it?"
+Certainly there would be a strong suspicion that he had been bought
+off.'
+
+'I see that myself,' Mr. Hawtrey agreed. 'I don't see any other way of
+clearing the matter up except by putting him in the dock, though I would
+give a great deal to avoid it. My daughter is extremely averse to the
+idea of the publicity attending such an affair, and especially to having
+to appear as a witness, which is not surprising when one knows the
+outrageous licence given to counsel in our days to cross-examine
+witnesses.'
+
+Captain Hampton noticed the sudden keen glance shot at his client from
+Mr. Slippen's eyes, followed by a series of almost imperceptible little
+nods, and was seized with a sudden and fierce desire to make a violent
+assault upon the unconscious detective.
+
+'At any rate,' Mr. Hawtrey continued, 'I see nothing at present but to
+let the matter go on, and for you to obtain, if possible, some decisive
+proof of the man's connection with these letters. So far we have really
+only the most shadowy grounds for our suspicion against him.'
+
+Again Mr. Slippen nodded, this time more openly and decisively.
+
+'Quite the most shadowy, Mr. Hawtrey. I am far from saying that he may
+not be the man, but beyond his having, as I understand, a grievance of
+very many years' duration against yourself there is really nothing
+whatever to connect him with the affair.'
+
+'Nothing, Mr. Slippen. It is, in fact, simply because there is no one
+else against whom we have even such slight grounds as this to go upon,
+that we suspect this fellow of being the author of these rascally
+communications.'
+
+'You will understand, Mr. Hawtrey, that being employed by you I consider
+it my duty to let you know exactly the light in which the matter strikes
+me. Of course, I do not know the man as you do, but from what I have
+learnt from Captain Hampton he seems to be an unprincipled blackguard; a
+man who has been concerned in various shady transactions on the turf,
+and who has come down to the rank of the lowest class of betting men; a
+fellow who pays his bets when he has made a winning book on a race and
+is a welsher when he loses.
+
+'Of course, it may be that such a man is of so vindictive a nature that
+he may have taken all this trouble simply to annoy you, but I cannot
+help thinking that if he had embarked upon it he would have played his
+hand so as not only to annoy but to extort money to cease that
+annoyance. Now the writer of these letters has certainly not done that.
+Had he had any idea of extorting money he would have sent some sort of
+private intimation to you, by means of a cautiously worded letter, to
+the effect that an arrangement could be made by which the thing could be
+put a stop to. You have received no such missive; therefore, if this man
+is the author he is simply a malicious scoundrel, and not, in this
+instance at any rate, a clever rogue, as I should certainly have
+expected to find him from his antecedents.'
+
+'That is to say, you do not think he is the man?'
+
+'Yes, I think it comes almost to that, Mr. Hawtrey. I do not know him,
+and, of course, he may be the man, but I own that I shall be a good deal
+surprised if I find that he is so. Still, in the absence of any other
+clue whatever, I propose to follow this up. It will be something at
+least to clear it out of the way and to have done with it. I shall
+detail my boy to watch the public-house till the man comes to it, and
+then to find out where he lives and what are his habits; to follow his
+footsteps and take note of every place where he posts a letter. We shall
+get, at any rate, negative evidence that way. If, for instance, a letter
+is posted in the south of London, and we know that on that day the man
+never went out of Islington, I think that it will be very strong proof
+that he has nothing to do with the matter. Of course the reverse would
+not be so convincing the other way; but if we had the coincidence, three
+or four times repeated, of the letter bearing the mark of a district in
+which he had dropped one into the post, we should feel that we were a
+long way towards proving his connection with the affair.'
+
+'Quite so,' Mr. Hawtrey agreed; 'that will, as you say, either go far to
+confirm our suspicions, or will altogether clear the ground so far as he
+is concerned, and we must then look for a clue in some other direction
+altogether.'
+
+That afternoon Captain Hampton, having nothing to do, made his way up to
+Islington. The lad was not to be put on the watch until the next
+morning, and he thought that he might see this man at the public-house
+he frequented, and perhaps glean something from any conversation he
+might have with the men he met there. After some inquiry as to the
+direction of Frogmore Street, he turned up the Liverpool Road, and had
+gone but a few hundred yards when his eye fell on a couple engaged in
+earnest conversation on the raised walk, on the opposite side of the
+street. He paused abruptly in his stride. One was unquestionably the man
+for whom he was seeking. He was better dressed than when he had seen him
+before, and had more the air of a gentleman, but there could be no
+question as to his identity. The other was as unmistakably Dorothy
+Hawtrey.
+
+There was no question of an accidental likeness; it was the girl
+herself, and he recognised the dress as one he had seen her wear.
+Turning sharply on his heel he turned down a bye street, and came out
+into Upper Street. There were too many people here for him to think; he
+passed on, walking in the road at the edge of the pavement, to the
+Angel, and then turned down the comparatively quiet pavement of
+Pentonville Hill.
+
+What could it mean? He could see but one solution, and yet he refused to
+accept it. To believe it was to believe Dorothy Hawtrey to be guilty of
+deception and lying. Was it possible that, after all, this man could
+have possessed letters of hers, and that she had been driven at last to
+meet him and redeem them? He remembered her pallor when she had heard
+that morning that this fellow's whereabouts had been discovered, and how
+she had urged that no steps should be taken against him. It had all
+seemed natural then; it seemed equally natural now under this new
+light--and yet he refused to believe it. So he told himself over and
+over again. That he had seen her in conversation with Truscott was
+undeniable; of that, at least, he was certain, but equally certain was
+it to him that there must be some other explanation of the meeting than
+that which had at first struck him. What could that explanation be? No
+answer occurred to him; he could hit upon no hypothesis consistent with
+her denial of any knowledge whatever of the writer of these letters.
+
+He was at the bottom of the hill now; disregarding the hails of various
+cabmen, he crossed the road and made his way down through the squares.
+It was better to be walking than sitting still. He scarcely noticed
+where he was going, and was almost surprised when he found himself in
+Jermyn Street. He went upstairs, lighted a cigar, and sat down.
+
+'What is coming to me?' he said to himself. 'I am generally pretty good
+at guessing riddles, and there must be some explanation of this mystery,
+if I can but hit upon it.'
+
+But after thinking for another hour, the only alternative to the first
+idea that had occurred to him was that Dorothy, in her horror of the
+idea of a public trial and of being forced to appear in the witness box,
+had taken the desperate resolution to find this man herself, at the
+address he had mentioned to her and her father, to bribe him to desist
+from his persecution of her, and to warn him that unless he moved away
+at once the police would be on his track.
+
+It was all so unlike the high-spirited child he had known, and the girl
+as he had believed her still to be, that it was difficult to credit that
+she would allow herself to be driven to take such a step as this, in
+order to escape what seemed to him a minor unpleasantness.
+
+Still, as he told himself, there were men of tried bravery in many
+respects who were moral cowards, and it might well be that, though
+generally fearless, Dorothy might have a nervous shrinking from the
+thought of standing up in a crowded court, exposed to an inquisition
+that in many cases was almost a martyrdom. It was an awful mistake to
+have made. If the scoundrel had been bribed into silence now, he would
+be all the more certain to recommence his persecution later on, and
+after having once met with and paid him for his silence how could she
+refuse to do so when another demand was made?
+
+One thing seemed to Ned Hampton unquestionable. He must maintain an
+absolute silence as to what he had seen--the harm was done now and could
+not be undone. He was certain that she had not noticed him, and could
+never suspect that he had her secret. As for himself there was nothing
+for him now but to stand aside altogether. Filled as he was with the
+deepest pity for Dorothy, he was powerless to help her. When the next
+trouble came it was her husband who would have to stand beside her, and
+to whom, sooner or later, she would have to own the false step she had
+taken.
+
+He felt that at any rate it was out of the question that he should see
+her again at present. It was fortunate that he had retired from the
+investigation in favour of Mr. Slippen, and could therefore run away for
+a bit without seeming to have deserted Mr. Hawtrey. He had thought about
+hiring a yacht, and this would serve as a pretext for him to run down to
+Ryde. He could easily put away a fortnight between that town, Cowes,
+Southampton, and Portsmouth. As to the yacht he had no real intention
+now of looking for one. He must wait for a while and see what happened
+next. He was sure to meet men he knew at Southsea, and anything was
+better than staying in London.
+
+He accordingly at once wrote a note to Mr. Hawtrey, saying that it would
+be some time before Slippen obtained such evidence against Truscott as
+would put them in a position to bring it home to him, and that as he
+could not be of any use for a time he had resolved to run down for a
+week to Southsea, and look round the various yards in search of a yacht
+of about the size he wanted, for a cruise of six weeks or two months,
+with the option of taking her up the Mediterranean through the winter.
+Then he wrote several letters of excuse to houses where he had
+engagements, and started the next morning by the first train for
+Portsmouth. He was a fortnight absent, and on his return called on Mr.
+Hawtrey at an hour when he knew that he was not likely to meet Dorothy.
+
+'So you are back again, Ned? Your note took me quite by surprise, for
+you had said nothing as to your going away when I met you early in the
+day.'
+
+'No, sir, it was a sort of sudden inspiration. I was sick of London, and
+had had a very dull time of it going about to races for three weeks
+before; so I thought that I would have a complete change, made up my
+mind at once, packed my portmanteau, and was off. Have you had any news
+from Slippen?'
+
+'None. He has written to me two or three times; his last note came this
+morning, saying that his boy has been watching the public-house ever
+since, and that the man has certainly not been there. The boy is a sharp
+fellow and found that the fellow had called in there on the very day
+before he began his watch, and he also discovered by bribing a postman
+where he had lodged, but upon going there found he had given up his room
+on the same day he had last been at the public-house, and had left no
+address, nor had the people of the house the slightest idea where he had
+gone. I suppose the fellow took fright at the publicity there had been
+about the affair; at any rate, no more of those letters have come since.
+That is certainly a comfort, but it looks as if we were never going to
+get to the bottom of the mystery. Of course, it is extremely annoying,
+but I suppose we shall live it down. Halliburn offered a reward of a
+hundred pounds for the discovery of Truscott's, or as he calls him
+Marvel's, address. That was a week ago, and he has received no answer as
+yet, which is certainly a fresh proof that the fellow was the author of
+the letters. If not, he himself would have turned up and claimed the
+reward.'
+
+'That is not quite certain, Mr. Hawtrey. He has doubtless been concerned
+in many other shady transactions, and may think he is wanted for some
+other affair altogether.'
+
+'You are right, that may be so; I did not think of that. Still, it is
+strange the offer of a reward has brought no news of him. He must be
+well known to numbers of men who would sell their own father for a
+hundred pounds.'
+
+'If he is really alarmed he may have changed his name, and gone to some
+part of the country where he is altogether unknown, or he may have
+crossed the Channel to some of the French or Belgian ports. There is a
+lot of betting carried on from that side, and he may manage to live
+there as he has lived here--by fleecing fools.'
+
+Two days later, Hampton met the Hawtreys at a dinner-party. Dorothy was
+looking pale and languid, but at times she roused herself and talked
+with almost feverish gaiety. Lord Halliburn was there; he was sitting
+next to Dorothy, and seemed silent and preoccupied, and looked, Hampton
+thought, vexed when she had one of her fits of talking. When they had
+rejoined the ladies after dinner Hampton was chatting with the lady he
+had taken down, and who was an old friend of his family.
+
+'Is it not awfully sad, this affair of Miss Hawtrey's?' she said. 'It is
+evidently preying on her health. I never saw anybody more changed in the
+course of a few weeks. Of course, everyone who knows her is quite
+certain that there is no foundation whatever for these wicked libels
+about her. Still, naturally, people who don't know her think that there
+must be something in it, and she must know, wherever she goes, that
+people are talking about it. It is terrible! I do not know what I should
+do were she a daughter of mine.'
+
+'Yes, it is a most painful position; there does not seem any method by
+which these anonymous libels can be met and answered. The most
+scandalous part of the business is that any notice of a thing of this
+sort should get into the papers. The form in which it was noticed
+rendered it impossible to obtain redress of any kind; the statements
+contained as to the annoyance caused by these letters, and as to the
+nature of their contents, were accurate, and Mr. Hawtrey is therefore
+unable to take any steps against them. I have known Miss Hawtrey from
+the time that she was a little child; as you are aware they are my
+greatest friends, and I assure you that one's powerlessness in these
+days to take any step to right a wrong of this sort, makes me wish I had
+lived at any time save in the middle of the nineteenth century. A
+hundred years ago one would have called out the editor or proprietor, or
+whatever he calls himself, of a paper that published this thing, and
+shot him like a dog; four hundred years ago one would have sent him a
+formal challenge to do battle in the lists; if one had lived in Italy a
+couple of centuries back, and had adopted the customs of the country,
+one would have had him removed by a stab in the back by a bravo--not a
+manner that commends itself to me I own, but which, as against a man
+whose journal exists by attacking reputations is, I should consider,
+perfectly legitimate.'
+
+'But he is not the chief offender in the case, Captain Hampton.'
+
+'I don't know. The anonymous libeller could really have done no harm had
+it not been that there were organs that were ready to inform the world
+of his attacks upon this lady; the letters could have been burnt and
+none been any the wiser, and in time the annoyance would have ceased.'
+
+'Do you think the author of these things will ever be found out?'
+
+'I should hardly think so. It is clearly the outcome of malice on the
+part of some man or woman who has either a grudge against Mr. Hawtrey,
+his daughter, or Lord Halliburn, or of some one interested in breaking
+off Miss Hawtrey's engagement.'
+
+'I don't think Lord Halliburn has behaved nicely in the matter,' Mrs.
+Dean said. 'If he had shown himself perfectly indifferent to the affair
+from the first, people would never have talked so much. It is his
+palpable annoyance that has more than confirmed these gossiping
+rumours.'
+
+'Between ourselves, Mrs. Dean, although I should not at all mind his
+knowing it, my opinion is, that Halliburn is a cad.'
+
+Mrs. Dean laughed. 'It is next door to blasphemy to speak in society of
+a peer as a cad, Captain Hampton; still, I am not at all sure that you
+are wrong. But I must be going; my husband has been making signs to me
+for the last ten minutes.'
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI
+
+
+Captain Hampton had spoken harshly of Lord Halliburn, but then he was
+scarcely able to appreciate the difficulties of the young nobleman. Lord
+Halliburn was in many respects a model peer. His talents were more than
+respectable, his life was irreproachable, he was wealthy and yet not a
+spendthrift. The title was of recent creation, his father being the
+first holder of the earldom, having been raised to that rank for his
+political services to the Whig party, just as his grandfather, a wealthy
+manufacturer, had been rewarded for the bestowal of a park, a public
+library, and other benefactions to his native town, by a baronetcy. And
+yet Lord Halliburn supported his position as worthily as if the earldom
+had come down in an unbroken line from the days of the Henrys, and was
+held up as an example to less tranquil and studious spirits.
+
+He had scarcely been popular at Eton, for he avoided both the river and
+the playing fields, and was one of a set who kept aloof from the rest,
+talked together upon politics, philosophy, and poetry, held mildly
+democratic opinions as to the improvement of the existing state of
+things, were particular about their dress, and subdued in their talk.
+That they were looked upon with something like contempt by those who
+regarded a place in the eight or the eleven as conferring the proudest
+distinction that could be aimed at, they regarded not only with
+complacency, but almost with pride, and privately considered themselves
+to belong to a far higher order than these rough athletes. At college,
+his mode of life was but little altered. He belonged to a small coterie
+who lived apart from the rest, held academic discussions in each others'
+rooms upon many abstruse subjects, were familiar with Kant, regarded the
+German thinkers with respectful admiration, quoted John Stuart Mill and
+Spencer as the masters of English thought, were mildly enthusiastic over
+Carlyle and Ruskin, and had leanings towards Comte and Swedenborg.
+
+It was only at the Union that Lord Everington, as he then was, came in
+contact with those outside his own set, and here he quite held his own,
+for he was a neat and polished speaker, never diverging into flights of
+fancy, but precise as to his facts and close in his reasoning. His
+speeches were always listened to with attention, and though far from
+being one of the most popular, he was regarded as being one of the
+cleverest and most promising debaters at the Union. Just as he was
+leaving college a terrible blow fell upon him, for at the sudden death
+of his father, he succeeded to the title. To some men the loss would not
+have been without its consolations. To him it meant the destruction of
+the scheme on which he had laid out his life. He had intended to enter
+Parliament as soon as possible, and had sufficient confidence in himself
+to feel sure that he should succeed in political life, and would ere
+many years become an Under-Secretary, and in due course of time a member
+of the Cabinet.
+
+Now all this prospect seemed shattered. In the Peers he would have but
+slight opportunity of distinguishing himself, and would simply be the
+Earl of Halliburn, and nothing more. It was, however, to his credit that
+even in the dull atmosphere of the Gilded Chamber he had, to some
+extent, made his mark. He studied diligently every question that came
+up, and, while clever enough not to bore the House by long speeches, he
+came, ere long, to be considered a very well-informed and useful young
+member of it, and had now the honour of being Under-Secretary for the
+Colonies. It was a recognition of his work that he enjoyed keenly,
+although he felt bitterly how few were his opportunities in comparison
+to what they would have been had his chief been in the Peers and he in
+the Commons.
+
+As it was, his fellow peers evinced no curiosity whatever in regard to
+colonial matters, and it was of rare occurrence that any question was
+asked upon the affairs of which he had charge. Nevertheless, it was a
+great step. It brought him within the official circle, and more than
+once the mastery of the subject shown in his answers had won for him a
+few words of warm commendation from the Leader of the House.
+
+Then came, as he now thought it, the unfortunate idea of marriage. It
+would add to his weight, he had considered. As a bachelor his house in
+Park Lane, his place in the country, and his wealth, were but of slight
+advantage to him, but, as his chief one day hinted to him, he would be
+able to be of far more use to his party were he in a position to
+entertain largely.
+
+'We are rather behindhand in that respect, Halliburn. Four-fifths of the
+good houses are Tory. These things count for a good deal. You may say
+that it is absurd that it should be so, but that does not alter the fact
+that it gratifies the wives and daughters of the country members to have
+such houses open to them. You have plenty of money, and you don't throw
+it away, so that you can afford to do things well. If I were you, I
+should certainly look out for a wife.
+
+'She need not be a politician. She need not even belong to one of our
+families. Whatever her people's politics she will naturally, as your
+wife, come in time to take your views; and besides, there is no harm,
+rather the reverse, in keeping up a connection with that side. You must
+see as well as I do that the time is fast coming when there will be a
+considerable change in politics. Even now we are far nearer, upon all
+important points, to the Tories than we are to these Radical fellows who
+at present vote with us, but who in time will want to control us. The
+Tories have come much nearer to us, and we to them. Already we are
+scarcely in a majority on our own side of the house, and it will not be
+many years before we shall have to concede the demand to give a large
+share of ministerial appointments to Radicals. We shall then perceive
+that we must choose between becoming the followers of men whose ways and
+politics we hate, or the allies of men of our own stamp, whose way of
+looking at things differs but very little from our own. Therefore, I
+should say it would be just as well for you to choose a wife from their
+ranks as from your own.'
+
+Lord Halliburn had, as was his custom, thought the matter over coolly
+and carefully, and had come to the conclusion that it would be well for
+him to marry. He was by no means blind to the fact that there would be
+no great difficulty in his doing so. He was not unobservant of the
+frequency of invitations to houses where there were daughters of
+marriageable age, and had often smiled quietly at the innocent
+manoeuvres upon the part both of mothers and daughters. He had,
+however, never seriously given the matter a thought, being rather of
+opinion that a wife would interfere with his work, would compel him to
+take a more prominent part in society, and would expect him to devote a
+considerable proportion of his time to her. Now that the matter was
+placed before him in another light, he saw that there was a good deal to
+be said on the other side. The fact that the suggestion came from his
+chief was not without weight, and he decided accordingly to marry.
+
+He proceeded about the matter in the same methodical manner in which he
+carried out the other work of his life, and was not very long in
+deciding in favour of Miss Hawtrey. She was one of the belles of the
+season, and, as was no secret, had refused two or three excellent
+offers. There would, therefore, be a certain _éclat_ in carrying her
+off. She belonged to an old county family. Her father, although a
+Conservative, had taken no prominent part in politics, and his daughter
+would no doubt soon prove amenable to his own opinions and wishes. Above
+all, she would make a charming hostess. Having once made up his mind, he
+set to work seriously, and soon became interested in it to a degree that
+surprised him.
+
+To his rank and his position in the Ministry he speedily found that she
+was absolutely indifferent, and was as ready to dance and laugh with an
+impecunious younger son as with himself. This indifference stimulated
+his efforts, and as a man, as well as a peer and politician, he was
+gratified when he received an affirmative reply to his proposal. His
+chief himself congratulated him upon his engagement, and he knew that he
+was an object of envy to many, for in addition to being a belle, Miss
+Hawtrey was also an heiress, and for a short time he was highly
+gratified at the course of events. It was thus he felt cruelly hard
+when, within a fortnight of his engagement, this unpleasant affair took
+place.
+
+It seemed intolerable to him that the lady whom he had chosen should be
+the subject of these libellous attacks. He did not for an instant doubt
+that she was, as she said, wholly ignorant of the author of these
+letters, and that there was nothing whatever on which these demands for
+money could be based. Still, the business was none the less annoying,
+and in his irritation he had taken the step that had unfortunately
+resulted in the matter becoming public. He was angry with himself;
+angry, although he could have given no reason for the feeling, with
+Dorothy; very angry with society in general, for entertaining the
+slightest suspicion of the lady whom he had selected to be his wife.
+That such suspicion should, even in the vaguest manner, exist, was in
+itself wholly at variance with his object in entering upon matrimony.
+The wife of the Earl of Halliburn should not be spoken of except in
+terms of admiration; that the finger of suspicion should be pointed at
+her was intolerable.
+
+His house might even be shunned, instead of the entry there being so
+exclusive as to be eagerly sought for. Of course, it was not her fault,
+and it should make no difference as to his course. Still, the affair
+was, he freely owned, annoying in the extreme. He had had but few
+troubles, and bore this badly. The belief that the clerks in his office
+were talking of his affairs kept him in a state of constant irritation,
+and he fancied that even the impassive door-keeper smiled furtively as
+he passed him on his way in and out. Being in the habit of attaching a
+good deal of importance to his personality he believed that anything
+that affected him was a matter of much interest to the world at large,
+and that it occupied the thoughts of other people almost as much as it
+did his own. For the first time he felt that there were some advantages
+in a seat in the Upper House. In that grave, and for the most part
+scanty, gathering of men, generally much older than himself, he could
+feel that his troubles elicited but little more than a passing remark,
+and, indeed, the only sign of their knowledge of them that even his
+irritated self-love could detect was a slightly added warmth and
+kindness on the part of two or three of his leaders.
+
+With the younger men it was different. 'I never thought much of that
+fellow Halliburn,' said Frank Delancey, who had been in his form at
+Eton, and was now, like himself, an under secretary, but in the Commons.
+'I never believe in fellows who moon their time away instead of going in
+for the water or fields, and Halliburn is showing now that he is not of
+good stuff. He has not got the cotton out of his veins yet. Of course,
+it is not pleasant for a girl you are engaged to, to be talked about;
+but a man with any pluck and honour would not show it as he does.
+Instead of going about looking bright and pleasant, as if such a paltry
+accusation was too contemptible to give him a moment's thought, he gives
+himself the airs of Hamlet when he begins to suspect his uncle, and
+walks about looking as irritable as a bear with a sore head. He hasn't
+even the decency to behave like a gentleman when he is with her, I hear.
+Young Vaux, of the Foreign Office, told me yesterday that he met them
+both at dinner the day before, and the fellow looked downright cross,
+instead of being, as he ought to have been, more courteous and devoted
+than usual. I fancy that you will hear that it is broken off before
+long. I don't think Dorothy Hawtrey is the sort of girl to stand any
+nonsense.'
+
+'No, I quite agree with you, Delancey,' his companion--Fitzhurst, member
+for an Irish constituency--said. 'Still, I should say it would last
+until this blows over. As long as the engagement goes on it is in itself
+a sort of proof that everything is all right, and that these reports are
+but a parcel of lies. The girl would feel that if she broke it off fresh
+stories would get about, and that half the people would say that it was
+his doing and that the stories were true, after all.'
+
+'I will bet you a fiver that it does not come off, Tom.'
+
+'No, I would not take that, but I would not mind betting evens that it
+lasts three months.'
+
+'Well, I will go five pounds even with you, and I will take five to one,
+if you like, that it does not last another month.'
+
+'No, I will take the even bet, but not the other. There is no saying
+what developments may turn up.'
+
+But Dorothy had even before this offered to release Lord Halliburn from
+the engagement; he had refused the offer with vehemence, declaring
+himself absolutely unaffected by the story, and, indeed, taking an
+injured tone and accusing her of doubting his love for her.
+
+'I am not doubting your love, Algernon,' she replied, 'but it is
+impossible for me to avoid seeing that the matter is a great annoyance
+to you, and that it is troubling you very much. You have several times
+spoken quite crossly to me, and I am not in the habit of being spoken
+crossly to. My father is naturally quite as annoyed as you are, but as
+he believes, as you do, that the accusations are entirely false, he is
+not in any way vexed with me.'
+
+'Nor am I, Dorothy; not in the slightest degree, though I own that the
+knowledge that people are talking about us does irritate me; but
+certainly I did not mean to speak crossly to you, and am very sorry if I
+did so.'
+
+And so the matter had dropped, but Dorothy had none the less felt that
+at a time when Halliburn ought to have been kinder than usual, and to
+have helped her to show a brave front in the face of these rumours, he
+had added to instead of lightening her troubles.
+
+One morning at breakfast Dorothy gave an exclamation of surprise upon
+opening one of her letters.
+
+'What is it, my dear?'
+
+'I don't understand it, father. Here is a letter from Gilliat, saying he
+would be obliged if I will hand over to an assistant who will call for
+it to-day, whichever of the two diamond tiaras I may have decided not to
+retain, as he expects a customer this afternoon whom it might suit. I
+don't know what he means. Of course I have not been choosing any jewels.
+I should not think of such a thing without consulting you, even if I had
+had money enough in my pocket to indulge in such adornments.'
+
+She handed the letter to her father.
+
+'It must be some mistake,' he said, after glancing it through; 'the
+letter must have been meant for some one else. It must be some stupid
+blunder on the part of a clerk. We will go round there together after
+breakfast. I have not bought you anything of the sort yet, dear, and was
+not intending to do so until the time came nearer; indeed, I had
+intended to get your mother's diamonds re-set for you. Of course, I
+should have gone to Gilliat's, as we have always dealt with his firm.'
+
+After breakfast they drove to Bond Street.
+
+'I want to see Mr. Gilliat himself, if he is in,' Mr. Hawtrey said.
+
+Mr. Gilliat was in.
+
+'My daughter has received a letter which is evidently meant for some one
+else, Mr. Gilliat. It is about two diamond tiaras, which, it seems,
+somebody has taken in order to choose one of them. Of course it was not
+intended for her.'
+
+Gilliat took the letter, glanced at it, and then at Dorothy. 'I do not
+quite understand,' he said doubtfully.
+
+'Not understand?' Mr. Hawtrey repeated with some irritation. 'Do you
+mean to say that Miss Hawtrey has been supplied with two diamond
+tiaras?'
+
+'Would you mind stepping into my room behind, Mr. Hawtrey?' the jeweller
+replied, leading the way into an inner room. As he closed the door his
+eye met Dorothy's with a look of inquiry, as if asking for instructions.
+Hers expressed nothing but surprise. 'Am I to understand, Mr. Hawtrey,'
+he asked gravely, after a pause, 'that Miss Hawtrey denies having
+received the tiaras?'
+
+'Certainly you are,' Mr. Hawtrey said hotly, 'she knows nothing whatever
+about them.'
+
+The jeweller pressed his lips tightly together, thought for a moment,
+and then touched a bell on the table. An assistant entered. 'Ask Mr.
+Williams to step here for a moment.'
+
+The principal assistant entered: 'Mr. Williams, do you remember on what
+day it was that Miss Hawtrey selected the two tiaras?'
+
+'It was about three weeks ago, sir; I cannot tell you the exact day
+without consulting the sales book.'
+
+'Do so at once, if you please.'
+
+Mr. Williams went out and returned in a moment with the book.
+
+'It was the 15th of last month, sir--July.'
+
+'You served her yourself, I think, Mr. Williams, or, rather, perhaps you
+assisted me in doing so?'
+
+'Certainly, sir.'
+
+'What was the value of the tiaras, Mr. Williams?'
+
+'One was twelve hundred, the other was twelve hundred and fifty, sir.'
+
+'She took them away herself?'
+
+'Certainly, sir; I offered to place them in the carriage for her, but
+she said it was a few doors up the street, and she would take them
+herself.'
+
+'You have not a shadow of doubt about the facts, Mr. Williams?'
+
+'None whatever, sir,' the assistant said, in some surprise.
+
+'You know Miss Hawtrey well by sight?'
+
+'Certainly, sir; she has been here many times, both by herself, for
+repairs or alterations to her watch or jewellery, and with other
+ladies.'
+
+'Thank you, Mr. Williams, that will do at present.'
+
+The door closed and the jeweller turned to his customers.
+
+Mr. Hawtrey looked confounded, his daughter bewildered.
+
+'I do not understand it,' she said. 'I have not been here, Mr. Gilliat,
+since the beginning of May, when I came to you about replacing a pearl
+that had become discoloured in my necklace.'
+
+'I remember that visit perfectly, Miss Hawtrey,' the jeweller said
+gravely, 'but I must confirm what my assistant has said. Allow me to
+recall to you that, in the first place, you told me that in view of an
+approaching event you required a tiara of diamonds, and of course,
+having heard of your engagement to Lord Halliburn, I understood your
+allusion, and came in here with you, and had the honour of showing you
+five or six tiaras. Of these you selected two, and said that you should
+like to show them to Mr. Hawtrey before choosing. I offered to send an
+assistant with them, but you said that your carriage was standing a few
+doors off and that you would rather take them yourself. Our firm having
+had the honour of serving Mr. Hawtrey and his family for several
+generations, and knowing you perfectly, I had, of course, no hesitation
+in complying with your request. I may say, as an evidence of the
+exactness of my memory, that Miss Hawtrey was dressed exactly as she is
+at present. I had, of course, an opportunity of noticing her dress as
+she was examining the goods. She had on that blue walking dress with
+small red spots, and the bonnet with blue feathers with red tips.'
+
+'Will you give me the hour as well as the day at which you say my
+daughter called here?' Mr. Hawtrey said sternly.
+
+'My own impression is that it was about three o'clock,' the jeweller
+said, after a moment's thought.
+
+'Will you call your assistant and ask him?'
+
+Mr. Williams being summoned said that he had no distinct recollection as
+to the precise time, but that it was certainly somewhat early in the
+afternoon. He had returned from lunch about two, and it was not for some
+little time after that that Miss Hawtrey called; he should say it was
+between three and half past three.
+
+'That will be near enough,' Mr. Hawtrey said. 'You shall hear from me
+again shortly, Mr. Gilliat; I know that I can rely upon you to say
+nothing in the meantime to anyone on the subject.'
+
+'Certainly, Mr. Hawtrey.'
+
+'Now, Dorothy, let us be going.'
+
+Dorothy at the moment was unable to follow her father; she had sunk down
+in a chair, pale and trembling; her look of intense surprise had given
+way to one of alarm and horror, and it was not until she had drunk some
+water that the jeweller brought her, that she recovered sufficiently to
+take her father's arm and walk through the shop to the carriage.
+
+'Well, Dorothy,' Mr. Hawtrey said, as they drove off, 'what does all
+this mean?'
+
+'I have not the least idea, father; I am utterly bewildered.'
+
+'You still say that you did not go to the shop--that you did not examine
+those tiaras and choose two of them?'
+
+'Of course I say so, father. I have never been in the shop since I went
+about that pearl. Surely, father, you cannot suspect me of having stolen
+those things.'
+
+'I am the last man in the world to suspect you of anything
+dishonourable, Dorothy, but this evidence is staggering. Here are two
+men ready to swear to the whole particulars of the incident. They are
+both sufficiently acquainted with your appearance to be able to
+recognise you readily. They can even swear to your dress. That you
+should do such a thing seems to be incredible and impossible, but what
+am I to think? You could not have done such a thing in your senses; it
+would be the act of a madwoman, especially to go to a shop where you are
+so well known.'
+
+'But why should I have done it, father? I could not have worn them
+without being detected at once.'
+
+'You could not have worn them,' her father agreed, 'but they might have
+been turned into money had you great occasion for it.'
+
+Dorothy started.
+
+'Do you mean, father--oh, surely, you never can mean that I could have
+stolen those things to turn them into money in order to satisfy the man
+who has been writing those letters?'
+
+'No, my dear. I don't mean that myself, but that is certainly what
+anyone who did not know you would say. There, don't cry so, child,' for
+Dorothy was sobbing hysterically now; 'do not let us talk any more until
+we get home. We have got the day and hour at which you were supposed to
+have been at Gilliat's. Perhaps we may be able to prove that you were
+engaged somewhere else, and that it was impossible you could have been
+at Gilliat's about that time.'
+
+Nothing more was said until they reached home.
+
+'You had better come into my study, Dorothy; we shall not be disturbed
+there. Now, dear,' he said, 'let us have the matter out. I can only say
+this, that if you again give me your assurance that you are absolutely
+ignorant of all this, and that you never went to Gilliat's on the day
+they say you did, I shall accept your assurance as implicitly as I did
+before; but before you speak, remember, dear, what that entails. These
+people are prepared to swear to you, and will, of course, take steps to
+obtain payment for these things. If such steps are taken the whole
+matter will be gone into to the bottom. Remember everything depends on
+your frankness. It will be terribly painful for you to acknowledge that,
+after all, you had got into some entanglement, and that you did in a
+moment of madness take these things in order to free yourself from it.
+It would be terribly painful for me to hear this, but upon hearing it I
+should of course take steps to raise this twenty-five hundred pounds,
+for at present I do not happen to have so much at my bankers, and to
+settle Gilliat's claim. But even painful as this would be it would be a
+thousand times better than to have all this gone into in public. On the
+other hand, if you still assure me that you know nothing of it I must
+refuse to pay the money, both because to do so would be to admit that
+you took the things, and because, in the second place, whoever has taken
+these tiaras--for that some one has done so we cannot doubt--may again
+personate you and involve us in fresh trouble and difficulties.'
+
+'I did not do it, father; indeed I did not do it. I have had no
+entanglement; I was in no need of money; I have never been near
+Gilliat's shop, unless, indeed, I was altogether out of my mind and did
+it in a state of unconsciousness, which I cannot think for a moment. I
+have worried over this until I hardly knew what I was doing, but I never
+could have gone to that shop and done as they say without having a
+remembrance of it. Why, the last place I should choose if I had ever
+thought of stealing would be a place where I was perfectly known.
+Indeed, father, I am altogether innocent. I cannot account for it, not
+in the least, but I am sure that I had nothing to do with it.'
+
+'Then, my dear, I will not doubt you for another moment,' Mr. Hawtrey
+said, kissing her tenderly. 'Now we just stand in the same position as
+we did in regard to the other affair; we have got to find out all about
+it. In the first place, get your book of engagements, and let us see
+what you were doing on the afternoon of the 15th.'
+
+Dorothy went out of the room and soon returned with a pocket book.
+
+'Not satisfactory, I can see,' Mr. Hawtrey said, as he glanced at her
+face.
+
+'No, father; here it is, you see--"Lunch with Mrs. Milford;" nothing
+else. I remember about that afternoon now. I drove in the carriage to
+Mrs. Milford's, and had lunch at half-past one; there was one other lady
+there. Mrs. Milford had tickets for a concert, at St. James's Hall I
+think it was, but I am not sure about that. I had a headache, and would
+not go with them; and, besides, I had some shopping to do. I got out of
+her brougham in Hanover Square. I went into Bond Street certainly, and I
+got some gloves and scent; then I went into Cocks' and looked through
+the new music and chose one or two pieces, then I went into the French
+Gallery. Mrs. Milford had been talking about it at lunch, so I thought I
+would drop in. There were very few people there, so I sauntered round
+and sat down and looked at those I liked best. It was quiet and
+pleasant. I must have been in there a long time. When I came out I took
+a cab and drove straight home. It was six o'clock when I got back, and I
+remember I went straight up to my room and had a cup of tea there, then
+I took off my gown and my maid combed my hair, as it was time for me to
+dress for dinner. My head was aching a good deal and it did me good. We
+dined at the Livingstones' that evening.'
+
+'It is unfortunate, certainly, Dorothy. I had hoped we might have been
+able to have fixed you somewhere that would have proved conclusively
+that you could not possibly have been at Gilliat's that afternoon. As it
+is, your recollections do not help us at all, for your time from
+somewhere about three till six is practically unaccounted for. The
+people you bought the gloves and scent from could prove that you were
+there, but you probably would not have been many minutes in their shop.
+Cocks' may remember that you were there a quarter of an hour or so.'
+
+'I think I was there half-an-hour, father.'
+
+'Well, say half-an-hour; the rest of the time you were really in the
+picture gallery, but it is scarcely likely that, even if the man who
+took your money at the door or the attendant inside noticed you
+sufficiently to swear to your face, they would be able to fix the day,
+still less have noticed how long you stayed. At any rate it is clear
+that it would be possible for you to have done all you say you did that
+afternoon and still to have spared time for that visit to Gilliat's.'
+
+'I see that it is all terrible, father, but what can it all mean?'
+
+'That is more than I can understand, Dorothy. At present we are face to
+face with what seems to me two impossibilities. I mean looking at them
+from an outsider's point of view. The one is that these shopmen should
+have taken any one else for you when they are so well acquainted with
+your face, and are able to swear even to the dress. No less difficult is
+it to believe that did you require money so urgently that you were ready
+to commit a crime to obtain it, you would go to the people to whom you
+were perfectly well known, and so destroy every hope and even every
+possibility of the crime passing undetected. One theory is as difficult
+to believe as the other. Those letters were a mystery, but this affair
+is infinitely more puzzling. I really do not know what to do. I must
+take advice in the matter, of course. I would rather pay the money five
+times over than permit it to become public, but who is to know what form
+this strange persecution is to take next?'
+
+'Do you think there is any connection between this and the other,
+father?'
+
+Mr. Hawtrey shook his head. 'I do not see the most remote connection
+between the two things. But there may be; who can say?'
+
+'I would rather face it out,' Dorothy said, passionately. 'I would
+rather be imprisoned as a thief than go on as I have been doing for the
+last six weeks; anything would be better. Even if you were to pay the
+money the story might get about somehow, just as the other did. Then the
+fact that you paid it would be looked upon as a proof that I had taken
+the diamonds. Who will you consult, father?'
+
+'My lawyers would be the proper people to consult, undoubtedly; but they
+were quite useless before, and this is wholly out of their line, I
+think. I will take a hansom and go across to Jermyn Street, and see if I
+can find Ned Hampton in. I have great faith in his judgment, and no one
+could be kinder than he has been in the matter. You don't mind my
+speaking to him?'
+
+'Oh, no, father. I would rather that you should speak to him than to any
+one.'
+
+Captain Hampton was in and listened in silent consternation to Mr.
+Hawtrey's story, and for a long time made no answer to the question.
+
+'I can make neither head nor tail of it, Ned. What do you think?'
+
+At first sight it seemed to him that this story explained the meeting he
+had seen opposite the Agricultural Hall. She had either turned the
+diamonds into money or had handed them over to this man to buy his
+silence. Then his faith in Dorothy rose again. It was absolutely absurd
+to suppose for a moment that she should have thus committed a crime
+which must be certainly brought home to her, and which would ruin her
+far more than any revelations this man might make could do.
+
+'It is an extraordinary story, Mr. Hawtrey,' he said, at last; 'even
+putting our knowledge of your daughter's character out of the question,
+is it possible to believe that any young lady possessed of ordinary
+shrewdness would go to a place where she was well known, and, have acted
+in the way that she is reported to have done?'
+
+'It would certainly seem incredible, Ned, but here are two or three
+people prepared to swear that she did do so, and that they identified
+her by her dress as well as by herself.'
+
+'We must look at the matter in every light, Mr. Hawtrey; however
+confident you may feel of her innocence, we must look at it from the
+light in which other people will regard it. They will say, of course,
+that Miss Hawtrey had urgent need of money for some purpose or other,
+and will naturally suppose that reason to be her desire to silence the
+author of those letters. They will say, that although she would of
+course know that the bill would be sent in to her father, she would be
+sure that he would rather pay the money than betray her sin to the
+world.'
+
+'I quite see that,' Mr. Hawtrey agreed, 'but if she had been driven to
+desperation by this fellow, why did she not come direct to me in the
+first place, instead of committing a theft to drive me to pay, when she
+might be pretty sure in some way or other the facts would leak out, and
+do her infinitely more harm with the world than any indiscretion
+committed years ago could do? Besides, had she done it for this purpose,
+would she not have carried through that course of action, and when the
+bill came in have implored me to pay it without question, and so save
+her from disgrace and ruin?'
+
+'That certainly is so,' Captain Hampton said, as his face brightened
+visibly; 'the more one thinks of it the more mysterious the affair
+seems. I should like to think it all over quietly. I suppose you will
+not go out this evening?'
+
+'Certainly not. There will be no more going out until this mystery has
+been cleared up. It has been hard enough for Dorothy to bear up over her
+last trouble, but it would be out of the question for her to go into
+society with this terrible thing hanging over her.'
+
+'Then I will come round about nine o'clock. I shall have had time to
+think it over before that.'
+
+Captain Hampton's cogitations came to nothing. He walked up and down his
+little room until the lodger in the parlour below went out in despair to
+his club. He tried the effect of an hour's stroll in the least
+frequented part of Kensington Gardens. He drove to Mr. Slippen's to
+inquire if any clue had been obtained as to Truscott's movements. He ate
+a solitary dinner at his lodgings and smoked an enormous quantity of
+tobacco, but could see no clue whatever to the mystery. The meeting he
+had witnessed was to him a piece of evidence far more damning than that
+of the jeweller and his assistants. If she could explain that, the other
+matter might be got over, though he could not see how. If she could not
+explain it, it was evident that he had nothing to do but to advise her
+father to settle the business at any cost.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII
+
+
+At nine o'clock Captain Hampton called at Chester Square and was shown
+into the drawing-room, from which, as previously arranged, Mr. Hawtrey
+had dismissed Mrs. Daintree, telling her that he had some private
+matters to discuss with Ned Hampton.
+
+Mrs. Daintree had retired tearfully, saying that for her part she
+preferred hearing nothing about this painful matter--meaning that of the
+letters, for she was ignorant of the later development.
+
+Dorothy looked flushed and feverish. Her eyes were large and brilliant,
+and there was a restlessness in her manner as she shook hands with her
+old friend.
+
+'Well, Ned,' she asked, with an attempt at playfulness, 'what is your
+verdict--guilty or not guilty?'
+
+'You need not ask me, Dorothy. Even the evidence of my own eyes would
+scarcely avail to convince me against your word.' Then he turned to her
+father. 'I have done nothing but think the matter over since you left
+me, and I can see but one solution--an utterly improbable one, I
+admit--but I will not tell you what it is until I have spoken to Miss
+Hawtrey. Would you mind my putting a question or two to her alone?'
+
+'Certainly not, Ned,' said Mr. Hawtrey, rising.
+
+But Dorothy exclaimed: 'No, no, father, I will not have it so. I don't
+know what Captain Hampton is going to ask me, but nothing that he can
+ask me nor my answers could I wish you not to hear. Please sit down
+again. There shall be no mysteries between us, at any rate.'
+
+'Perhaps it is best so,' Captain Hampton agreed, though he felt the ring
+of pain in the girl's voice at what she believed to be a sign that he
+doubted her. 'I am willing, as I said just now, to disbelieve the
+evidence of my own eyes on your word. I am determined to believe you
+innocent. It is impossible for me to do otherwise. But there is one
+matter I want cleared up. On the fifteenth of last month--that is the
+day on which these things were missed--I saw a lady so exactly like you
+in face and in dress that I should under any other circumstances be
+prepared to swear to her, speaking to the man Truscott, in the Liverpool
+Road, Islington. This was at about half-past four in the afternoon.'
+
+A look of blank wonderment passed across Dorothy's face as he spoke, and
+then changed into one of indignation.
+
+'I was never in Islington in my life, Captain Hampton; I never heard the
+name of Liverpool Road that I know of. I have never seen this man,
+Truscott, since that day at Epsom. And you have believed this? You
+believe that I would meet this man alone, for the purpose, I suppose, of
+bribing him to silence? I have been mistaken in you altogether, Captain
+Hampton. I thought you were a friend.'
+
+'Stop, Dorothy,' her father said, authoritatively, as with her head
+erect she walked towards the door, 'you must listen to this; it is
+altogether too important to be treated in this way. We must hear what
+Captain Hampton really saw, and he will tell us why he did not mention
+the fact to me before. Sit down, my dear. Now, Captain Hampton, please
+tell it to us again.'
+
+Ned Hampton repeated his story, and then went on,
+
+'You know I went suddenly out of town, Mr. Hawtrey. That I had been
+mistaken never once occurred to me. Up to that time I had never for an
+instant doubted your daughter's assertions that she knew nothing as to
+any letters in the possession of Truscott. That morning, as you may
+remember, I mentioned before you the name of the place where he was to
+be found, and when, as I thought, I saw her with him, it certainly
+appeared to me possible that after the dread Miss Hawtrey expressed of
+appearing in a public court to prosecute him, she might, in a moment of
+weakness, have gone off to see the man, to warn him of the consequences
+that would ensue if he continued to persecute her, and to tell him that
+unless he moved he would in a few hours be in custody. I thought such an
+action altogether foreign to her nature, but I own that it never for a
+moment occurred to me to doubt the evidence of my own eyes, especially
+as the person was dressed exactly as your daughter had been when I saw
+her that morning. That the person I saw was not her I am now quite ready
+to admit. In that case it is morally certain that the person who took
+away those jewels was also not her; and this strengthens the idea I had
+before conceived, and which seemed, as I told you, a most improbable
+one, namely, that there is another person who so closely resembles your
+daughter that she might be mistaken for her, and, if so, this person is
+acting with the man Truscott. Should this conjecture be the true one it
+explains what has hitherto been so mysterious. The letters were designed
+to injure your daughter in public estimation, and to prepare the way for
+this extraordinary robbery, which would enrich Truscott as well as
+gratify his revenge. What do you think, Mr. Hawtrey?'
+
+'The idea is too new for me to grasp it altogether, Ned. Until now there
+seemed no possible explanation of the mystery. This, certainly, strange
+and improbable as it is, does afford a solution.'
+
+'Well, father, I will leave you to talk it over,' Dorothy said, rising
+again, 'unless Captain Hampton has seen me anywhere else and wishes to
+question me about that also. And I think, father, that it will be much
+better in future to put the matter altogether into the hands of a
+lawyer; it would be his business to do his best for me whether he
+thought me innocent or guilty. At any rate, it is more pleasant to be
+suspected by people you know nothing about, than by those you thought
+were your friends.' Then without waiting for an answer she swept from
+the room.
+
+'No use stopping her now,' her father said, shrugging his shoulders; 'it
+is not often that I have known Dorothy fairly out of temper from the
+time she was a child, but when she is it is better to let her cool down
+and come round of herself.'
+
+'It will be a long time before she comes round as far as I am
+concerned,' Captain Hampton said. 'I am not surprised that she should be
+indignant that I should have suspected her for a moment, but I don't see
+how I could have helped it. I saw her, or someone as much like her as if
+it was herself in a looking-glass, talking to this man Truscott, the
+very day when we had for the first time found out where we were likely
+to lay hands on him. What could anyone suppose? I did not think for a
+moment that she had done anything really wrong, or even, after what she
+had said, that he could hold letters of any importance; but she had
+evidently so great a dread of publicity that, as I say, it did strike me
+she had gone to meet him in order to warn him, and perhaps to get back
+any trumpery letters he might have had, stolen from her or from some one
+else. I did think this up to the time when you told me of this affair at
+the jeweller's. That seemed so utterly and wholly impossible that I
+became convinced there must be some entirely different solution, if we
+could but hit upon it, and the only idea that occurred to me was that of
+there being some one else exactly like her, and that this person,
+whoever she is, has been used by Truscott both to injure your daughter
+and to obtain plunder.'
+
+'I don't see how you could have helped suspecting as you did, when you
+saw Truscott speaking with some one whom you did not doubt being
+Dorothy. Had I been in your place and witnessed that meeting, it seems
+to me that I must have doubted her myself. Though I am her father, I own
+that I did doubt her for a moment this morning when I heard the story at
+Gilliat's; but let us leave that alone for a moment, Ned; the pressing
+question is, what am I to do?'
+
+'I will give no opinion,' Captain Hampton said firmly; 'that must be a
+question for you and Miss Hawtrey to decide. If my conjecture is right,
+and this man, Truscott, and some woman closely resembling your daughter
+are working to obtain plunder on the strength of that likeness, you may
+be sure that this successful _coup_ they have made will only be the
+first of a series. On the other hand, you have not a shadow of evidence
+to adduce against Gilliat's claim; there is simply her assertion against
+that of two or three other people, and if he sues you, as, of course, he
+will if you do not pay, it seems to me certain that a jury would give
+the verdict against you--unless, of course, we can put this other woman
+and Truscott into the dock. Should such a verdict be given, although
+some might have their doubts as to this extraordinary story, the public
+in general would conclude that Miss Hawtrey was a thief and a liar.
+There is no doubt that your daughter's advice is the one to be followed,
+and if I were you I would go to Charles Levine, the first thing in the
+morning, lay the whole case before him, and put yourself in his hands.'
+
+'I will do so, Ned. Should I mention to him that you saw her, as you
+thought, with Truscott?'
+
+'That must be as you think fit, sir. I don't think I should do so unless
+it were absolutely necessary. He does not know your daughter as we do,
+and would infallibly put the worst construction upon it. I should
+confine myself to the story of the letters and the jewels, stating that
+you believe there is a connection between them, and that, as you
+implicitly believe Miss Hawtrey's word, the only conclusion you can
+possibly come to is that the person who visited Gilliat's was some
+adventuress bearing a strong resemblance to her, and trading on that
+resemblance.'
+
+'But how about the dress, Ned?'
+
+'If it was, as I take it, a preconceived plot, carefully prepared, one
+can readily conceive that Miss Hawtrey's movements had been watched and
+that a dress and bonnet closely resembling hers had been got in
+readiness.'
+
+'It is an ugly business, Ned,' Mr. Hawtrey said, irritably. 'You and I
+believe Dorothy to be innocent, but the more one looks at it the more
+one sees how difficult it will be to persuade other people that she is
+so. However, I will see Levine in the morning. He has had more difficult
+cases in his hands than any man living.'
+
+'That is the best thing you can do, sir. Now I will say good-night. You
+know where I am to be found, and I must ask you to write to me there and
+make an appointment for me to meet you if you want to see me. I shall
+still do what I can in the matter, and shall spare no efforts to
+endeavour to trace this man Truscott, and if I can find him it is
+probable that I shall be able to find the woman; but please do not let
+Miss Hawtrey know that I am taking any further part in the matter. She
+is deeply offended with me, and from her point of view this is perfectly
+natural. She thinks I ought to have trusted her and believed in her in
+spite of any evidence whatever, even that of my own eyes, and she is
+naturally extremely sore that one whom she regarded as a close friend
+should not have done so. I regret it deeply myself, but seeing what I
+saw----'
+
+'You could not help doing so, Ned,' Mr. Hawtrey broke in warmly; 'as I
+told you I should have doubted her myself. Do not worry yourself about
+that. When she thinks it over she will see that you were in no way to
+blame.'
+
+'That will be a long time first,' Captain Hampton said, gravely;
+'situated as she is, and harassed as she has been, it is very difficult
+to forgive a want of trust on the part of those in whose faith and
+support you had implicit confidence. I shall be very glad if you will
+let me know what Levine advises.'
+
+'That I will certainly do. I will write to you after I have seen him and
+had a talk with Dorothy. There is the affair with Halliburn, which
+complicates the whole question confoundedly. I wish to goodness he would
+start for a trip to China and not come back until it is all over. It is
+lucky that that they have got a serious debate on to-night in the Upper
+House, and that he was, as he told us when he called this afternoon,
+unable to go to the Alberys; if it hadn't been so he would have been
+here by this time, to inquire what had occurred to make us send our
+excuses at the last moment. He will be round here the first thing after
+breakfast. Well, good night, Ned, if you must be going.'
+
+On reaching his lodgings Captain Hampton found a boy sitting on the
+doorstep.
+
+'Halloa,' he said, 'who are you? Out of luck, and want something to get
+supper with, I suppose?'
+
+'I wanted to speak to you, Captain,' the boy said, standing up.
+
+'Why, you are the boy from Slippen's; have you got any news for me?'
+
+'No, Captain, I ain't come on his account, I have come on my own. I have
+left Slippen for good.'
+
+'Well, come up stairs; we can't talk at the door. Now what is it?' he
+asked, as he sat down.
+
+'Well, sir, it is just this: I have left Slippen. You see, it was this
+way: I was a-watching a female party and she wur a good sort. I got up
+as a crossing sweeper, and she never went across without giving me a
+penny and speaking kind like, and one day she sent me out a plate of
+victuals; so I didn't much like the job, and when Slippen wanted me to
+say I had seen a bit more than I had, I up and told him as I wasn't
+going to. Then he gave me a cuff on the head and I gave him some cheek,
+and he told me to take myself out of it and never let him see my face
+again, so you see here I am.'
+
+'I see you are. But why are you here?'
+
+'Well, you see, Captain, you allus spoke nice to me over there, and I
+says to myself, "If I was ever to leave the governor, that is just the
+sort of gent as I should like to work for." I can clean boots with any
+one, and I could run errands, and do all sorts of odd jobs, and if you
+still want to find that chap I was after I would hunt him up for you all
+over London.'
+
+'You are quite sure, Jacob, that you have done with Mr. Slippen? I
+should not like him to think that I had taken you away from him.'
+
+'I ain't a-going back to him no ways,' the boy said, positively, 'not
+even if he would have me; and after what I said to him he would not do
+that. He called me a blooming young vaggerbond, and I says to him,
+"Vaggerbond yourself, ain't you wanting to make up false evidence agin a
+female? You are worse nor a vaggerbond," says I. "You are just the worst
+kind of a spy," says I, "and a liar at that." Then I had to make a bolt
+for it, and he arter me, and he run nigh fifty yards before he stopped;
+that is enough to show how mad he wor over it. First of all I thinks as
+I would go to the Garden, and take to odd jobs and sleeping under the
+waggons, as I used to do afore I took up with him. Then I says to
+myself, "There is that Captain Hampton; he is a nice sort of gent. I
+could get along first-rate with him if he would have me."'
+
+'But those clothes you have got on, Jacob; I suppose Slippen gave you
+those?'
+
+'Not he; Slippen ain't that sort; he got the clothes for me, and says
+he, "These 'ere clothes cost twenty-two bob. I intend to give you
+half-a-crown a week, and," says he, "I shall stop a bob a week for your
+clothes." I have been with him about half a year, so we are square as to
+the things.'
+
+'But how did you live on eighteenpence a week?'
+
+'I got a bob now and then from people who came to Slippen. When they
+knew as I was doing the watching for them they would tip me, so as to
+give me a h'interest in the case, as they said. I used to reckon on
+making two bob a week that way, so with Slippen's eighteenpence, I had
+sixpence a day for grub. I have got my old things wrapped up in the
+cupboard. I used to use them mostly when I went out watching. I can get
+them any time; I have got the key. I used to have to let myself in and
+out, so I have only got to watch till I see him go out, and then go in
+and get my things, and I can leave the key on the table when I come
+out.'
+
+Captain Hampton looked at the boy for some time in silence; it really
+seemed a stroke of good luck that had thrown him in his way. There was
+no doubt of his shrewdness; he was honest so far as his ideas of honesty
+went. He wished to serve him, and would probably be faithful. He himself
+felt altogether at sea as to how to set about the quest for this man and
+the unknown woman who must be his associate. Even if the boy could be of
+no material assistance, he would have him to talk to, and there was no
+one else to whom he could say anything on the subject.
+
+'Well, Jacob,' he said at last, 'I am disposed to give you a trial.'
+
+'Thank you, Captain,' the lad said gratefully. 'I will do my best for
+you, sir, whatever you tell me. I knows as I ain't much good to a gent
+like you, but I will try hard, sir, I will indeed.'
+
+'And now what am I to do with you?' Captain Hampton went on. 'I am sure
+my landlady would not like to have you down in the kitchen, so for the
+present you had better get your meals outside.'
+
+'That is all right, Captain. I can take my grub anywhere.'
+
+'Very well, then, I will give you two shillings a day for food; that
+will be sixpence for breakfast and tea and a shilling for dinner. I
+suppose you could manage on that.'
+
+'Why, it would be just a-robbing of you,' the boy said, indignantly. 'I
+can get a breakfast of a big cup of tea and a whopping piece of cake for
+twopence at a coffee-stall, and the same at night, that is fourpence,
+and for fourpence more I can get a regular blow out: threeha'porth of
+bread and two saveloys for dinner. I could do first-rate on eightpence.'
+
+'That is all nonsense, Jacob. If you are coming to be my servant you
+must live decently. I daresay if you had a place where you could see to
+your own food you might do it cheaper, but having to pay for things at a
+coffee-shop, two shillings a day would be a fair sum. As I don't want
+you to do anything for me in the house at present I do not see that it
+will be of any use getting you livery, so we won't talk about that now.
+You will most likely want another suit of clothes of some sort while
+going about to look for this man, whom I still want to find. As for your
+lodgings, I will see if there is a room vacant upstairs; if not, you
+must get a bed out.'
+
+He rang the bell, and his landlord, who acted as valet to his lodgers,
+appeared.
+
+'Richardson, I have engaged this boy to run errands for me. I do not
+want him to interfere in the house, and have arranged about his board,
+as no doubt you would find him in the way downstairs; but if you have an
+attic empty I should like to arrange for his sleeping here.'
+
+'I could arrange that, sir. I have a small room at the top of the house
+empty; I would let it at four shillings a week.'
+
+'Very well then. He will sleep here to-night.'
+
+'Perhaps he will step up with me and I will show it to him, sir.'
+
+Hampton nodded, and the boy followed the man out of the room. He
+returned in a couple of minutes.
+
+'That will do, I suppose, Jacob?'
+
+'It just will do,' the boy said; 'it is too good for a chap like me. The
+bed is too clean to sleep in: I would a sight rather lie down on the mat
+there, sir.'
+
+'That won't do at all, Jacob. You must get into clean and tidy ways if
+you are to be with me. To-morrow morning I will give you some money, and
+you must go out and get yourself a stock of underlinen--shirts, and
+drawers, and stockings, and that sort of thing, and another pair or two
+of shoes. And now it is getting late and you had better go off to bed.
+Give yourself a thorough good wash all over before you turn in, and
+again in the morning. Here are two shillings for your food to-morrow. Be
+here at nine o'clock and then we will talk things over. Here is another
+half-crown to get yourself a comb and brush.'
+
+The next morning the boy presented himself looking clean and tidy.
+
+'In the first place here is a list, Jacob, of the things you must get,
+or rather that I will get for you, for I will go out with you and buy
+them. And now about your work. I still want to find this man. Did you
+discover what name he was known by at his lodging?'
+
+'He was known there as Cooper, Captain, I got that out of the servant
+girl, but lord bless you a name don't go for anything with these chaps.
+No, he may call hisself something else at the next place he goes to.'
+
+'You learnt he went away in a cab?'
+
+The lad nodded.
+
+'The first thing to do is to find that cab. It may have been taken from
+a stand near; it may have been one he hailed passing along the road. How
+would you set about that?'
+
+'Offer a reward,' the boy replied promptly. 'Get a thing printed and I
+will leave it at all the stands in that part.'
+
+'Yes, that will be a good way.' Captain Hampton wrote a line or two on a
+piece of paper. It was headed--A Reward.--The cabman who took a man with
+several boxes from----'What is the address, Jacob, where the man
+lodged?'
+
+'Twelve, Hawthorn Street.'
+
+'From Hawthorn Street, Islington, on the evening of the 15th July, can
+earn one pound by calling upon Captain Hampton, 150 Jermyn Street.'
+
+'That will do it,' the boy said, as the advertisement was read out.
+
+'Well, I will get a hundred of these struck off at once, then you can
+set to work.'
+
+Having gone to a printer's and ordered the handbills, which were to be
+ready in an hour, Captain Hampton went with the boy and bought his
+clothes.
+
+'Now, Jacob, you will go back to the printer's in an hour's time and
+wait until you get the handbills. Here are five shillings to pay for
+them; then take a 'bus at the Circus for Islington and distribute the
+handbills at all the cab stands in the neighbourhood. I shan't want you
+any more to-day, but if I am at home when you come in you can let me
+know how you have got on. Be in by half-past nine always. You had better
+go on at your night school; you have nothing to do after dark and there
+is nowhere for you to sit here. There is no reason why you should not go
+on working there as usual.'
+
+'All right, Captain; if you says so in course I will go, but I hates it
+worse nor poison.'
+
+On his return Captain Hampton read the paper and wrote some letters, and
+was just starting to go out to lunch when Mr. Hawtrey was shown in.
+
+'I am very glad I have caught you, Ned; I meant to tell you I would come
+round after seeing Levine. This business will worry me into my grave.
+This morning Dorothy declared that the thing must be fought out. Her
+objection to going into court has quite vanished. She says that it is
+the only chance there is of getting to the bottom of things, and that if
+that is not done we must go away to China or Siberia, or some
+out-of-the-way place where no one will know her. Then I went to Levine.
+Danvers called for me and took me there. I wrote to him last night and
+asked him to do so. Nothing could have been more polite than Levine's
+manner--I should say he would be a charming fellow at a dinner table. I
+went into the whole thing with him, he took notes while I was talking,
+and asked a question now and then; of course, I told him our last
+notion, that there must be somebody about exactly like Dorothy in face
+and figure. "And dress, too?" he asked, with a little sort of emphasis.
+"Yes, and dress too," I said. When I had done he simply said that it was
+a singular case, which I could have told him well enough, and that he
+should like to take a little time to think it over. His present idea was
+that I had best pay the money. I told him that I did not care a rap
+about the money, but that if this thing got about, the fact that I had
+compromised it would be altogether ruinous to my daughter. He said, "I
+think you can rely upon it that Gilliat will preserve an absolute
+silence. I can assure you that jewellers get to know a great many
+curious family histories, and it is part of their business to be
+discreet." "Yes," I said, "but don't you see if, as I believe, this
+fellow Truscott got up the first persecution purely to revenge what he
+believes is a grievance against me--if that is so, and if he has any
+connection with this second business, you may be sure that somehow or
+other he will get something nasty about it put in one of these gutter
+journals." That silenced him, and he again said he would think it over.
+When I got up to go he asked Danvers to wait a few minutes, as he took
+it that if the matter went into court he would, as a matter of course,
+be retained on our side. So I came away by myself and drove here. The
+worst of it is, I believe that the man thinks that Dorothy did it. Of
+course, as he does not know her he is not altogether to be blamed, but
+it is deucedly annoying to have to do with a man who evidently thinks
+your daughter is a thief.'
+
+'Did he say anything as to our idea that some one else must have
+represented her?'
+
+'Not a single word; he listened attentively while I told him, but he
+made no remarks whatever about it.'
+
+After the doors of Mr. Levine's office had closed behind Mr. Hawtrey,
+the solicitor leant back in his chair and looked at Danvers with raised
+eyebrows.
+
+'You have heard the story before, I suppose?' he asked.
+
+'I heard about the first business, but not about this matter of the
+jewels; except that he gave me a slight outline as we drove here this
+morning. It is a curious business.'
+
+'It is a very unpleasant business, but scarcely a curious one,' the
+lawyer said, with a grave smile. 'I have heard so many bits of queer
+family history, that I scarcely look at anything that way now as
+curious. You would be astonished, simply astonished, did you know how
+often things of this kind occur.'
+
+'Then you think that Miss Hawtrey took the jewels?'
+
+Mr. Levine's eyebrows went up again in surprise at the question. 'My
+impression so far is,' he said, 'as between solicitor and counsel, that
+there is not the slightest doubt in the world about it. The girl had got
+into some bad sort of scrape; some blackguard had got her under his
+thumb. She had a good marriage on hand; it was absolutely necessary to
+shut the fellow's mouth. A largish sum was wanted, and she dared not ask
+her father, so she played a bold stroke--a wonderfully bold stroke I
+must say--relying upon brazening it out and getting her father to
+believe--as she evidently has succeeded in doing--that there is a double
+of herself somewhere about, who represented her. All the first part of
+the case is a comparatively ordinary one. This is curious, even to
+me--in its daring audacity, it is really magnificent. Of course, her
+father must pay the money; to defend it would be to ruin her utterly. Do
+you mean to say you don't agree with me?'
+
+'I hardly know what to think,' Danvers said, doubtfully. 'I know Miss
+Hawtrey intimately, and have done so for some years, and in spite of the
+apparent impossibility of her innocence, I own that I cannot bring
+myself to believe in her guilt. She is one of the brightest, frankest,
+and most natural girls I know.'
+
+The lawyer looked at him with a smile of almost pity.
+
+'You surprise me, sir. My experience is that in the majority of cases of
+this kind it is just the very last girl one would suspect who goes
+wrong. Why, my dear sir, if we were to set up such a ridiculous defence
+as this in an action to recover the price of the jewels, we should
+simply be laughed out of court.'
+
+'Mr. Hawtrey tells me that his daughter is most anxious that he should
+defend the case.'
+
+Again the eyebrows went up.
+
+'Of course she would say so. She must know well enough that, whether her
+father put himself into my hands or any one else's, the advice would be
+the same: Pay the money; you have no shadow of a chance of getting a
+verdict, and to bring it into court would utterly ruin your daughter's
+prospects. Of course, it is her cue to appear anxious for a trial,
+knowing perfectly well that such a thing is out of the question.'
+
+'I think you might alter your opinion if you saw her.'
+
+'I certainly should be glad to see her,' Charles Levine said. 'I admire
+talent, and she must be amazingly clever. I have a great respect for
+audacity, and I never heard in all my experience of a more brilliant
+piece of boldness than this. She must be a great actress, too; of the
+highest order. Altogether I should be very glad to see her. She deserves
+to succeed, and as there is no doubt that you and I will be able to
+persuade her father that there is nothing for it but to pay the money. I
+think her success is pretty well assured.'
+
+'I agree with you that this money must be paid, but I am not prepared to
+go further yet.'
+
+'My dear sir,' the lawyer said, 'you confirm the opinion I have always
+held, that the judgment of no man under fifty is worth a penny where a
+young and pretty woman is concerned. Mind, there are many men, perhaps
+the majority, who cannot be trusted in such a matter up to any time of
+life, but up to fifty the rule is almost universal.'
+
+'I am glad to hear it,' Danvers said, 'for in that case your own
+judgment cannot be accepted as final.'
+
+'I rather expected that, Mr. Danvers, but you must remember that in
+matters of this kind I have had more experience than a dozen ordinary
+men of the age of eighty. Now, I really cannot spare any more time. I
+have given your client a good two hours, and my waiting-room must be
+full of angry men. I shall write to Mr. Hawtrey to-morrow to say that
+upon thinking the matter well over my first impressions are more than
+confirmed, and that I am of opinion that no jury in the world would give
+him a verdict, and that it would be nothing short of insanity to go into
+Court. I shall mention, of course, that I am much struck with his theory
+of the affair, which indeed appears to me to furnish the only complete
+explanation of the matter, but that in the absence of a single
+confirmatory piece of evidence it would be hopeless for the most
+eloquent counsel to attempt to persuade twelve British jurymen to
+entertain the theory. I think it would be as well if you were to call on
+him this evening or to-morrow morning and shew him that your view agrees
+with mine. That much you can honestly say, can you not?'
+
+'Certainly. However difficult I may find it to persuade myself that Miss
+Hawtrey is in any way the woman you picture her, I am as convinced as
+you are that it is absolutely necessary that the money should be paid.'
+
+On Mr. Hawtrey reaching his home he found Mrs. Daintree upon the sofa in
+tears, while Dorothy, with a book in her hand, was sitting with an
+unconcerned expression a short distance from her.
+
+'What is the matter now?' he asked testily. 'Upon my word I believe my
+annoyances would have upset Job.'
+
+'Would you believe it? Cousin Dorothy has just declared to me her
+intention of writing to Lord Halliburn to break off the match.'
+
+Mr. Hawtrey did not explode as his cousin had expected that he would do.
+
+'It is not a step to be taken hastily,' he said, gravely, 'but it is one
+upon which Dorothy herself is the best judge. You have not written yet,
+child?'
+
+'No, father. I should not think of doing so without telling you first. I
+have, of course, been thinking a good deal about it, and it certainly
+seems to me that it would be best.'
+
+'Well, a few hours will make no difference. The idea is at present new
+to me: I will think it over quietly this afternoon, and this evening we
+will talk it over together.'
+
+'It would be nothing short of madness for her to do so,' Mrs. Daintree
+said, roused to a state of real anger by Mr. Hawtrey's defection, when
+she had implicitly relied upon his authority being exerted to prevent
+Dorothy from carrying out her intention. 'It would be madness to break
+off so excellent a match. It would make her the talk of the whole town,
+and would seem to confirm all the wicked rumours that have been going
+about.'
+
+'As to the match, cousin, there are as good fish in the sea as ever came
+out of it. As to the public talk, it is better to be talked about for a
+week or two than to have a life's unhappiness. That is the sole point
+with which I concern myself.'
+
+Dorothy, with a softened face now, got up and kissed her father.
+
+'That is right dear,' he said. 'Now let us put the matter aside for the
+present. I have been busy all the morning and want my lunch badly; so
+even if you are not hungry yourself, come down and keep me company.
+Come, cousin, dry your eyes, and put your cap straight, and come down to
+lunch.'
+
+'Food would choke me,' Mrs. Daintree said; 'I have a dreadful headache,
+and shall go and lie down.'
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII
+
+
+'Mr. Danvers is in the library, sir,' a servant announced at nine
+o'clock that evening.
+
+'Will you come down, Dorothy?'
+
+'No, father, I do not want to hear what is said. No doubt he will
+suppose I took the diamonds.'
+
+'No, no, my dear, you should not say that.'
+
+'But I do say that, father. When even Captain Hampton was willing enough
+to believe me guilty, what can I expect from others?'
+
+'You are too hard on Ned altogether, Dorothy, a great deal too hard. He
+spent a month of his leave entirely in your service, and now because he
+could not disbelieve the evidence of his own eyes you turn against him.'
+
+'I am obliged to him for the trouble he has taken, father, but that is
+not what I want at present. I want trust; and I thought that if any one
+would have given it to me fully it would have been Ned Hampton, and
+nothing would have made me doubt him.'
+
+'Well, my dear,' her father said, dryly, 'you may think so now, but if
+you were to see him filling his pockets out of a bank till, I fancy for
+a moment your trust in him would waver. However, I will go down to
+Danvers.'
+
+He returned at the end of twenty minutes.
+
+'His advice is the same as that which, as I mentioned this afternoon,
+Levine gave when I told him of the circumstances, and which I have no
+doubt he will repeat when he has further thought the matter over,
+namely, that unless we can obtain some evidence to support your denial,
+we have no chance of obtaining a verdict if we go into court. Danvers
+says that, of course, to those who know you, the idea of your taking
+these diamonds is absolutely preposterous; still, as the jury will not
+know you, and the public who read the report will not know you, they can
+only go by the evidence. He says that trying to look at it as a
+stranger, his opinion would be that it was an extraordinary case, but
+that unless we believed thoroughly that you had not taken the things, we
+should never have taken so hopeless a case into court. Still, he thinks
+that the verdict of those who only look at the outside of things would
+be that the denial was almost worse than the act. Had it not been for
+the unfortunate rumours previously circulated, many people might be of
+opinion that it was a case of kleptomania, and that no woman in her
+senses would have thus openly carried the things away from a place where
+she was well known.'
+
+'I see all that, father; the more I have thought it over, the more I
+feel that it is certain that every one will be against me.'
+
+'Then in that case, Dorothy, why fight a battle we are certain to lose?
+From the money point of view alone, it would be better to pay this
+twenty-five hundred pounds than the twenty-five hundred pounds plus the
+costs on both sides, which we might put down roughly at another
+thousand. If we pay it now, the matter may never become public, for even
+if the scoundrel was malicious enough to try and get a rumour about it
+into one of these so-called society papers I should doubt whether he
+could do so. In the last case they got the report, no doubt, from some
+one in Scotland Yard, but no editor would be mad enough to risk an
+action for libel with tremendous damages merely on an anonymous report,
+or at best, a report given only on the authority of an impecunious
+hanger-on of the turf. It seems to me, therefore, that we should have
+everything to lose, and nothing to gain, by bringing the matter into
+court.'
+
+'But the same thing may be done again, father; if they have succeeded so
+well now they are sure to try and repeat it.'
+
+'We might take measures to prevent their doing that. The moment the
+thing is settled we will go down into the country, and when we return to
+town next season I will get a companion for you--some bright, sensible
+woman, who will not be half her time laid up with headaches, and who
+will always go with you whenever you go out; so that were such an
+attempt made again, you would be in a position to prove conclusively
+where you were at the time. Danvers suggested that if I pay the money to
+Gilliat I should do so with a written protest, to the effect that I was
+convinced that you had not been in his shop on the day in question, but
+that as I was not in a position to prove this I paid the money,
+reserving to myself the right to reclaim it, should I be at any time in
+a position to prove that you had not been at his shop on that day, or be
+able to produce the woman who represented you. Should the matter by any
+chance ever crop up again, a copy of this protest would be an
+advantage.'
+
+'At any rate, father, I could never marry Lord Halliburn unless this
+matter were entirely cleared up; it would be unfair to him in the
+extreme. He might receive an anonymous letter from these people, and if
+he asked me if it was true, what could I say? He has been greatly upset
+by the other business, what would he say did he know that I have been
+accused of theft? That brings us back to the subject of my engagement.
+You have been thinking it over since lunch, father?'
+
+'Yes, dear, I have been thinking it over as well as I could, and I again
+repeat that the only light in which I can regard it is that of your
+happiness. I quite see that your being engaged to a man in his position
+does add to the embarrassment and difficulty of the position. We have to
+consider not only ourselves but him. Still, that matters after all
+comparatively little. Supposing this matter were all cleared up
+satisfactorily, how would you stand then? You might then bitterly regret
+the step you now want to take.'
+
+'No, father; up to the time when this trouble first began I don't think
+that I thought very seriously about it. Lord Halliburn was very nice, I
+liked him as much as any man I have met. I suppose I was gratified by
+his attentions; every one spoke well of him; I own that I was rather
+proud of carrying him off, and it really seemed to me that I was likely
+to be very happy with him. Since then I have looked at it in a different
+way. I knew, of course, that husbands and wives are supposed to share
+each other's troubles, but it had never really seemed to me that there
+was a likelihood of troubles coming into my life. Well, troubles have
+come, and with them I have come to look at things differently. To begin
+with, I have learnt more of Lord Halliburn's character than I probably
+should have done in all my life if such troubles had not come.
+
+'I have been disappointed in him. I do not say that in the first matter
+he doubted me for an instant--it was not that; but I found out that he
+is altogether selfish. He has thought all through, not how this affected
+me, but how it would affect himself; he has been querulous, exacting,
+and impatient. Had he been the man I thought him he would have been
+kinder and more attentive than before; he would have tried to let every
+one see by his manner to me how wholly he trusted me; he would have
+striven to make things easier for me; but he has made them much harder.
+If I held in my hands now the proofs [missing text] against me, I would
+send them to him and at the same time a letter breaking off my
+engagement. When I think it over, I am sometimes inclined to be almost
+grateful to this trouble, because it has opened my eyes to the fact that
+I have been very nearly making a great mistake, and that, had I married
+Lord Halliburn, my life might have gone on smoothly enough, but that
+there would never have been any real community of feeling between us. He
+would have regarded me as a useful and, perhaps, an ornamental head to
+his house, but I should never have had a home in the true sense of the
+word, father; that is, a home like this.'
+
+'Then that is settled, my dear. Now that you have said as much as you
+have, we need not say another word on the matter. I must say, frankly,
+that I have of late come almost to dislike him, and it has several times
+cost me no inconsiderable effort to keep my temper when I saw how
+entirely he regarded the matter in a personal light, and how little
+thought he gave to the pain and trouble you were going through. I am in
+no hurry to lose you, my dear, and the thought that it might be a few
+months has given me many a heartache. And now, how will you do it?--Will
+you write to him or see him?'
+
+'I would rather tell him, father.'
+
+'You see, dear, both for his sake and your own it must be publicly known
+that the engagement is broken by you, and not by him. It would be very
+unfair on him for it to be supposed that he has taken advantage of these
+rumours to break off his engagement, and it would greatly injure you, as
+people would say that he must have become convinced of their truth.'
+
+Dorothy nodded. 'I will see him, father. I shall speak to him quite
+frankly; I shall tell him that this attack having been made on me it is
+possible that there may be at some future time other troubles from the
+same source, and that it would be unfair to him, in his position as a
+member of the Ministry, for his wife to be made the target of such
+attacks. I shall also tell him that quite apart from this, I feel that I
+acted too hastily and upon insufficient knowledge of him in accepting
+him; that I am convinced that our marriage would not bring to either of
+us that happiness that we have a right to expect. That is all I shall
+say, unless he presses me to go into details, and then I shall speak
+just as frankly as I have done to you.'
+
+'Well, dear, I can only say I am heartily glad,' Mr. Hawtrey said,
+kissing her, 'and am inclined to feel almost grateful to that fellow
+Truscott for giving me back my little girl again. Of course, I know it
+must come some day, but after having been so much to each other for so
+many years, it is a little trying at first to feel that one is no longer
+first in your affections.'
+
+'The idea of such a thing, father,' Dorothy said, indignantly, 'as if I
+ever for a moment put him before you.'
+
+'Well, if you have not, child, it shows very conclusively that you did
+not care for him as a girl should care for a man she is going to marry.
+I do not say that it is so in many marriages that are, as they term it,
+arranged in society, but where there is the real, honest love that there
+ought to be, and such as I hope you will some day feel for some one, he
+becomes, as he should become, first in everything.'
+
+'It seems to me quite impossible, father, that I could love any other
+man as I do you.'
+
+Mr. Hawtrey smiled.
+
+'I hope you will learn it is very possible, some day, Dorothy. Well, at
+any rate, this has done away with your chief reason for objecting to my
+paying for these diamonds. No doubt I shall hear from Levine some time
+to-morrow; at any rate, there is no reason to decide finally for another
+day or two. Gilliat can be in no hurry, and a month's delay may make
+some difference in the situation.'
+
+'Well, dear, is it over?' Mr. Hawtrey asked next day, when Dorothy came
+into his study. 'It was a relief to me when I saw his brougham drive
+off, for I knew that you must be having an unpleasant time of it.'
+
+'Yes; it has not been pleasant, father. He came in looking anxious, as
+he generally has done of late, thinking that my request for him to call
+this morning meant that there was news of some sort, pleasant or
+otherwise. I told him at once that I had been seriously thinking over
+the matter for some time, and that I had for several reasons come to the
+conclusion that it would be better that our engagement should terminate,
+and then gave him my first reason. He was very earnest, and protested
+that as he had never for a moment believed in these rumours he could not
+see that there was any reason whatever for breaking off the engagement.
+I said that I did him full justice in that respect, but that the matter
+had certainly been a great source of annoyance to him, and that I was
+convinced of the probability of further trouble of the same kind, and
+that as we had been powerless to detect the author of this we might be
+as powerless in the future. Then I frankly told him that I knew that his
+hopes were greatly centred in his political career, and that for him to
+have a wife who was the subject of a scandal would be a very serious
+drawback to him. He did not attempt to deny this, but then urged that a
+breach of the engagement at present would be taken to mean that he had
+been affected by the rumours. I said that full justice should be done to
+him in that respect; then, as he still protested--though I am convinced
+that at heart he felt relieved--I added that there were certain other
+reasons into which I need not go fully; that I thought that I had
+accepted him without sufficient consideration, and that I had gradually
+come to feel that we were not altogether suited to each other, and that
+a wife would always occupy but a secondary position in his thoughts,
+politics and public business occupying the first. I said that I had been
+brought up perhaps in an old-fashioned way and entertained the
+old-fashioned idea that a wife should hold the first place.
+
+'He was disposed to be angry, because, no doubt, he felt that it was
+perfectly true. However I said, "Do not be angry, Lord Halliburn. I
+shall be very, very sorry if we part other than good friends. I like and
+esteem you very much, and had it not been for these troubles I should
+never have thought of breaking my engagement to you. As it is, I am
+thinking as much of you as of myself. I am convinced I shall have
+further troubles, and perhaps more serious ones. I have already, in
+fact, had some sort of warning of them, and if they come it would make
+it much harder for me to bear them were our names associated together,
+for I feel that your prospects would be seriously injured as well as my
+own."
+
+'"You talk it over very calmly and coolly," he said, irritably.
+
+'I said that I had been thinking it over calmly for a month and more,
+and that I was sure that it was best for both of us. So at last we
+parted good friends. I have no doubt it is a relief to him as it is to
+me, but just at first, I suppose, it was natural that he should be
+upset. I don't think he had ever thought for a moment of breaking it off
+himself, but I am quite sure that if this other thing comes out he will
+congratulate himself most heartily. Well, there is an end of that,
+father.'
+
+'Yes, my dear; I am sorry, and at the same time I am glad. I don't
+think, dear, that you are the sort of girl who would ever have been very
+happy if you had married without any very real love in the matter. For
+my part I can see nothing enviable in the life of a woman who spends her
+whole life in what is called Society. Two or three months of gaiety in
+the year may be well enough, but to live always in it seems to me one of
+the most wretched ways of spending one's existence. And now, dear, let
+us change the subject altogether. I think for the next few days you had
+better go out again. I propose that we leave town at the end of the week
+and either go down home or, what would be better, go for a couple of
+months on the continent. That will give time for the gossip over the
+engagement being broken off to die out. You did not put off our
+engagement to dine at the Deans' to-day?'
+
+'No, father, I could not write and say two days beforehand that I was
+unwell and unable to come.'
+
+'Very well then, we will go. I always like their dinners, because she
+comes from our neighbourhood and one always meets three or four of our
+Lincolnshire friends.'
+
+'It is the Botanical this afternoon, father. Shall I go there with
+Cousin Mary?'
+
+'Do so by all means, dear.'
+
+As they drove that evening to the Deans', Mr. Hawtrey said, 'I had that
+letter from Levine as I was dressing, Dorothy. He goes over nearly the
+same ground as Danvers did, and is also of opinion that I should pay
+under protest, in order that if at any time we can lay our hands on the
+real offender, we can claim the return of the money. I shall go round in
+the morning and have a talk with Gilliat.'
+
+Dorothy was more herself than she had been for weeks. Her engagement
+had, since her trouble first began, been a greater burden to her than
+she had been willing to admit even to herself. Lord Halliburn had jarred
+upon her constantly, and she had come almost to dread their daily
+meetings.
+
+At an early stage of her troubles she had thought the matter out, and
+had come to the conclusion that she had made a mistake, and was not long
+in arriving at the determination that she would at the end of the season
+ask him to release her from her engagement. Before that she hoped that
+the rumours that had affected him would have died out completely, and
+would not necessarily be associated with the termination of the
+engagement. Had not this fresh trouble arisen, matters would have gone
+on on their old footing until late in the autumn, but this new trouble
+had forced her to act at once, and her first thought had been that it
+was only fair to him to release him at once. She was surprised now at
+the weight that had been lifted from her mind, at the buoyancy of
+spirits which she felt. She was almost indifferent as to the other
+matter.
+
+'You are more like yourself than you have been for weeks, Dorothy,' her
+father said, during the drive.
+
+'I feel like a bird that has got out of a cage, father. It was not a bad
+cage, it was very nicely gilt and in all ways a desirable one, still it
+was a cage, and I feel very happy indeed in feeling that I am out of
+it.'
+
+Dorothy enjoyed her dinner and laughed and talked merrily with the
+gentleman who had taken her down. Mrs. Dean remarked to her husband
+afterwards that the absence of Lord Halliburn, who sent a letter of
+regret that important business would prevent his fulfilling his
+engagement, did not seem to be any great disappointment to Dorothy
+Hawtrey.
+
+'I never saw her in better spirits, my dear; lately I have been feeling
+quite anxious about her; she was beginning to look quite worn from the
+trouble of those abominable stories.'
+
+'I expect she feels Halliburn's absence a positive relief,' he said.
+'You know you remarked, yourself, the last time we saw them out, how
+glum and sulky he looked, and you said that if you were in her place you
+would throw him over without hesitation.'
+
+'I know I said so, and do you know I wondered at dinner whether she had
+not come to the same conclusion.'
+
+'Dorothy has lots of spirit,' Mr. Dean said, 'and is quite capable of
+kicking over the traces. I should say there is no pluckier rider than
+that girl in all Lincolnshire, and I fancy that a woman who doesn't
+flinch from the stiffest jump would not hesitate for a moment in
+throwing over even the best match of the season if he offended her. She
+is a dear good girl, is Dorothy Hawtrey, and I don't think that she is a
+bit spoilt by her success this season. I always thought she made a
+mistake in accepting Halliburn; he is not half good enough for her. He
+may be an earl, and an Under-Secretary of State, but he is no more fit
+to run in harness with Dorothy Hawtrey than he is to fly.'
+
+When the gentlemen came up after dinner Dorothy made room on the sofa on
+which she was sitting for an old friend who walked across to her. Mr.
+Singleton was a near neighbour down in Lincolnshire; he was a bachelor,
+and Dorothy had always been a great pet of his.
+
+'Well, my dear,' he said, as he took a seat beside her, 'I am heartily
+glad to see you looking quite yourself again to-night, and to know that
+I have been able to help my little favourite out of a scrape.'
+
+Dorothy's eyes opened wide. 'To help me out of a scrape, Mr. Singleton!
+Why, what scrape have you helped me out of?'
+
+'I beg your pardon, my dear,' he said hastily. 'I told you we would
+never speak of the matter again, and here I am, like an old fool,
+bringing it up the very first time I meet you.'
+
+Dorothy's face paled.
+
+'Mr. Singleton,' she said, 'I seem to be surrounded by mysteries. Do I
+understand you to say that you have done me some kindness lately--helped
+me out of some scrape?'
+
+'Well, my dear, those were your own words,' he replied, looking
+surprised in turn; 'but please do not let us say anything more about
+it.'
+
+Dorothy sat quiet for a minute, then she made a sign to her father, who
+was standing at the other side of the room, to come across to her.
+'Father,' she said, 'will you ask Mr. Singleton to drive home with us; I
+am afraid there is some fresh trouble, and, at any rate, I must speak to
+him, and this is not the place for questions. Please let us go as soon
+as the carriage comes. Now, will you please go away, Mr. Singleton, and
+leave me to myself for a minute or two, for my head is in a whirl?'
+
+'But, my dear,' he began, but was stopped by an impatient wave of
+Dorothy's hand.
+
+'What is it, Singleton?' Mr. Hawtrey asked, as they went across the
+room.
+
+'I am completely puzzled,' he replied; 'what Dorothy means by asking me
+to come with you, and to answer questions, is a complete mystery to me.
+Please don't ask me any questions now. I have evidently put my foot into
+it somehow, though I have not the least idea how.'
+
+Ten minutes later the carriage was announced. As she took her place in
+it, Dorothy said, 'Don't ask any questions until we are at home.'
+
+The two men were far too puzzled to talk on any indifferent subject. Not
+a word was spoken until they arrived at Chester Square.
+
+'Has Mrs. Daintree gone to bed?' Dorothy asked the footman.
+
+'Yes, Miss Hawtrey; she went a quarter of an hour ago.'
+
+'Are the lights still burning in the drawing-room?'
+
+'Yes, miss.'
+
+They went upstairs.
+
+'Now, Dorothy, what does all this mean?' her father asked, impatiently.
+
+'That is what we have got to learn, father. Mr. Singleton congratulated
+me on having recovered my spirits, and took some credit to himself for
+having helped me out of a scrape. As I do not in the least know what he
+means, I want him to give you and me the particulars.'
+
+'But, my dear Dorothy,' Mr. Singleton said, 'why on earth do you ask me
+that question? Surely you cannot wish me to mention anything about that
+trifling affair.'
+
+'But I do, Mr. Singleton. You do not know the position in which I am
+placed at present. I am surrounded by mysteries, I am accused of things
+I never did. Now it seems as if there were a fresh one; possibly if you
+tell us the exact particulars of what you were speaking of it may help
+us to get to the bottom of it.'
+
+'I don't understand it in the least,' Mr. Singleton said, gravely. 'You
+are quite sure, Dorothy, that you wish me to repeat before your father
+the exact details of our interview?'
+
+'If you please, Mr. Singleton; every little minute particular.'
+
+'Of course I will do as you wish, my dear,' the old gentleman said,
+kindly, 'it seems to me madness, but if you really wish it I will do so.
+If I make any mistake correct me at once. Well, this is the story,
+Hawtrey. I need not tell you it would never have passed my lips, except
+at Dorothy's request. A short time since, a fortnight or three weeks, I
+cannot tell you the day exactly, my servant brought me up word that a
+lady wished to see me. She had given no name, but I supposed it was one
+of these charity collecting women, so I told her to show her in. To my
+surprise it was Miss Dorothy. After shaking hands she sat down, and to
+my astonishment burst into tears. It was some time before I could pacify
+her, and get her to tell me what was the matter; then she told me that
+she had got into a dreadful scrape, that she dared not tell you, that it
+would be ruin to her, and that she had come to me as one of her oldest
+friends, to ask me if I could help her to get out of it.
+
+'Of course, I said I would do anything, and at last, with great
+difficulty, and after another burst of crying, she told me that she must
+have a thousand pounds to save her. She said something about wanting to
+pawn some of her jewels, but this would not come to enough. Of course, I
+pooh-poohed this, and said that I was very sorry to hear that she had
+got into a scrape, but that a thousand pounds were a trifle to me in
+comparison to the happiness of the daughter of an old friend. She was
+very reluctant to receive it, and wanted, at least, to pawn her jewels
+for two or three hundred pounds, but I said that that was nonsense, and
+eventually I drew a cheque for a thousand pounds, which I made payable
+to Mary Brown or bearer, as I, naturally, did not wish her name to
+appear at all in the matter.
+
+'She was most grateful for it. I told her that, of course, I should
+never allude to the matter again, and that she was not to trouble about
+it in the slightest, for that I had put her down for five thousand
+pounds in my will and would change the figure to four, so that she would
+only be getting the money a little earlier than I had intended. This
+evening, unfortunately, I was stupid enough, in saying that I was
+pleased to see her looking more like her old self, to add that I was
+glad to know that I had been the means of helping my little favourite
+out of a scrape. It was stupid of me, I admit, to have even thus far
+broken my promise never to allude to the thing again, but why she should
+have insisted upon my telling a story--painful to both of us--to you, is
+altogether beyond my comprehension.'
+
+Mr. Hawtrey was too much astonished to ask any questions, but looked
+helplessly at Dorothy, who said quietly--
+
+'Thank you for telling the story, Mr. Singleton, and thank you still
+more for so generously coming, as you believed, to my assistance. You
+cannot remember exactly which day it was?'
+
+'No, my dear, but I could see the date on the counterfoil of my
+cheque-book.'
+
+'Was it the fifteenth of last month, Mr. Singleton?'
+
+'Fifteenth? Well, I cannot say exactly, but it would be somewhere about
+that time.'
+
+'And about what time of day?'
+
+'Some time in the afternoon, I know; somewhere between three and four, I
+should say. I know I had not been back long after lunching at the
+Travellers'. I generally leave there about three, and it is not more
+than five minutes' walk up to the Albany.'
+
+'Now, father, please tell Mr. Singleton about Gilliat's.'
+
+'But, Dorothy,' Mr. Singleton exclaimed, when he heard the story, 'it is
+absolutely impossible that you could have done such a thing.'
+
+'It seems to me impossible, Mr. Singleton, but here is the evidence of
+two people that I did do it; and now I have your evidence that on the
+same afternoon I came to you and obtained a thousand pounds from you.
+Either those two men were dreaming or out of their minds, and you were
+dreaming or out of your mind, or I am out of my mind and do things
+unconsciously. My own belief is that I can account for my whole
+afternoon,' and she repeated the details that she had given her father
+as to her movements. 'But even if I could have done these things without
+knowing it, where are the jewels and where is the cheque?'
+
+'The cheque was presented next day and paid. It came back with my bank
+book at the end of the month.'
+
+'It is not often I go out in the morning,' Dorothy said, 'and I should
+think I could prove that I did not do so on the morning of the 16th; but
+I cannot be sure if, in a state of somnambulism or in a sort of trance,
+I did not call at the jewellers and on you. I might, had I gone out,
+have changed that cheque in a similar state. That would have been a
+straightforward thing, but how could I get rid of the jewels? If I had
+them now and wanted to raise money on them I should not have the least
+idea how to do so, and I could hardly have carried out such a scheme in
+a state of unconsciousness. The jewellers say I was dressed in a blue
+dress with red spots, and I went out in a gown of that pattern on that
+day.'
+
+'I did not notice the dress particularly,' Mr. Singleton said, 'but it
+was certainly a blue of some sort. Of course it is quite out of the
+question that you could have done all these things unconsciously; but
+what does it all mean? I am absolutely bewildered.'
+
+'We have only one theory to account for it, Singleton. We believe, in
+fact we are positively convinced, that there is somewhere a girl so
+exactly resembling Dorothy that even those who know her well, like
+yourself, might take one for the other, and that she and perhaps an
+accomplice are taking advantage of this likeness to personate Dorothy.
+They have even gone the length of having a dress made exactly like hers.
+I will now tell you the real history of that affair that got into the
+papers. You will see that the party we believe to be at the bottom of it
+would know, or would have means of finding out, that Gilliat was our
+family jeweller, and that you were an intimate friend. Our theory is
+that revenge as well as plunder was the motive, and that the first part
+of the affair was simply an endeavour to injure Dorothy, and to suggest
+a motive for her need of money just at this time.'
+
+'It is an extraordinary story,' Mr. Singleton said, when he heard it
+all. 'I cannot doubt that it is as you suggest. That my little Dorothy
+should behave in this way is too ridiculous to be believed for a moment;
+though I own that I should have been ready, if obliged, to swear in
+court that it was she who came to me.'
+
+'Did she wear a veil?' Dorothy asked, suddenly. 'I forgot to ask Mr.
+Gilliat that.'
+
+'Yes, she had a veil on and kept it down all the time. It was a warm day
+and I rather wondered afterwards at your wearing it, for I do not think
+I ever saw you in a veil. But I supposed that you did not want to be
+seen coming up to me, and that perhaps you felt that you could tell your
+story more easily behind it.'
+
+'Was it a thick veil?'
+
+'No, it seemed to me the usual sort of thing ladies wear.'
+
+'Did you notice anything particular about the voice?'
+
+Mr. Singleton thought for a minute. 'I did not notice anything at the
+time. Of course it differed from your ordinary voice as I am accustomed
+to hear it. You see she was crying, with a handkerchief up to her face,
+and spoke low and hesitatingly. All of which changes the voice. I never
+doubted it was you, you see, and as I had never heard you speak in low,
+broken tones, sobbing and crying, any difference there may have been did
+not strike me.'
+
+'But altogether, Mr. Singleton, even now that I declare that I was not
+the person who called upon you, you can, thinking it over, see nothing
+that would lead you to doubt that it was myself.'
+
+Mr. Singleton shook his head. 'No, Dorothy, I am sorry to say that I
+cannot. Your word is quite sufficient for me, and I feel as certain that
+this woman was an impostor as if she herself came forward to own it. The
+likeness, however, in figure and in face was extraordinary, although I
+admit that the veil made an alteration in the face. It always does. I
+frequently pass ladies I know well, and if they have thick veils down do
+not recognise them until they bow and smile. There was just that
+difference between the face and yours as I usually see it. I can
+remember now that as you, or rather this woman came into the room, I did
+not for the first instant recognise her owing to the veil; it was but
+momentarily, just the same hesitation I have so often felt before,
+neither more nor less.'
+
+'However, it was possible, Mr. Singleton, that the resemblance may not
+have been absolutely perfect, and that had she not had a veil on you
+would have seen it at once.'
+
+'That is possible, quite possible,' Mr. Singleton assented.
+
+'And now, Singleton, as an old friend, tell me what is to be done.
+To-day we had all but settled that I should pay the value of those
+diamonds to Gilliat. Dorothy has been anxious that I should fight the
+case, but Levine, into whose hands I put myself, and Danvers, who would
+have been one of our counsel, were both so strongly of opinion that we
+had no chance whatever of getting a verdict, and that it would greatly
+damage Dorothy, that I persuaded her to let me pay. But, you see, this
+affair of yours changes the position of affairs altogether. As she has
+victimised you, so she may victimise others of my friends, as well as
+other tradesmen, and it seems to me that the only way to put a stop to
+that will be publicity.'
+
+'I think, Hawtrey, that the first person to be consulted in the matter
+is Lord Halliburn. You see this game may go on again in the future on
+even a larger scale, for the Countess of Halliburn's orders would be
+fulfilled without a moment's hesitation by any tradesman in London.'
+
+'There is no need to consult him, Singleton; Dorothy broke off the
+engagement with him this morning. You need not commiserate her,' he went
+on, as Mr. Singleton was about to express his deep regret. 'I may tell
+you, as an old friend, that there were perhaps other reasons besides
+these troubles, and that, for myself, I am heartily glad that the
+engagement is at an end.'
+
+'Well, if that is the case, I may say I am glad too, Hawtrey. Of course,
+the match was a good one, but I never altogether fancied it, and had
+always felt some disappointment that my little favourite should be, as I
+thought, making a match for position instead of for love. So it was
+that, young lady, and not, as I was fool enough to fancy, getting out of
+a money scrape, that made you so bright and like yourself at dinner this
+evening?'
+
+Dorothy smiled faintly.
+
+'It was getting out of a scrape, you see, Mr. Singleton, although not
+the one you thought of. I think you are a little hard on me. I certainly
+should not have accepted Lord Halliburn unless at the time I had thought
+I liked him very much; but I think that during the trouble I had I came
+to see that something more than liking is necessary, and that a man who
+may be a very pleasant member of society would not necessarily make so
+pleasant a partner in life.'
+
+'Well, now as to your advice, Singleton.'
+
+'I can give none, Hawtrey. The matter is too important and too much out
+of my line for my opinion to be worth a fig; but I will tell you what I
+will do. It is clear that you must see Levine and tell him about this
+affair; if you write and make an appointment with him to-morrow, say at
+twelve o'clock, I will call here at half-past eleven and go with you. If
+you will take my advice you will take Dorothy with you. Levine is pretty
+well accustomed to read faces, and I think he will be more likely to
+take our view of the matter when he has once seen her. You may as well
+sit down and write a note at once; I will post it as I drive back. I
+think, too, I would write to Danvers and ask him to be there; he is a
+clever young fellow, and his opinion may help us. While you are writing
+I will get Dorothy to tell your footman to whistle for a hansom for me.'
+
+
+END OF THE FIRST VOLUME
+
+
+
+
+NEW LIBRARY NOVELS.
+
+
+THE ONE TOO MANY. By E. Lynn Linton.
+
+IN DIREST PERIL. By David Christie Murray.
+
+THE TIGER LILY: a Tale of Two Passions. By G. Manville Fenn.
+
+THE RED-HOUSE MYSTERY. By Mrs. Hungerford.
+
+THE COMMON ANCESTOR. By John Hill.
+
+DOROTHY'S DOUBLE. By G. A. Henty.
+
+CHRISTINA CHARD. By Mrs. Campbell Praed.
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Dorothy's Double, by G. A. Henty
+
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+
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Dorothy's Double, by G. A. Henty
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Dorothy's Double
+       Volume I (of 3)
+
+Author: G. A. Henty
+
+Release Date: May 14, 2011 [EBook #36103]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DOROTHY'S DOUBLE ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by David Edwards, Mary Meehan and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This
+file was produced from images generously made available
+by The Internet Archive)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+</pre>
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<h1>DOROTHY'S DOUBLE</h1>
+
+<h2>BY G. A. HENTY</h2>
+
+<h3>AUTHOR OF 'RUJUB THE JUGGLER' 'IN THE DAYS OF THE MUTINY'<br /> 'THE CURSE OF
+CARNE'S HOLD' ETC.</h3>
+
+
+<h3>IN THREE VOLUMES&mdash;VOL. I.</h3>
+
+<h3>London<br />
+CHATTO &amp; WINDUS PICCADILLY<br />
+1894</h3>
+
+<h3>PRINTED BY<br />
+SPOTTISWOODE AND CO., NEW-STREET SQUARE<br />
+LONDON</h3>
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+
+<!-- Autogenerated TOC. Modify or delete as required. -->
+<p>
+<a href="#PROLOGUE">PROLOGUE</a><br />
+<a href="#CHAPTER_I">CHAPTER I</a><br />
+<a href="#CHAPTER_II">CHAPTER II</a><br />
+<a href="#CHAPTER_III">CHAPTER III</a><br />
+<a href="#CHAPTER_IV">CHAPTER IV</a><br />
+<a href="#CHAPTER_V">CHAPTER V</a><br />
+<a href="#CHAPTER_VI">CHAPTER VI</a><br />
+<a href="#CHAPTER_VII">CHAPTER VII</a><br />
+<a href="#CHAPTER_VIII">CHAPTER VIII</a><br /><br />
+<a href="#NEW_LIBRARY_NOVELS">NEW LIBRARY NOVELS.</a><br />
+</p>
+<!-- End Autogenerated TOC. -->
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2>DOROTHY'S DOUBLE</h2>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="PROLOGUE" id="PROLOGUE"></a>PROLOGUE</h2>
+
+
+<p>A dark night on the banks of the Thames; the south-west wind, heavily
+charged with sleet, was blowing strongly, causing little waves to lap
+against the side of a punt moored by the bank. Its head-rope was tied
+round a weeping willow which had shed most of its leaves, and whose
+pendent boughs swayed and waved in the gusts, sending at times a shower
+of heavy drops upon a man leaning against its trunk. Beyond stretched a
+broad lawn with clumps of shrubs, and behind loomed the shadow of a
+mansion, but so faintly that it might have passed unnoticed in the
+darkness had it not been for some lights in the upper windows.</p>
+
+<p>At times the man changed his position, muttering impatiently as the
+water made its way down between his collar and neck and soaked through
+his clothes to the shoulders.</p>
+
+<p>'I must have been waiting an hour!' he exclaimed at last. 'If she
+doesn't come soon I shall begin to think that something has prevented
+her getting out. It will be no joke to have to come again to-morrow
+night if it keeps on like this. It has been raining for the last three
+days without a stop, and looks as if it would keep on as much longer.'</p>
+
+<p>A few minutes later he started as he made out a figure in the darkness.
+It approached him, and stopped ten yards away.</p>
+
+<p>'Are you there?' a female voice asked.</p>
+
+<p>'Of course I am,' he replied, 'and a nice place it is to be waiting in
+for over an hour on such a night as this. Have you got it?'</p>
+
+<p>'Yes.'</p>
+
+<p>'That is all right. Well, chuck your bonnet down there, three or four
+feet from the edge of the water.'</p>
+
+<p>'And my cloak? I have brought that and a shawl, as you told me.'</p>
+
+<p>'No; give it to me. Now get into the boat, and we will shove off.'</p>
+
+<p>As soon as the woman had seated herself in the punt the man unfastened
+the head-rope and stepped in; then, taking a long pole in his hand, he
+let the boat drift down with the strong stream, keeping close to the
+bank. Where the lawn ended there was a clump of bushes overhanging the
+water. He caught hold of these, broke off two branches that dipped into
+the stream, then, hauling the punt a little farther in, he took the
+cloak the woman had handed to him and hitched it fast round a stump that
+projected an inch or two above the swollen stream.</p>
+
+<p>'That will do the trick,' he said. 'They will find it there when the
+river falls.' Then he poled the boat out and let her drift again. 'You
+have brought another bonnet, I see, Polly.'</p>
+
+<p>'You don't suppose I was going to be such a fool as to leave myself
+bareheaded on such a night as this,' she said sullenly.</p>
+
+<p>'Well, there is no occasion to be bad-tempered; it has been a deal worse
+for me than it has for you, waiting an hour and a half there, besides
+being a good half-hour poling this tub up against the stream. I suppose
+it went off all right?'</p>
+
+<p>'Yes, there was no difficulty about it. I kicked up a row and pretended
+to be drunk. Not too bad, or they would have turned me straight out of
+the house, but I was told I was to go the first thing in the morning.
+The rest was easy enough. I had only to slip down, get it, and be off,
+but I had to wait some time at the door. I opened it about an inch or
+two, and had to stand there listening until I was sure they were both
+asleep. I am sorry I ever did it. I had half a mind to chuck it up three
+or four times, but&mdash;&mdash;'</p>
+
+<p>'But you thought better of it, Polly. Well, you were perfectly right;
+fifty pounds down and a pound a week regular, that ain't so bad you
+know, especially as you were out of a place, and had no character to
+show.'</p>
+
+<p>'But mind,' she said threateningly, 'no harm is to come to it. I don't
+know what your game is, but you promised me that, and if you break your
+word I will peach, as true as my name is Polly Green. I don't care what
+they do to me, but I will split on you and tell the whole business.'</p>
+
+<p>'Don't you alarm yourself about nothing,' he said, good-temperedly. 'I
+know what my game is, and that is enough for you. Why, if I wanted to
+get rid of it and you too I have only to drive my heel through the side
+of this rotten old craft. I could swim to shore easily enough, but when
+they got the drags out to-morrow they would bring something up in them.
+Here is the end of the island.'</p>
+
+<p>A few pushes with the pole, and the punt glided in among several other
+craft lying at the strand opposite Isleworth Church. The man helped the
+woman with her burden ashore, and knotted the head-rope to that of the
+boat next to it.</p>
+
+<p>'That is how it was tied when I borrowed it,' he said; 'her owner will
+never dream that she has been out to-night.'</p>
+
+<p>'What next?' the woman asked.</p>
+
+<p>'We have got to walk to Brentford. I have got a light trap waiting for
+me there. It is a little crib I use sometimes, and they gave me the key
+of the stable-door, so I can get the horse out and put him in the trap
+myself. I said I was starting early in the morning, and they won't know
+whether it is at two or five that I go out. I brought down a couple of
+rugs, so you will be able to keep pretty dry, and I have got a
+driving-coat for myself. We shall be down at Greenwich at that little
+crib you have taken by six o'clock. You have got the key, I suppose?'</p>
+
+<p>'Yes. The fire is laid, and we can have a cup of tea before you drive
+back. Then I shall turn in for a good long sleep.'</p>
+
+<p>An hour later they were driving rapidly towards London.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_I" id="CHAPTER_I"></a>CHAPTER I</h2>
+
+
+<p>A slatternly woman was standing at the entrance of a narrow court in one
+of the worst parts of Chelsea. She was talking to a neighbour belonging
+to the next court, who had paused for a moment for a gossip in her
+passage towards a public-house.</p>
+
+<p>'Your Sal is certainly an owdacious one,' she said. 'I saw her yesterday
+evening when you were out looking for her. I told her she would get it
+hot if she didn't get back home as soon as she could, and she jest
+laughed in my face and said I had best mind my own business. I told her
+I would slap her face if she cheeked me, and she said, "I ain't your
+husband, Mrs. Bell, and if you were to try it on you would find that I
+could slap quite as hard as you can."'</p>
+
+<p>'She is getting quite beyond me, Mrs. Bell. I don't know what to do with
+her. I have thrashed her as long as I could stand over her, but what is
+the good? The first time the door is open she just takes her hook and I
+don't see her again for days. I believe she sleeps in the Park, and I
+suppose she either begs or steals to keep herself. At the end of a week
+maybe she will come in again, just the same as if she had only been out
+for an hour. "How have you been getting on since I have been away?" she
+will say. "No one to scrub your floor; no one to help you when you are
+too drunk to find your bed," and then she laughs fit to make yer blood
+run cold. Owdacious ain't no name for that wench, Mrs. Bell. Why, there
+ain't a boy in this court of her own size as ain't afraid of her. She is
+a regular tiger-cat, she is; and if they says anything to her, she just
+goes for them tooth and nail. I shan't be able to put up with her ways
+much longer. Well, yes; I don't mind if I do take a two of gin with
+you.'</p>
+
+<p>They had been gone but a minute or two when a man turned in at the
+court. He looked about forty, was clean shaven, and wore a rough
+great-coat, a scarlet and blue tie with a horseshoe pin, and tightly cut
+trousers, which, with the tie and pin, gave him a somewhat horsey
+appearance. More than one of the inhabitants of the court glanced
+sharply at him as he came in, wondering what business he could have
+there. He asked no questions, but went in at an open door, picked his
+way up the rickety stairs to the top of the house, and knocked at a
+door. There was no reply. He knocked again louder and more impatiently;
+then, with a muttered oath, descended the stairs.</p>
+
+<p>'Who are you wanting?' a woman asked, as he paused at a lower door.</p>
+
+<p>'I am looking for Mrs. Phillips; she is not in her room.'</p>
+
+<p>'I just saw her turn off with Mother Bell. I expect you will find them
+at the bar of the Lion, lower down the street.'</p>
+
+<p>With a word of thanks he went down the court, waited two or three
+minutes near the entrance, and then walked in the direction of the
+public-house. He had gone but a short distance, however, when he saw the
+two women come out. They stood gossiping for three or four minutes, and
+then the woman he was in search of came towards him, while the other
+went on down the street.</p>
+
+<p>'Hello, Mr. Warbles!' Mrs. Phillips exclaimed when she came near to him;
+'who would have thought of seeing you? Why, it is a year or more since
+you were here last, though I must say as your money comes every month
+regular; not as it goes far, I can tell you, for that girl is enough to
+eat one out of 'arth and 'ome.'</p>
+
+<p>'Well, never mind that now,' he said impatiently, 'that will keep till
+we get upstairs. I have been up there and found that you were out. I
+want to have a talk with you. Where is the girl?'</p>
+
+<p>'Ah, where indeed, Mr. Warbles; there is never no telling where Sal is;
+maybe she is in the next court, maybe she is the other side of town. She
+is allus on the move. I have locked up her boots sometimes, but it is no
+odds to Sal. She would just as lief go barefoot as not.'</p>
+
+<p>By this time they arrived at the door of the room, and after some
+fumbling in her pocket the woman produced the key and they went in. It
+was a poverty-stricken room; a rickety table and two chairs, a small bed
+in one corner and some straw with a ragged rug thrown over it in
+another, a kettle and a frying-pan, formed its whole furniture. Mr.
+Warbles looked round with an air of disgust.</p>
+
+<p>'You ought to be able to do better than this, Kitty,' he said.</p>
+
+<p>'I s'pose as I ought,' she said philosophically, 'but you know me,
+Warbles; it's the drink as does it.'</p>
+
+<p>'The drink has done it in your case, surely enough,' he said, as he saw
+in his mind's eye a trim figure behind the bar of a country
+public-house, and looked at the coarse, bloated, untidy creature before
+him.'</p>
+
+<p>'Well, it ain't no use grunting over it,' she said. 'I could have
+married well enough in the old days, if it hadn't been that I was always
+losing my places from it, and so it has gone on, and I would not change
+now if I could. A temperance chap come down the court a week or two ago,
+a-preaching, and after a-going on for some time his eye falls on me, and
+says he to me, "My good woman, does the demon of drink possess you
+also?" And says I, "He possesses me just as long as I have got money in
+my pocket." "Then," says he, "why don't you take the pledge and turn
+from it all?" "'Cause," says I, "it is just the one pleasure I have in
+life; what should I do I should like to know without it? I could dress
+more flash, and I could get more sticks of furniture in my room, which
+is all very well to one as holds to such things, but what should I care
+for them?" "You would come to be a decent member of society," says he. I
+tucks up my sleeves. "I ain't going to stand no 'pertinence from you,
+nor from no one," says I, and I makes for him, and he picks up his bag
+of tracts, and runs down the court like a little dog with a big dog
+arter him. I don't think he is likely to try this court again.'</p>
+
+<p>'No, I suppose you are not going to change now, Kitty. I have come here
+to see the girl,' he went on, changing the subject abruptly.</p>
+
+<p>'Well, you will see her if she comes in, and you won't if she don't
+happen to, that is all I can say about it. What are you going to do
+about her? It is about time as you did something. I have done what I
+agreed to do when you brought her to me when she was three years old.
+Says you, "The woman who has been taking charge of this child is dead,
+and I want you to take her." Says I, "You know well enough, Warbles, as
+I ain't fit to take care of no child. I am just going down as fast as I
+can, and it won't be long before I shall have to choose between the
+House and the river." "I can see that well enough," says you, "but I
+don't care how she is brought up so as she lives. She can run about
+barefoot through the streets and beg for coppers, for aught I care, but
+I want her to live for reasons of my own. I will pay you five shillings
+a week for her regular, and if you spend, as I suppose you will, one
+shilling on her food and four shillings on drink for yourself, it ain't
+no business of mine. I could have put her for the same money in some
+country cottage where she would have been well looked after, but I want
+her to grow up in the slums, just a ragged girl like the rest of them,
+and if you won't take her there is plenty as will on those terms." So I
+says, "Yes," and I have done it, and there ain't a raggeder or more
+owdacious gal in all the town, East or West.'</p>
+
+<p>'That is all right, Kitty; but I saw someone yesterday, and it has
+altered my plans&mdash;but I must have a look at her first. I saw her when I
+called a year ago; I suppose she has not changed since then?'</p>
+
+<p>'She is a bit taller, and, I should say, thinner, which comes of
+restlessness, and not for want of food. But she ain't changed otherwise,
+except as she is getting too much for me, and I have been wishing for
+some time to see you. I ain't no ways a good woman, Warbles, but the gal
+is fifteen now, and a gal of fifteen is nigh a woman in these courts,
+and I have made up my mind as I won't have her go wrong while she is on
+my hands, and if I had not seen you soon I should just have taken her by
+the shoulder and gone off to the workhouse with her.'</p>
+
+<p>'They would not have taken her in without you,' the man said with a hard
+laugh.</p>
+
+<p>'I would have gone in, too, for the sake of getting her in. I know I
+could not have stood it for many days, but I would have done it.
+However, the first time I got leave to come out I would have taken my
+hook altogether and got a room at the other end of the town, and left
+her there with them. I could not have done better for her than that, but
+that would have been a sight better than her stopping here, and if she
+went wrong after that I should not have had it on my conscience.'</p>
+
+<p>'Well, that is all right, Kitty; I agree with you this is not the best
+place in the world for her, and I think it likely that I may take her
+away altogether.'</p>
+
+<p>'I am glad to hear it. I have never been able to make out what your game
+was. One thing I was certain of&mdash;that it was no good. I know a good many
+games that you have had a hand in, and there was not a good one among
+them, and I don't suppose this differs from the rest. Anyhow, I shall be
+glad to be shot of her. I don't want to lose the five bob a week, but I
+would rather shift without it than have her any longer now she is
+a-growing up.'</p>
+
+<p>The man muttered something between his teeth, but at the moment a step
+was heard coming up the stairs.</p>
+
+<p>'That's Sal,' the woman said; 'you are in luck this time, Warbles.'</p>
+
+<p>The door opened, and a girl came in. She was thin and gaunt, her eyes
+were large, her hair was rough and unkempt, there were smears of dirt on
+her face and an expression of mingled distrust and defiance.</p>
+
+<p>'Who have you got here?' she asked, scowling at Mr. Warbles.</p>
+
+<p>'It is the gent as you saw a year ago, Sally; the man as I told you had
+put you with me and paid regular towards your keep.'</p>
+
+<p>'What does he want?' the girl asked, but without removing her glance
+from the man.</p>
+
+<p>'He wants to have a talk with you, Sally. I do not know exactly what he
+wants to say, but it is for your good.'</p>
+
+<p>'I dunno that,' she replied; 'he don't look like as if he was one to do
+anyone a good turn without getting something out of it.'</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Warbles shifted about uneasily in his chair.</p>
+
+<p>'Don't you mind her, Mr. Warbles,' the woman said; 'she is a limb, she
+is, and no mistake, but she has got plenty of sense. But you had best
+talk to her straight if you want her to do anything; then if she says
+she will, she will; if she says she won't, you may take your oath you
+won't drive her. Now, Sal, be reasonable, and hear what the gentleman
+has to say.'</p>
+
+<p>'Well, why don't he go on, then?' the girl retorted; 'who is a-stopping
+him?'</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Warbles had come down impressed with the idea that the proposition
+he had to make would be received with enthusiasm, but he now felt some
+doubt on the subject. He wondered for a moment whether it would be best
+to speak as Mrs. Phillips advised him or to stick to the story he had
+intended to tell. He concluded that the former way was the best.</p>
+
+<p>'I am going to speak perfectly straight to you, Sally,' he began.</p>
+
+<p>The girl looked keenly at him beneath her long eyelashes, and her face
+expressed considerable doubt.</p>
+
+<p>'I am in the betting line,' he said; 'horse-racing, you know; and I am
+mixed up in other things, and there is many a job I might be able to
+carry out if I had a sharp girl to help me. I can see you are sharp
+enough&mdash;there is no fear about that&mdash;but you see sharpness is not the
+only thing. A girl to be of use must be able to dress herself up and
+pass as a lady, and to do that she must have some sort of education so
+as to be able to speak as ladies speak. I ought to have begun earlier
+with you, I know, but it was only when thinking of you a day or two ago
+that it struck me you would do for the work. You will have to go to
+school, or at least to be under the care of someone who can teach you,
+for three years. I don't suppose you like the thought of it, but you
+will have a good time afterwards. You will be well dressed and live
+comfortably, and all you will have to do will be to play a part
+occasionally, which to a clever girl will be nothing.'</p>
+
+<p>'I should learn to read and write and to be able to understand books and
+such like?'</p>
+
+<p>'Certainly you would.'</p>
+
+<p>'Then I am ready,' she said firmly; 'I don't care what you do with me
+afterwards. What I want most of anything in the world is to be able to
+read and write. You can do nothing if you can't do that. I do not
+suppose I shall like schooling, but it cannot be so bad as tramping
+about the streets like this,' and she pointed to her clothes and
+dilapidated boots, 'so if you mean what you say I am ready.'</p>
+
+<p>The thought that she was intended to bear a part in dishonest courses
+afterwards did not for a moment trouble her. Half of the inhabitants of
+the court were ready to steal anything worth selling if an opportunity
+offered. She herself had often done so. She had no moral sense of right
+or wrong whatever, and regarded theft as simply an exercise of skill and
+quickness, and as an incident in the war between herself and society as
+represented by the police. As to counterfeit coin, she had passed it
+again and again, for a man came up once a fortnight or so with a roll of
+coin for which Mrs. Phillips paid him about a fourth of its face value.
+These she never attempted to pass in Chelsea, but tramped far away to
+the North, South or East, carrying with her a jug hidden under her
+tattered shawl, and going into public houses for a pint of beer for
+father.</p>
+
+<p>This she considered far more hazardous work than pilfering, and her
+quickness of eye and foot had alone saved her many times, as if the
+barman, instead of dropping the coin into the till, looked at it with
+suspicion and then proceeded to test it she was off like a deer, and was
+out of sight round the next turning long before the man could get to the
+door. The fact that she was evidently considered sharp enough to take
+part in frauds requiring cleverness and address gratified rather than
+inclined her to reject the proposition.</p>
+
+<p>'It ain't very grateful of you, Sally, to be so willing to leave me
+after all I have done for you,' Mrs. Phillips said, rather hurt at her
+ready acceptance of the offer.</p>
+
+<p>'Grateful for what?' the girl said scornfully, turning fiercely upon
+her; 'you have been paid for feeding me and what have you done more?
+Haven't I prigged for you, and run the risk of being sent to quod for
+getting rid of your dumps? Haven't you thrashed me pretty nigh every
+time you was drunk, till I got so big you daren't do it? I don't say as
+sometimes you haven't been kind, just in a way, but you have been a
+sight oftener unkind. I don't want to part bad friends. If you ain't
+showed me much kindness, you have shown me all as ever I have known, and
+yer might have been worse than you have. I suppose yer knows this man,
+and know that he is going to do as he says, and means to treat me fair,
+for mind you,' and here she turned darkly to Warbles, 'if you tries to
+do anything as is wrong with me I will stick a knife into you.'</p>
+
+<p>'I am going to do you no harm, Sally,' he said hastily.</p>
+
+<p>'Yer had better not,' she muttered.</p>
+
+<p>'I mean exactly what I say, and nothing more. Mrs. Phillips may not have
+been quite as kind to you as she might, but she would not let you go
+with me if she did not know that no harm will be done with you.'</p>
+
+<p>'Very well, then, I am ready,' the girl said, preparing to put on the
+tattered bonnet she had taken off when she came in, and had held
+swinging by its strings.</p>
+
+<p>'No, no,' Mr. Warbles said, in dismay at the thought of walking out with
+this ragged figure by his side, 'we can't manage it as quickly as all
+that. In the first place, there are decent clothes to be bought for you.
+You cannot go anywhere as you are now. I will give Mrs. Phillips money
+for that.'</p>
+
+<p>'Give it me,' the girl said, holding out her hand; 'she can't be trusted
+with it; she would be drunk in half an hour after you had gone, and
+would not get sober till it was all spent. You give it me, and let me
+buy the things; I will hand it over to her to pay for them.'</p>
+
+<p>'That would be best,' Mrs. Phillips said, with a hard laugh; 'she is
+right, Warbles. I ain't to be trusted with money, and it is no use
+pretending I am. Sally knows what she is about. When she has got money
+she always hides it, and just brings it out as it is wanted; we have had
+many a fight about it, but she is just as obstinate as a mule, and next
+morning I am always ready to allow as she was right.'</p>
+
+<p>'How much will you want, Kitty?'</p>
+
+<p>'Well, I should say that to get three decent frocks and a fair stock of
+underclothes and boots would run nigh up to ten pounds. If it ain't so
+much she can give you back what there is of it. When will you come and
+fetch her?'</p>
+
+<p>'We had better say three days. You can get all the things in a day, no
+doubt; but I shall have to make arrangements. I think I know just the
+woman that would do. She was a governess once in good families, I am
+told; but she went wrong, somehow, and went down pretty near to the
+bottom of the hill; she lives a few doors from me, and gets a few
+children to teach when she can. I expect I can arrange with her to take
+Sally, and teach her. If she won't do it, someone else will; but being
+close it would be handy to me. I could drop in sometimes of an evening
+and see how she was getting on.'</p>
+
+<p>'Are you my father?' the girl asked suddenly.</p>
+
+<p>'No, I am not,' he answered readily.</p>
+
+<p>The girl was looking at him keenly, and was satisfied that he spoke the
+truth.</p>
+
+<p>'I am glad of that,' she said. 'I always thought that if I had a father
+I should like to love him. If you had been my father I expect as you
+would have wanted me to love you, and I am sure I should never be able
+to do it.'</p>
+
+<p>'You are an outspoken girl, Sally,' Mr. Warbles said, with an unpleasant
+attempt at a laugh. 'Why shouldn't you be able to love me?'</p>
+
+<p>'Because I should never be able to trust you,' the girl said. 'I am
+ready to work for you and to be honest with you as long as you are
+honest with me. I s'pose you wouldn't be paying all this money and be
+going to take such pains with me if you didn't think as you would get it
+back again. I don't know much, but I know as much as that; so mind, I
+don't promise to love you, that ain't in the agreement.'</p>
+
+<p>'Perhaps you will think differently some day, Sally; and, after all, two
+people can get on well enough together without much love. Well, have her
+ready in three days, Kitty; but there is no use in my coming here for
+her. Of course, the girl must have a box, and you will want a cab. Drive
+across Westminster Bridge and stop just across it on the right-hand
+side. Be there as near as you can at eight o'clock in the evening; that
+will suit me, and it ought to suit you. It is just as well you should
+get her out of the court after dark, so that she won't be recognised in
+her new things, and you will get off without being questioned. I shall
+be there waiting for you, but if anything should detain me, which is not
+likely, wait till I come.'</p>
+
+<p>When he had gone the girl flung her bonnet into a corner, then knelt
+down and made up the fire; then she produced two mutton chops from her
+pocket and placed them in the frying-pan over it.</p>
+
+<p>'Good ones,' she said. 'I got them at a swell shop near Buckingham
+Palace; they were outside, just handy. Well, I s'pose them's the last I
+shall nick; that is a good job.' She then took a jug out of the
+cupboard. 'I have got sixpence left out of that half-crown I changed
+yesterday. We have got bread enough, so I will bring in a quart.'</p>
+
+<p>The woman nodded. She had of late, as she had told Warbles, quite
+determined she would not keep the girl much longer with her, but the
+suddenness with which the change had come about had been so unexpected
+that as yet she hardly realised it. Sally was a limb, no doubt. She had
+got quite beyond her control, and although the petty thievings had been
+at first encouraged by her, the aptness of her pupil, the coolness and
+audacity with which she carried them out, and the perfect unconcern with
+which she started on the dangerous operation of changing the counterfeit
+money, had troubled and almost frightened her. As the girl had said, she
+had never been kind to her, had often brutally beaten her, and usually
+spoke of her as if she were the plague of her life, but the thought that
+she would now be without her altogether touched her keenly, and when the
+girl returned she found her in tears.</p>
+
+<p>'Hello! what's up?' she asked in surprise. 'You ain't been a drinking as
+early as this, have you?' for tears were to Sally's mind associated with
+a particular phase of drunkenness.</p>
+
+<p>The woman shook her head.</p>
+
+<p>'Yer don't mean to say as you are crying because I am going?' Sally went
+on in a changed voice. 'I should have thought there was nothing in the
+world you would be so pleased at as getting rid of me.'</p>
+
+<p>'I have said so in a passion, may be, Sally. You are a limb, there ain't
+no doubt of that; but it ain't your fault, and I might have done for you
+more than I have, if it had not been for drink. I don't know what I
+shall do without you.'</p>
+
+<p>'It will make a difference in the way of food, though,' the girl said;
+'I am a onener to eat: still I don't think you can get rid of the dumps
+as well as I can. You got two months last time you tried it.'</p>
+
+<p>'It ain't that, Sally, though I dare say you think it is, but I shall
+feel lonesome, awful lonesome, without you to sit of an evening to talk
+to. You have been like a child to me, though I ain't been much of a
+mother to you, and you mayn't believe it, Sally, but it is gospel truth,
+as I have been fond of you.'</p>
+
+<p>'Have you now?' the girl said, leaning forward eagerly in her chair. 'I
+allus thought you hated me. Why didn't you say so? I wouldn't have
+'greed to go with that man if I had thought as you wanted me. I don't
+care for the dresses and that sort of thing, though I should like to get
+taught something, but I would give that up, and if you like I will go by
+myself and meet him where he said, and give him back that ten pound, and
+say I have changed my mind and I am going to stop with you.'</p>
+
+<p>'No, it is better that you should go, Sally; this ain't no place for a
+girl, and I ain't no woman to look after one. I have been a-thinking
+some months it was time you went; it didn't matter so much as long as
+you was a kid, but you are growing up now, and it ain't to be expected
+as you would keep straight in such a place as this; besides, any day you
+might get nabbed, and three months in quod would finish you altogether.
+So you see, Sally, I am glad and I am sorry. Warbles ain't the man I
+would put you in charge of if I had my way. He has told you hisself what
+he means to do with you, and I would a lot rather you had been going out
+into service; only of course no one would take you as you are, it ain't
+likely. Still if you keep your eyes open, and you are a sharp girl, you
+may make money by it; but mind me, Sally, money is no good by itself,
+nor fine clothes, nor nothing.</p>
+
+<p>'It was fine clothes and drink as brought me to what I am. I was a nice
+tidy-looking girl when Warbles first knew me, and if it hadn't been for
+clothes and drink I might have been a respectable woman, and perhaps
+missus of a snug public now. Well, perhaps your chances will be as good
+as mine was. I have two bits of advice to give yer. When you have
+finished that pint of beer you make up your mind never to touch another
+drop of it. The second is, don't you listen to what young swells say to
+yer. You look out for an honest man who wants to make you his wife, and
+you marry him and make him a good wife, Sally.'</p>
+
+<p>The girl nodded. 'That is what I mean to do, and when I get a
+comfortable home you shall come and live with us.'</p>
+
+<p>'It wouldn't do, Sally; by that time I reckon I shall be lying in a
+graveyard, but if I wasn't it would not do nohow. No man will put up
+with a drunken woman in his house, and a drunken woman I shall be to the
+end of my life&mdash;but there, them chops are ready, Sally, and it would be
+a sin to let them spoil now you have got them.'</p>
+
+<p>When the meal was over, and Sally had finished her glass of beer, she
+turned it over.</p>
+
+<p>'That is the last of them,' she said; 'I don't care for it one way or
+the other. Now tell me about that cove, who is he?'</p>
+
+<p>'He is what he says&mdash;a betting man, and was when I first knew him; I
+don't know what his real name is, but I don't expect it's Warbles. He
+was a swell among them when I first knew him, and spent his money free,
+and used to look like a gentleman. I was in a house at Newmarket at the
+time, and whenever the races was on I often used to see him. Well, I
+left there, and did not come across him for two years; when I did, I had
+just come out of gaol; I had had two months for taking money from the
+till. I met him in the street, and he says to me, "Hello, Kitty! I was
+sorry to hear that you had been in trouble; what are you doing?"'</p>
+
+<p>'What should I be doing?' says I; 'there ain't much chance of my getting
+another situation after what has happened. I ain't a-doing nothing yet,
+for I met a friend on the day I came out who gave me a couple of quid,
+but it is pretty nigh gone.' 'Well, look here,' says he, 'I have got a
+kid upon my hands: it don't matter whose kid it is, it ain't mine; but I
+have got to keep it. It has been with a woman for the last three years,
+and she has died. I don't care how it is brought up so as it is brought
+up; it is nothing to me how she turns out so that she lives. I tell you
+what I will do. I will give you ten pounds to furnish a room and get
+into it, and I will pay you five shillings a week as long as it lives;
+and if you ever get hard up and want a couple of pounds you can have
+'em, so as you don't come too often.'</p>
+
+<p>'Well, I jumped at the offer, and took you, and I will say Warbles has
+been as good as his word. It wasn't long before I was turned out of my
+lodging for being too drunk and noisy for the house, and it wasn't more
+than a couple of years before I got pretty nigh as low as this. I had
+got to know a good many queer ones when I was in the public line, and I
+chanced to drop across one of them, and when I met him one day he told
+me he could put me into an easy way of earning money if I liked, but it
+was risky. I said I did not care for that, and since then I have always
+been on that lay. For a bit I did very well; I used to dress up as a
+tidy servant, and go shopping, and many a week I would get rid of three
+or four pounds' worth of the stuff; but in course, as I grew older and
+lost my figure and the drink told on me, it got more difficult. People
+looked at the money more sharply, and I got three months for it twice. I
+was allus careful, and never took more than one piece out with me at a
+time, so that I got off several times till they began to know me. You
+remember the last time I was in&mdash;I told you about it, and since then you
+have been doing it.'</p>
+
+<p>'But what will you do when I am gone?'</p>
+
+<p>'Well, you know, Sally, I gets a bit from men who comes round of an
+evening and gives me things to hide away under that board. They knows as
+they can trust me, and I have had five thousand pounds worth of diamonds
+and things hidden away there for weeks. No one would ever think of
+searching there for it. I ain't known to be mixed up with thieves, and
+this court ain't the sort of place that coppers would ever dream of
+searching for jewels. Sometimes nothing comes for weeks, sometimes there
+is a big haul; but they pay me something a week regular, and I gets a
+present after a good thing has been brought off, so you needn't worrit
+about me. I shan't be as well off as I have been, but there will be
+plenty to keep me going, and if I have to drink a bit less it won't do
+me any harm.'</p>
+
+<p>'I wonder you ain't afraid to drink,' Sally said, 'lest you should let
+out something.'</p>
+
+<p>'I am lucky that way, Sally. Drink acts some ways with some people, and
+some ways with others. It makes some people blab out just the things
+they don't want known; it makes some people quarrelsome; it shuts up
+some people's mouths altogether. That is the way with me. I take what I
+take quiet, and though the coppers round here see me drunk pretty often
+they can't never say as I am drunk and disorderly, so they just lets me
+find my way home as I can.'</p>
+
+<p>'And this man has never said no more about me than he did that first
+time?' Sally asked. 'Why should he go on paying for me all this time?'</p>
+
+<p>'He ain't never said a word. I've wondered over it scores of times.
+These betting chaps are free with their money when they win, but that
+ain't like going on paying year after year. I thought sometimes you
+might be the daughter of some old pal of his, and that he had promised
+him to take care of you. I thought that afterwards he had been sorry he
+had done so, but would not go back from his word and so went on paying,
+though he did not care a morsel whether you turned out well or bad. Now
+I am going out, Sally.'</p>
+
+<p>'You don't want to go out no more to-day,' Sally said decidedly. 'You
+just stop in quietly these last three days with me.'</p>
+
+<p>'I would like to,' the woman said, 'but I don't think it is in me. You
+do not know what it is, Sally. When drink is once your master there
+ain't no shaking it off. There is something in you as says you must go,
+and you can't help it; nothing but tying you down would do it.'</p>
+
+<p>'Well, look here, give me ninepence. I will go out and get you another
+quart of beer and a quartern of gin to finish up with. I have never been
+out for spirits for you before, though you have beat me many a time
+'cause I wouldn't, but for these three days I will go. That won't be
+enough to make you bad, and we can sit here and talk together, and when
+we have finished it we can turn in comfortable.'</p>
+
+<p>The woman took the money from a corner of a stocking, and gave it to
+Sally, and that night went to bed sober for the first time for months.
+The next morning shopping began, and Sally, although not easily moved,
+was awe-struck at the number and variety of the garments purchased for
+her. The dresses were to be made up by the next evening, when she was to
+fetch them from the shop herself, as Mrs. Phillips shrunk from giving
+her address at Piper Court.</p>
+
+<p>During the interval Sally suffered much from a regular course of washing
+and combing her hair. When on the third morning she was arrayed in her
+new clothes, with hair neatly done up, she felt so utterly unlike
+herself that a sort of shyness seized her. She could only judge as to
+her general appearance, but not as to that of her face and head, for the
+lodging was unprovided with even a scrap of looking-glass. She had no
+doubt that the change was satisfactory, as Mrs. Phillips exclaimed,
+'Fine feathers make fine birds, Sally, but I should not have believed
+that they could have made such a difference; you look quite a
+nice-looking gal, and I should not be surprised if you turn out
+downright pretty, though I have always thought you as plain a gal as
+ever I seed!'</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_II" id="CHAPTER_II"></a>CHAPTER II</h2>
+
+
+<p>Epsom racecourse on the Oaks Day. The great event of the day has not yet
+been run, but the course has been cleared and two or three of the
+fillies have just come out from the paddock and are making their way at
+a walk along the broad green track, while their jockeys are chatting
+together. Luncheons have been hastily finished, and the occupants of the
+carriages and drags are standing up and beginning for the first time to
+manifest an interest in the proceedings they have nominally come down to
+witness. The general mass of spectators cluster thickly by the ropes,
+while a few take advantage of the clearance of the ground beyond to
+stroll leisurely along the line of carriages. The shouts of the men with
+cocoanuts, pincushions, and dolls on sticks, and of those with Aunt
+Sallys, rifle galleries, and other attractions, are hushed now; their
+time will not come again until the race is over.</p>
+
+<p>Two men, one perhaps thirty, the other some three or four years younger,
+are among those who pay more attention to the carriages and their
+occupants than to the approaching race. The younger has a face deeply
+bronzed by a sun far hotter than that of England.</p>
+
+<p>'How fast they change, Danvers. Six years ago I knew almost every face
+in the carriages, now I scarcely know one. Who is that very pretty girl
+standing up on the seat of that barouche?'</p>
+
+<p>'Don't you know? Look at the man she is talking to on the box. That is
+her father.'</p>
+
+<p>'By Jove! it is Mr. Hawtrey. You don't mean to say that is little
+Dorothy?'</p>
+
+<p>'Not particularly little, but it is certainly Dorothy Hawtrey.'</p>
+
+<p>'I must go and speak to them, Danvers. You know them too, don't you?'</p>
+
+<p>'Well, considering I meet them out pretty well every night somewhere I
+ought to do,' the other said, as with slower steps he followed his
+companion to the carriage.</p>
+
+<p>'How are you, Mr. Hawtrey?' the latter exclaimed, looking up at the man
+on the box.</p>
+
+<p>The gentleman looked down a little puzzled at the warmth with which the
+words were spoken by one whose face he did not recall.</p>
+
+<p>'Don't you remember me, sir? I am Edward Hampton.'</p>
+
+<p>'Why, Ned, is it you? You are changed out of all knowledge. You have
+come back almost as dark as a Malay. When did you arrive?'</p>
+
+<p>'I only reached town yesterday evening; looked up Danvers, and was lucky
+enough to find him at home. He said he was coming down here to-day, and
+as it was of no use calling on people in town on the Oaks day I came
+with him.'</p>
+
+<p>'Are you not going to speak to me, Captain Hampton?'</p>
+
+<p>'I am, indeed, Miss Hawtrey, though I confess I did not know you until
+Danvers told me who you were; and I do not feel quite sure now, for the
+Miss Hawtrey I used to know never called me anything but Ned.'</p>
+
+<p>'The Miss Hawtrey of those days was a little tomboy in short frocks,'
+the girl laughed, 'but I do not say that if I find that you are not so
+changed in reality as you are in appearance, I may not, perhaps, some
+day forget that you are Captain Hampton, V.C.' She had stepped down from
+her lofty seat, and was now shaking hands with him heartily. 'It does
+not seem six years since we said good-bye,' she went on. 'Of course you
+are all that older, but you don't seem so old to me. I used to think you
+so big and so tall when I was nine, and you were double that age, and
+during the next three years, when you had joined your regiment and only
+came down occasionally to us, you had become quite an imposing
+personage. That was my last impression of you. Now, you see, you don't
+look so old, or so big, or so imposing, as I have been picturing you to
+myself.'</p>
+
+<p>'I dare say not,' he laughed. 'You see you have grown so much bigger and
+more imposing yourself.'</p>
+
+<p>Suddenly Dorothy Hawtrey leapt to her seat again and touched her father
+on the arm.</p>
+
+<p>'Father,' she said in a whisper, 'that man who has just turned from the
+crowd and is coming towards us is the one I was speaking to you about a
+few minutes ago, who had been staring at you with such an evil look.'</p>
+
+<p>The man, who had the appearance of a shabby bookmaker, and who carried a
+satchel slung round his neck, and had the name of 'Marvel' on a broad
+ribbon round his hat, was now close to the carriage.</p>
+
+<p>'Will you take the odds, Mr. Hawtrey,' he said in a loud voice, 'against
+any of the horses? I can give you six to one, bar one, against the
+field.'</p>
+
+<p>'I do not bet,' Mr. Hawtrey said coldly, 'and by your looks it would
+have been better for you if you had never done so either.'</p>
+
+<p>'I have had a bad run lately,' the man said, 'but I fancy it is going to
+turn. Will you lay a few pounds for the sake of old times?'</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Hawtrey shook his head decidedly.</p>
+
+<p>'I have come down rather in the world,' the man went on insolently, 'but
+I could pay the bet if I lost it as well as other debts. I have never
+forgotten how much I owe you.'</p>
+
+<p>Hampton took a step forward towards the man, when a policeman stepped
+out from between their carriage and the next.</p>
+
+<p>'Now, move on,' he said, 'or I will make you, sharp; you are not going
+to annoy people here, and if you don't go at once I will walk you off to
+the police tent.'</p>
+
+<p>The man hesitated a moment, and then, muttering angrily, moved slowly
+away to the spot where he had left the dense line of spectators by the
+ropes.</p>
+
+<p>'Who is he, father?' Dorothy Hawtrey asked; 'does he really know you?'</p>
+
+<p>'Yes, my dear, he is the son of an old steward; he was a wild, reckless
+young scamp, and when his father died, shortly after I came into the
+property, I naturally refused to appoint him to the position. He used
+some very strong language at the time, and threatened me with all sorts
+of evils. I have met him once or twice since, and he never loses an
+opportunity of showing that he has not forgiven me; but never mind him
+now, here come the horses for their preliminary canter.'</p>
+
+<p>Captain Hampton and his friend remained by the carriage until the race
+was over. The former had been introduced by Dorothy to the other three
+occupants of the carriage&mdash;Lady Linkstone, her daughter Mary, and Miss
+Nora Cranfield.</p>
+
+<p>As soon as it was over the crowd broke up, the shouts of the men with
+the cocoanuts and Aunt Sallys rose loudly, and grooms began to lead up
+the horses to many of the carriages.</p>
+
+<p>'We are going to make a start at once, Ned,' Mr. Hawtrey said; 'I cannot
+offer you a seat back to town, but if you have no engagement I hope that
+you will dine with us. Will you come too, Mr. Danvers?'</p>
+
+<p>Danvers was disengaged, and he and Edward Hampton accepted the
+invitation at once. Ned's father had owned an estate adjoining that of
+the Hawtreys' in Lincolnshire, and the families had been neighbours for
+many years. Ned, who was the youngest of three sons had been almost as
+much at the Hawtreys' as at his own home, as Mr. Hawtrey had a nephew
+living with him who was just about the lad's age, and during the
+holidays the two boys were always together. They had entered the army
+just at the same time, but James Hawtrey had, a few months after he went
+out to India, died of fever.</p>
+
+<p>'Who was the man who came up and spoke to them five minutes before the
+race started?' he asked Danvers as they strolled away together.</p>
+
+<p>'There were two or three of them.'</p>
+
+<p>'I mean the man who said it was too bad, Dorothy not coming down on his
+drag.'</p>
+
+<p>'That is Lord Halliburn; he is very attentive there, and the general
+opinion is that it will be a match.'</p>
+
+<p>'He didn't look as if he had much in him,' Hampton said, after a pause.</p>
+
+<p>'He has a title and a very big rent roll, and has, therefore, no great
+occasion for brains; but in point of fact he is really clever. He is
+Under-Secretary for the Colonies, and is regarded as a rising young
+peer. He is not a bad fellow at all, I believe; keeps a few racers but
+does not bet, and has no vices as far as I have ever heard. That is his
+drag; he drives a first-rate team.'</p>
+
+<p>'Well, I hope he is a good fellow,' Captain Hampton said shortly. 'You
+see I never had a sister of my own. That little one and I were quite
+chums, and I used to look upon her almost in the light of a small
+sister, and I should not like to think of her marrying anyone who would
+not make her happy.'</p>
+
+<p>'I should think she has as fair a chance with Halliburn as with most
+men,' Danvers said. 'I know a man who was at Christ Church with him. He
+said that he was rather a prig&mdash;but that a fellow could hardly help
+being, brought up as he had been&mdash;but that, as a whole, he was one of
+the most popular men of his set. Now we may as well be walking for the
+station&mdash;that is, if you have had enough of it.'</p>
+
+<p>'I am quite ready to go. After all, an English racecourse makes but a
+dull show by the side of an Indian one. The horses are better, and, of
+course, there is no comparison between the turnouts and the dresses of
+the women, though they manage to make a brave show at the principal
+stations; but as far as the general appearance of the crowd goes, you
+are not in it here. The natives in their gay dresses and turbans give a
+wonderfully light and gay appearance to the course, and though,
+possibly, among quite the lower class they may not all be estimable
+characters, at least they do not look such a pack of unmitigated
+ruffians as the hangers-on of an English racecourse. That was a nice
+specimen who attacked Hawtrey.'</p>
+
+<p>'Yes, the fellow had a thoroughly bad face, and would be capable, I
+should say, of any roguery. It is not the sort of face I should expect
+to see in the dock on a charge of murder or robbery with violence, but I
+should put him down as an astute rogue, a crafty scoundrel, who would
+swindle an old woman out of her savings, rob servant girls or lads from
+the country by means of specious advertisements, or who in his own line
+would nobble a horse or act as the agent for wealthier rogues in getting
+at jockeys and concocting any villainous plan to prevent a favourite
+from winning. Of course, I know nothing of the circumstances under which
+he lost his place with Hawtrey, but there is no doubt that he has
+cherished a bitter hatred against him, and would spare no pains to take
+his revenge. If Hawtrey owned racehorses I should be very shy of laying
+a penny upon them after seeing that fellow's face.'</p>
+
+<p>'Well, as he does not own racehorses the fellow has no chance of doing
+him a bad turn; he might forge a cheque and put Hawtrey's name to it,
+but I should say he would have some difficulty in getting any one to
+cash it.'</p>
+
+<p>There were at dinner that evening only the party who had been in the
+barouche, Danvers, Hampton, and Sir Edward Linkstone.</p>
+
+<p>'I wish there had been no one else here this evening,' Dorothy Hawtrey
+said to Captain Hampton before dinner, 'there is so much to talk about.
+First, I want to hear all you have been doing in India, and next, we
+must have a long chat over old times; in fact, we want a cozy talk
+together. Of course you will be tremendously engaged just at present,
+but you must spare me a long morning as soon as you possibly can.'</p>
+
+<p>'I suppose I am not going to take you into dinner?'</p>
+
+<p>'No, Sir Edward Linkstone does that. We cannot ask him to take in his
+daughter or Nora Cranfield, who is staying at his house, and besides, it
+would not be nice. I should not like to be sitting by you, talking the
+usual dinner talk, when I am so wanting to have a real chat with you.
+You will take in Mary Linkstone, she is a very nice girl.'</p>
+
+<p>The dinner was a pleasant one, and the party being so small the
+conversation was general. It turned, however, a good deal on India, for
+Sir Edward Linkstone had been Judge of the Supreme Court at Calcutta,
+and had retired just about the time that Hampton had gone out there.
+After the ladies had left the room, Danvers remarked to their host:</p>
+
+<p>'That was an unpleasant-looking character who accosted you just before
+the race started for the Oaks, Mr. Hawtrey.'</p>
+
+<p>'Yes; I don't know that I have many enemies, beyond perhaps some
+fellows, poachers and others, whom I have had to commit for trial, but I
+do consider that fellow to be a man who would injure me if he could. His
+father, John Truscott was my father's steward, or agent as it is the
+fashion to call them now, on his estate in Lincolnshire. He had been
+there for over thirty years, and was a thoroughly trustworthy and
+honourable man, a good agent, and greatly liked by the tenants as well
+as by my father. As you may know, I came into the estates when I came of
+age. My father had died two years before. Well, I knew that Truscott had
+had a good deal of trouble with his son, who was three or four years
+older than myself.</p>
+
+<p>'Truscott kept a small farm in his own hands, and he made a hobby of
+breeding blood stock. Not to any great extent; I think he had only some
+five or six brood mares, but they were all good ones. I think he did
+very well by them; certainly some of the foals turned out uncommonly
+well. Of course he did not race them himself, but sold them as
+yearlings. As it turned out it was unfortunate, for it gave his son a
+fancy for the turf. I suppose it began by his laying bets on the horses
+they had bred, then it went on and he used to attend racecourses and get
+into bad company, and I know that his father had more than once to pay
+what were to him heavy sums to enable him to clear up on settlement day.
+I don't know, though, that it would have made much difference, the
+fellow might have gone to the bad anyhow. He had always a shifty, sly
+sort of look. About four years after I came into the estates I was down
+in Lincolnshire at our place, when Truscott was taken ill, and I
+naturally went to see him.</p>
+
+<p>'"I don't think I shall be long here, Mr. Hawtrey," he said, "and you
+will have to look out for another steward. I used to hope that when my
+time came for giving up work my son would step into my shoes. He has
+plenty of brains, and as far as shrewdness goes he would make a better
+steward than I have ever done. For the last year, since I began to fail,
+he has been more at home and has done a good deal of my work, and I
+expect he reckons on getting my place, but, Mr. Hawtrey, you must not
+give it to him. It is a hard thing for a father to say, but you could
+not trust him."</p>
+
+<p>'I felt that myself, but I did not like to admit it to the old man, and
+I said:</p>
+
+<p>'"I know he has been a bit wild, Truscott, but he may have seen that he
+was behaving like a fool, and as you say he has been helping you more
+for the last year, he may have made up his mind to break altogether from
+the life he has been leading."</p>
+
+<p>'"It is not in him, sir," he said. "I could forgive his being a bit
+wild, but he is not honest. Don't ask me what he has done, but take my
+word for it. A man who will rob his own father will rob his employer. I
+have done my best for your father and you; no man can say that John
+Truscott has robbed him, and I should turn in my grave if our name were
+dishonoured down here. You must not think of it, sir; you would never
+keep him if you tried him; it would be a pain to me to think that one of
+my blood should wrong you, as I know, surely, Robert would do, and I
+implore you to make a complete change, and get some man who will do the
+estate justice."</p>
+
+<p>'Of course I assented; indeed, I had heard so much of the fellow's
+doings that I had quite made up my mind that when his father retired I
+would look for a steward elsewhere. At the same time I know that if the
+old man had asked me to try him for a time, I should have done so. A
+week later John Truscott died, and the day after his funeral, which I,
+of course, attended, his son came up to the house. Well, it was a very
+unpleasant business; he seemed to assume that, as a matter of course, he
+would succeed his father, and pointed out that for the last year he had,
+in fact, carried on the estate for him. I said that I did not doubt his
+ability, but that I had no idea of making a man who was a frequenter of
+racecourses, and who, I knew, bet so heavily that his father had had to
+aid him several times, manager of the estate.</p>
+
+<p>'He answered that he had had his fling, and would now settle down
+steadily. Of course, after what his father had said I was obliged to be
+firm. When he saw that there was no chance of altering my decision he
+came out in his true colours; broke out in the most violent language,
+and had I not been a good deal more powerful man than he was I believe
+he would have struck me. At last I had to ring the bell and order the
+footman to turn him out. He cooled down suddenly, and deliberately
+cursed me, swearing that he would some day be revenged upon me for my
+ingratitude to his father, and the insult I had passed upon him in thus
+refusing to appoint him after the thirty years' services the old man had
+rendered me. I have no doubt he thoroughly meant what he said, but
+naturally, I never troubled myself about the matter.</p>
+
+<p>'The threats of a disappointed man seldom come to anything, and as there
+was no conceivable way in which he could injure me his menaces really
+meant nothing. I have come across him four or five times since. I dare
+say that I should have met him oftener were I a regular attendant on
+racecourses, but it is years since I have been to one, and only did it
+to-day because Dorothy had set her heart on seeing the Oaks for the
+first time. However, whenever I have met him he has never failed to
+thrust himself upon me, and to show that his animosity is as bitter as
+it was on the day that I refused to appoint him steward. He left my
+neighbourhood at once, turned the stock into money, and as I know that
+he came into three or four thousand pounds at his father's death he had
+every chance of doing well. I believe that he did do well on the turf
+for a time, but the usual end came to that. When I met him last, some
+seven or eight years ago, I happened to be with a member of the Jockey
+Club who knew something of the fellow. He told me that he had been for a
+time a professional betting man, but had become involved in some
+extremely shady transactions, and had been warned off the turf, and was
+now only to be seen at open meetings, and had more than once had a
+narrow escape of being lynched by the crowd for welshing. From his
+appearance to-day it is evident that he is still a hanger-on of
+racecourses. I saw he had the name of Marvel on his hat. I should say
+that probably he appears with a fresh name each time. I think the chance
+of meeting him has had something to do with my giving up going to races
+altogether. It is not pleasant being insulted by a disreputable-looking
+scoundrel, in the midst of a crowd of people.'</p>
+
+<p>'He has never done you any harm, Mr. Hawtrey?' Captain Hamilton asked,
+'because certainly it seemed to me there was a ring of triumphant malice
+in his voice.'</p>
+
+<p>'Certainly not, to my knowledge,' Mr. Hawtrey replied. 'Once or twice
+there have been stacks burnt down on the estate, probably the work of
+some malicious fellow, but I have had no reason for suspecting Truscott,
+and indeed, as the damage fell on the tenant and not on me, it would
+have been at best a very small gratification of spite, and I can hardly
+fancy he would have gone to the trouble and expense of travelling down
+to Lincolnshire for so small a gratification of his ill-will to me.
+Besides, had he had a hand in it, it would have been the stables and the
+house itself that would have been endangered.'</p>
+
+<p>'The same idea struck me that occurred to Hampton,' Danvers said, 'but I
+suppose it was fancy. It sounded to me as if he had already paid, to
+some extent, the debt he spoke of, or as if he had no doubt whatever
+that he should do so in the future.'</p>
+
+<p>The subject dropped, but when, after leaving, Hampton went into the Club
+to which Danvers belonged, to smoke a cigar, he returned to it.</p>
+
+<p>'I can't help thinking about that fellow Truscott. It is evident, from
+what Hawtrey says, that he has never done him any serious harm, and I
+don't see how the rascal can possibly do so; but I am positive that the
+man himself believes that he either has done or shall be able to do so.'</p>
+
+<p>'That was the impression I had too, but there is never any telling with
+fellows of that class. The rogue, when he is found out, either cringes
+or threatens. He generally cringes so long as there is a chance of its
+doing him any good, then, when he sees that the game is altogether up,
+he threatens; it is only in one case in ten thousand that the threats
+ever come to anything, and as twenty years have gone by without any
+result in this case we may safely assume that it is not one of the
+exceptions.</p>
+
+<p>'Do you remember Mrs. Hawtrey?'</p>
+
+<p>'Yes, I remember her well. The first year or two after their marriage,
+Hawtrey had a place near town. I think she had a fancy that Lincolnshire
+was too cold for her. They came down when I was about eight years old.
+Dorothy was about a year old, I fancy. Mrs. Hawtrey and my mother became
+great friends. We could go from one house to the other without going
+outside the grounds, and as I was the youngest of a large family I used
+to walk across with her, and if Dorothy was in the garden she would come
+toddling to me and insist upon my carrying her upon my shoulder, or
+digging in her garden, or playing with her in some way or other. I don't
+know that I was fonder of children in general than most boys were, but I
+certainly took to her, and, as I said, we became great chums. She came
+to us two or three months after her mother died; her father went away on
+the Continent, and the poor little girl was heart-broken, as well she
+might be, having no brothers or sisters. She was a very desolate little
+maiden, so of course I did what I could to comfort her, and when my
+father and mother died, within three days of each other, three years
+later, I think that child's sympathy did me more good than anything.
+That is the only time I have seen her since I entered the army, and then
+I was only at home a few days, for the regiment was at Edinburgh, and it
+was a busy season. I suppose I could have got longer leave had I tried,
+but there was no object in staying at home. I had never got on
+particularly well with John, who was now master of the house; he was
+married, and had children, and after they arrived I thought the sooner I
+was off the better.'</p>
+
+<p>'What became of Tom? We were in the sixth together, you know; when you
+were my fag. You told me, didn't you, that he had gone out to China or
+something of that sort?'</p>
+
+<p>'Yes; there had been an idea that he would go into the Church, but he
+did not take to it; he tried one or two things here and would not stick
+to them, and my father got him into a tea firm, and he went out for them
+two years afterwards to Hong Kong; but that did not suit him either, so
+he threw it up and went to Australia, and knocked about there until he
+came into ten thousand at my father's death. He went in for
+sheep-farming then, and I have only heard once of him since, but he said
+that he was doing very well. I shall perhaps hear more about him when I
+see John. I must go down to Lincolnshire to-morrow, and I suppose I
+shall have to stay a week or so there; it is the proper thing to do, of
+course, but I wish that it was over. I have never been in the old place
+since that bad time. I don't at all care for my brother's wife. I have
+no doubt that she is a very good woman, but there is nothing sympathetic
+about her; she is one of those women with a metallic sort of voice that
+seems to jar upon one as if she were out of tune.'</p>
+
+<p>'And afterwards&mdash;have you any plans?'</p>
+
+<p>'None at all. I shall look out for a couple of rooms, somewhere about
+Jermyn Street, and stay in town to the end of the season. Then I shall
+hire a yacht for a couple of months, and knock about the coast or go
+across to Norway. I wish you would go with me; I did Switzerland and
+Italy the last year before I went away, and I don't care about going
+there when every place is filled with a crowd. I have only got a year,
+and I should like to have as pleasant remembrances to take back with me
+as possible. Do you think you will be able to come with me? Of course I
+shall not be able to afford a floating palace. I should say about a
+thirty-tonner that would carry four comfortably would be the sort of
+thing. I will try to get two fellows to go to make up the party; some of
+my old chums if I can come across them. Of course I can get any number
+of men home on leave like myself, but I don't want anyone from India,
+for in that case we should talk nothing but shop. You saw how we drifted
+into it at dinner. I should like not to hear India mentioned until I am
+on board a ship on my way out again.'</p>
+
+<p>'When would you think of going?'</p>
+
+<p>'Oh, I should say after Ascot&mdash;say the second week in July.'</p>
+
+<p>'I can hardly go with you as soon as that; I cannot get away as long as
+the courts are sitting, or until they have, at any rate, nearly finished
+work; but I might join you by the end of the month, unless I have the
+luck to get retained in some important case that would make my fortune,
+and I need scarcely say that is not likely.</p>
+
+<p>'But you are doing well, ain't you, Danvers? I see your name in the
+papers occasionally.'</p>
+
+<p>'I am doing quite as well as I have any right to expect; better, a good
+deal, than many men of my own standing, for I have only been called
+seven years, and ten is about the minimum most solicitors consider
+necessary before they can feel the slightest confidence in a man. Still,
+it does not do very much more than pay for one's chambers and clerk.'</p>
+
+<p>A week later Ned Hampton was established in lodgings in Jermyn Street.
+He had been down for three days into Lincolnshire, but had not cared
+much for the visit. He had never got on very well with his elder
+brother, and they had no tastes or opinions in common. Mrs. Hampton was
+a woman with but little to say on any subject, while her husband was at
+this time of year absorbed in his duties as a magistrate and landlord,
+although in the winter these occupied a secondary position to hunting
+and shooting. The only son was away at school, the two girls were all
+day with their governess; and, after three as dull days as he had ever
+spent in his life, Ned pleaded business that required his presence in
+London, and came back suddenly. He had been a good deal in society
+during his visits to London in the three years that intervened between
+his obtaining his commission and sailing for India. He had, therefore,
+many calls to make upon old acquaintances, and as at his military club
+he met numbers of men he knew, he soon had his hands full of
+engagements. He still managed, however, to spend a good deal of time at
+the Hawtreys', where he was always welcome. One morning, when he dropped
+in, Dorothy, after the first greeting, said, 'I have a piece of news to
+tell you. I should not like you to hear it from anyone else but me.'
+There was a heightened colour in her cheek, and he at once guessed the
+truth.</p>
+
+<p>'You have accepted Lord Halliburn? I guessed it would be so. I suppose I
+ought to congratulate you, Dorothy. At any rate, I hope you will be very
+happy with him.'</p>
+
+<p>'Why should you not congratulate me?'</p>
+
+<p>'Only because I do not know Lord Halliburn sufficiently well to be able
+to do so. Of course, I understand that he is a good match; but that, in
+my mind, is quite a secondary consideration. The real question is, is he
+the sort of man who will make you happy?'</p>
+
+<p>'I should not have accepted him unless I thought so,' she said gravely.
+'Mind,' she added with a laugh, 'I don't mean to say that I am
+insensible to the advantages of being a peeress, but in itself that
+would not have decided me. He is pleasant, and has the advantage of
+being very fond of me, and everyone speaks well of him.'</p>
+
+<p>'All very good reasons, Dorothy, if added to the best of all&mdash;that you
+love him.'</p>
+
+<p>The girl nodded.</p>
+
+<p>'Of course, Ned. I don't think that I have the sort of love one imagines
+as a young girl; not a wild, unreasoning sort of love; but you don't
+find that much in our days except in books. I like him very much, and,
+as I said before, he likes me. That does make such a wonderful
+difference, you see. When a man begins to show that he likes you, of
+course one thinks of him a good deal and in quite a different way from
+what you would otherwise do, and so one comes in time to like him in the
+same way he likes you. That seems to me the way with most girls I have
+known married. You don't see any harm in that?'</p>
+
+<p>'Oh no; I suppose it is the regular way in society; and, indeed, I don't
+see how people could get to care more than that for each other when they
+only meet at balls and flower shows and so on. Well, I think I may
+congratulate you. There is no doubt whatever about its being a good
+match, and I don't see why you should not be very happy, and no doubt
+your liking, as you call it, will grow into something more like the love
+you used to dream about by-and-by.'</p>
+
+<p>The girl pouted.</p>
+
+<p>'You are not half as glad as I expected you to be&mdash;and please don't
+think that I am marrying without love. I only admit that it is not the
+sort of love one reads of in novels, but I expect it is just as real.'</p>
+
+<p>'If it is good enough to wear well that is all that is necessary,'
+Captain Hampton said, more lightly than he had before spoken. 'You know,
+Dorothy, you have my very best wishes. You were my little sister for
+years, you know, and there is no one whose happiness would give me so
+much pleasure.'</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_III" id="CHAPTER_III"></a>CHAPTER III</h2>
+
+
+<p>Mr. Hawtrey and his daughter were sitting at breakfast a fortnight
+later, the only other person present being a cousin, Mrs. Daintree, who
+had come up to stay with them for the season to act as chaperon to
+Dorothy. She had been unwell and unable to form one of the party at
+Epsom. The servant brought in the letters just as they sat down,
+carrying them as usual to his master, as Dorothy was busy with the tea
+things. As Mr. Hawtrey looked through them his eye fell upon a letter.
+On the back was written in a bold handwriting, 'Unless the money is sent
+I shall use letters.&mdash;E. T.'</p>
+
+<p>He turned it over, it was directed to his daughter. He was about to
+speak, but as his eye fell on Mrs. Daintree he checked himself, placed
+the missive among his own letters, and passed those for his daughter and
+cousin across to them. He was very silent during breakfast. Dorothy
+detected by his voice that something was wrong with him, and asked
+anxiously if he was not feeling well. When the meal was over he said to
+her:</p>
+
+<p>'Before you go out, Dorothy, look in upon me in the library.'</p>
+
+<p>Ten minutes later she came into the room.</p>
+
+<p>'Dorothy,' he said, 'are you in any trouble?'</p>
+
+<p>'Trouble, father?' she repeated, in surprise. 'No; what sort of trouble
+do you mean?'</p>
+
+<p>'Well, dear,' he said kindly, 'girls do sometimes get into scrapes. I
+did not think you were the sort of girl to do so, but these things are
+more often the result of thoughtlessness than of anything more serious,
+and the trouble is that instead of going frankly to their friends and
+making a clean breast of it, girls will try and set matters right
+themselves, and so, in order to avoid a little unpleasantness, may ruin
+their whole lives.'</p>
+
+<p>Dorothy's eyes opened more and more widely as her father went on.</p>
+
+<p>'Yes, father, I have heard of such things, but I don't know why you are
+saying so to me. I have never got into any scrape that I know of.'</p>
+
+<p>'What does this mean then?' he said, handing her the envelope.</p>
+
+<p>She read it with an air of bewilderment, looked at the address, and
+re-read the words.</p>
+
+<p>'I have not the faintest idea, father.'</p>
+
+<p>'Open the envelope,' he said sternly. She broke the seal, but there was
+no enclosure whatever. 'You do not know who this E. T. is? You have not
+written any letters that you would not care to have read aloud? You have
+had no demand for money for their delivery? Wait a moment before you
+speak, child; I don't mean for a moment that there could be anything
+wrong in any letter that you have written. It can only be that in some
+country house where you have been staying, you have got into some
+foolish flirtation with some one, and have been silly enough to
+correspond with him. I will not suppose that a man to whom you would
+write would be blackguard enough to trade upon your weakness, but the
+letters may have fallen into some one else's hands; his valet, perhaps,
+who, seeing your engagement to Lord Halliburn, now seeks to extort money
+from you by threatening to send your letters to him. If so, my dear
+child, speak frankly to me. I will get the letters back, at whatever
+cost, and will hand them to you to burn, without looking at them, and
+will never mention the subject again.'</p>
+
+<p>'There is nothing of the sort, father. How could you think that I could
+do anything so foolish and wrong? Surely you must know me better than
+that.'</p>
+
+<p>'I thought I did, Dorothy; but girls do foolish things, especially when
+they are quite young and perhaps not out of the schoolroom, and know
+nothing whatever of the world. They fancy themselves in love, and are
+foolish enough sometimes to allow themselves to be entrapped into
+correspondence with men of whose real character they know nothing; it is
+a folly, but not one to deal hardly with.'</p>
+
+<p>'At any rate, father, I have not done so. If I had I would say so at
+once. I have not the remotest idea what that letter means, or who wrote
+it. If it were not that it had my name and address on the other side, I
+should not have had an idea that it was meant for me. Except trifling
+notes of invitation and that sort of thing I do not think that I had
+ever written to any man until I was engaged to Algernon.'</p>
+
+<p>'Well, that is a relief,' Mr. Hawtrey said, more cheerfully than he had
+before spoken. 'It was a pain to me to think even for a moment that you
+could have been so foolish. It never entered my head to think that you
+could have done anything absolutely wrong. However, we must now look at
+this rascally letter from another point of view. Here is a man writing
+to demand a sum of money for letters. Now, it is one of two things.
+Either he has forged letters in his possession, for which he hopes to
+extort money, or he has no letters of any kind, and his only intention
+in writing in this manner on an envelope is in some way to cause you
+pain and annoyance. We may assume that the initials are fictitious;
+whoever wrote the letter would certainly avoid giving any clue to his
+identity. Sit down, Dorothy. We must talk the matter over quietly and
+see what had best be done.'</p>
+
+<p>'But this is dreadful, father!' Dorothy said, as she seated herself in
+an arm-chair.</p>
+
+<p>'Not dreadful, dear, though I admit that it is unpleasant, very
+unpleasant; and we must, if possible, trace it to the bottom, for now
+that this annoyance has begun there is no saying how much farther it may
+be pushed. Is there anyone you can think of who would be likely to have
+a spite against you? I do not say any of the four or five gentlemen
+whose proposals you have declined in the course of the past year; all
+were gentlemen and beyond suspicion. Any woman servant you may have
+dismissed; any man whose request for money for one purpose or another
+you may have refused; anyone, in short, to whom you may have given
+offence?'</p>
+
+<p>'Not that I know of, father. You know my last maid left to get married,
+and I had nothing to do with hiring or discharging the other servants;
+they are all under the housekeeper. I really do not know of anyone who
+has cause for ill-feeling against me.'</p>
+
+<p>'I shall write at once to the Postmaster General and request him to give
+orders that no more letters of the kind shall be openly delivered.
+Peters can hardly have helped reading it; it has evidently been written
+in a large, bold handwriting, so that it can be read at a glance. Of
+course, I shall speak to him, but he will probably have chatted about it
+downstairs already. I shall go down to Scotland Yard and inform them of
+the annoyance, and ask their advice there, though I don't see that they
+can do anything until we can furnish them with some sort of clue. We may
+find one later on; this envelope certainly gives us nothing to go on,
+but we may be sure others will follow.'</p>
+
+<p>'It is dreadful, father,' Dorothy repeated, as she rose, 'to think that
+such malicious letters as this can be sent, and that they may be talked
+about among the servants.'</p>
+
+<p>'Well, I do not think there will be any more coming here, dear. I should
+imagine the Post Office authorities will have no objection to retain
+them. If there should be any difficulty about it, I will have a lock put
+on the letter-box and keep the key myself, so that, at least, the
+servants here will know nothing about it. Are you going out with your
+cousin this morning?'</p>
+
+<p>'I was going, but I shall make some excuse now; I could not be
+chattering about all sorts of things with her.'</p>
+
+<p>'That is just what you must do, Dorothy. It has taken the colour out of
+your cheeks, child, though I suppose cold water and a rub with a hard
+towel will bring it back again, but, at any rate, do not go about as if
+you had something on your mind. You may be sure that the servants will
+be looking at you curiously, whatever I may say to Peters; if they see
+you are in no way disturbed or annoyed, the matter will soon pass out of
+their minds, but, on the other hand, if they notice any change, they
+will be saying to themselves there must be something in it.'</p>
+
+<p>As soon as his daughter had left the room Mr. Hawtrey touched the bell.</p>
+
+<p>'I am going out, Peters; if anyone calls to see me you can say that I
+shall not be in till lunch-time. I may be detained at Scotland Yard. I
+am going there to set the police on the track of the fellow who sent
+that letter to Miss Hawtrey this morning. I suppose you noticed it?'</p>
+
+<p>'Yes, sir,' the man replied, in a hesitating tone; 'as I took the
+letters out of the box and laid them on the hall table, the envelope was
+back upwards, and I could not help seeing what was on it.'</p>
+
+<p>'I can quite understand that, Peters, and am not blaming you. The words
+were evidently written with the intention that they should be read by
+everyone through whose hands it passed. It is evidently the work of some
+malicious scoundrel, though we have not, of course, the slightest clue
+as to whom it may be, but I have no doubt the police will be able to get
+on his track. If you have mentioned it to any of the other servants,
+tell them that on no account is the matter to be spoken of outside the
+house. Our only chance of catching the scoundrel is that he should be
+kept entirely in the dark. Probably the fellow is in communication with
+some one either in the house or acquainted with one of the servants. If
+he hears nothing about it, he may suppose the letter has not attracted
+notice, as he intended it should do, and we shall have some more of
+them, and this will increase our chance of finding him.'</p>
+
+<p>'I have not mentioned anything about it, sir.'</p>
+
+<p>'All the better, Peters. Should another come do not bring it in with the
+other letters, but hand it in to me privately. Miss Hawtrey is naturally
+greatly pained and annoyed, and I should not wish her to know if any
+more letters come.'</p>
+
+<p>'It is hardly a matter that we can take up,' an inspector at Scotland
+Yard said when Mr. Hawtrey showed him the envelope and explained the
+matter. 'I suppose at bottom it is an attempt to extort money, though
+one does not see how the writer intends to go about it. If there should
+be any offer to drop the annoyance on the receipt of a sum of money sent
+to a post-office or shop, to be called for, we would take it up, watch
+the place, and arrest whoever comes for the letter. At present there is
+nothing to go upon, and I don't see that we can do anything in the
+matter. If you think it worth while you might put it into private hands,
+but it would cost you a good deal of money, and I don't see that anyone
+could help you much.'</p>
+
+<p>'I do not care what it costs,' Mr. Hawtrey said hotly. 'Can you
+recommend any of these private detectives?'</p>
+
+<p>The inspector shook his head.</p>
+
+<p>'There are some trustworthy men among them, sir, and some thorough
+rogues, but we make a point of never recommending anyone. No doubt your
+own solicitor would be able to tell you of some good man to go to.'</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Hawtrey hailed a cab when he went out and told the man to drive to
+Essex Street. Just as he turned down from the Strand he saw Danvers turn
+out from the approach to the Middle Temple. He stopped the cab and
+jumped out.</p>
+
+<p>'I was just going to my lawyer,' he said, 'but I dare say, Danvers, you
+can save me the loss of time. It generally means at least half an hour's
+waiting before he is disengaged. Can you tell me of a shrewd fellow who
+can be trusted to undertake a difficult piece of business?'</p>
+
+<p>'That is rather vague, Mr. Hawtrey,' Danvers laughed. 'I might reply
+that such a man stands before you.'</p>
+
+<p>'No, I mean a sort of detective business.'</p>
+
+<p>'There are plenty of shrewd fellows who call themselves private
+detectives, Mr. Hawtrey. A good many of them are too shrewd altogether.
+Of course, I have been in contact with several of them, and the majority
+are rogues of the first water. Still, there are honest men among them.
+If I knew a little more what sort of work you wanted done I should be
+better able to tell what kind of man you require for it.'</p>
+
+<p>'It is a deucedly unpleasant business, Danvers, but I will gladly tell
+you what it is, for I want the advice of some one like yourself,
+accustomed to deal with difficult cases. Can you spare ten minutes?'</p>
+
+<p>'With pleasure. I have no case on to-day. Will you come to my chambers?
+It is not half a minute's walk, and they are on the ground floor.'</p>
+
+<p>'What do you think of it, Danvers?' Mr. Hawtrey asked, after he had
+shown the envelope and related briefly his interview with his daughter.</p>
+
+<p>'I don't know what to think of it,' Danvers said after a pause. 'Knowing
+Miss Hawtrey as I have the pleasure of doing, I, of course, entertain no
+doubt whatever of the truth of her denial, and believe she is as
+completely in the dark as yourself as to what this thing means. I must
+own that it is not often that I should take a young lady's word so
+implicitly in such a matter. I have seen and still more heard from
+solicitors of so many astounding cases of the troubles girls have got
+into, sometimes from thoughtlessness only, sometimes, I am bound to
+confess, from what seems to me to be an entire absence of moral
+perception, that scarcely anything in that way would surprise me.</p>
+
+<p>'That Miss Hawtrey would do anything absolutely wrong is to me out of
+the question; though she might, from thoughtlessness, when a girl, as
+you put it to her, have got into some silly entanglement, for such
+things happen continually; but after the line you took up with her I can
+but dismiss this from my mind as altogether out of the question, and we
+must look at the matter entirely from the point of view that it is
+either an attempt to extort money, or is simply the outcome of sheer
+malice, an attempt to give pain, and to cause extreme annoyance. Miss
+Hawtrey is, you say, wholly unaware of having at any time given such
+offence to anyone as to convert him or her into an enemy. Of course,
+there are people who are just as bitter over an imaginary injury as over
+a real one, but I am more inclined to think that this letter is the
+result of malice than an attempt to extort money.'</p>
+
+<p>'I do not see how money could be extorted by such a letter as this, when
+there is no foundation for the threat.'</p>
+
+<p>'Quite so, Mr. Hawtrey. No one who wanted to blackmail a young lady
+would proceed in so clumsy a manner as this. He would write to her, to
+begin with, a letter full of vague hints and threats, in the hope that
+although he himself was ignorant of any occurrence in her life that
+would give him a hold upon her, her own conscience might bring to her
+remembrance some act of past folly or thoughtlessness which, with an
+engagement just made, she would certainly shrink from having raked up.
+For instance, she might have had some foolish flirtation, some
+sentimental correspondence, or stolen meeting&mdash;things foolish but in no
+way criminal&mdash;that at such a moment she would not wish to be brought to
+the ears of the man to whom she was engaged. A cleverly but vaguely
+worded letter might then cause her to believe that this affair was known
+to the writer, and she would endeavour to hush it up by paying any sum
+in her power.</p>
+
+<p>'Having written two or three letters of this kind without success, her
+persecutor might then send an envelope like this to show her that he was
+thoroughly resolved to carry out his threats unless she agreed to his
+terms. But as a first move it can mean nothing; and the person to whom
+it is addressed, knowing that it has already been seen by the postman,
+the servants, and perhaps by others, would in any case be driven to hand
+it over to her friends. Miss Hawtrey has received no preliminary
+letters, therefore it is clear to me that this is not an attempt to
+extort money. We have nothing, therefore, to fall back upon but the idea
+of sheer malice, and I have known so many cases of wanton and ingenious
+mischief-making, arising from such paltry and insufficient causes, that
+I can be surprised at nothing.'</p>
+
+<p>'Still, I don't see how anyone could do such an infamous and cruel thing
+as this, Danvers, without some real cause for malice. My daughter is
+altogether unconscious of having an enemy, there is nothing for us to go
+upon, and I do not see how the business of discovery is to be
+commenced.'</p>
+
+<p>'At present, certainly, we seem to have no clue to help us. The letter
+was posted, you see, in London, but that is of no use whatever; were it
+from a small country town or rural district the matter would be
+comparatively easy, but London is hopeless. I have no doubt some more
+letters of this kind will come, and I should say that although the
+post-marks may afford you no information, the postal authorities might
+be able to help you. I do not know whether the stamps at all the
+district post offices are identical, but it is possible that there may
+be some private mark on them, some little peculiarity, by which the
+post-office people would be able to tell you the office at which it was
+posted.</p>
+
+<p>'But even this would help us but little, as the letters are collected
+and sent to the central district office, and are there, I believe,
+stamped. At any rate, I see no use in your employing a man now, Mr.
+Hawtrey. If you get a clue, even the smallest, I have a fellow in my
+mind's eye who would, I think, suit you. He was at one time a clerk with
+Buller and Sons. They gave up the criminal part of their business when
+the eldest son, who had charge of that branch, died, and this man,
+Slippen, was no longer wanted. He then set up on his own account, as a
+sort of private detective. He has been employed in two or three delicate
+cases in which I have held briefs, and is certainly a very shrewd
+fellow.'</p>
+
+<p>'It would be a relief to me to be doing something,' Mr. Hawtrey said. 'I
+think I should like to see the man.'</p>
+
+<p>Danvers was silent for a minute.</p>
+
+<p>'I think, Mr. Hawtrey,' he said at last, 'it would be better if you were
+to entrust the matter to me. I will see him, and without mentioning
+names state the facts, and say that he may be asked to undertake the
+case later on. The fewer people know of the affair the better. Whispers
+will get about, and whispers would be more unpleasant than if the whole
+story were told openly in court. If you like I will send my clerk over
+to his place at once and make an appointment for him to come round here
+this afternoon. If you are going to be at home this evening I will look
+in and tell you what his opinion of the matter is, and whether he has
+any suggestions to offer. If that will not suit you I will meet you
+to-morrow at any time you may appoint.'</p>
+
+<p>'This evening will do very well, Danvers. Dorothy is going with her
+cousin and a party to the theatre, so if you will come round any time
+after eight o'clock you will find me alone, and we can have our chat
+over a glass of port and a cigar.'</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 45%;" />
+
+<p>'Well, have you seen your man?' he asked, as Danvers came into his study
+that evening. 'But do not answer until you have made yourself
+comfortable, and poured yourself out a glass of port; do not light your
+cigar for a few minutes, the wine is too good to be spoilt.'</p>
+
+<p>'Yes, I have seen him,' Danvers replied, as he followed his instructions
+deliberately.</p>
+
+<p>'And what does he say?'</p>
+
+<p>'Well, you see, Mr. Hawtrey, he has not the advantage we have of knowing
+the lady. He naturally has seen a good deal of the seamy side of life,
+and upon my stating the case to him, he said, without a moment's
+hesitation, "Of course the thing is as plain as a pikestaff, Mr.
+Danvers. The man has got hold of some secret, or is holding some
+compromising letters, and has tried to get her to come to terms. She
+hangs back and he shows his teeth, and writes her this open message,
+which, if it had not happened to fall into her father's hands, would no
+doubt have brought her to her knees at once."</p>
+
+<p>'My assurance that it was absolutely certain that the lady in question
+was in entire ignorance of the whole affair, and was as much in the dark
+as we were as to the author of the letter, was received by him with
+incredulity. "I have been concerned in cases like this, or at least a
+good deal like it, a dozen&mdash;or, I might say, a score&mdash;of times. In every
+case the lady maintained stoutly that she knew nothing about it, that
+she had never written a letter to any man whatever, and had received
+none previous to the one that happened to fall into the wrong hands. In
+three or four instances I was deceived myself, but there is no telling
+with women. When a man tells a lie, he either hesitates or stumbles, or
+he says it off as if it were a lesson he had got by heart, or else he is
+sulky over it, and you have to get it out of him bit by bit, just as if,
+though he had made up his mind to lie, he did not wish to tell more lies
+than necessary. With a woman it is altogether different. When she makes
+up her mind to tell a lie, she does it thoroughly. Sometimes she is
+indignant, sometimes she is plaintive; but, anyhow, she is so natural
+that she would deceive Old Nick himself. Most of them are born
+actresses, sir, and when they take up a part they do it with the
+determination of carrying it through thoroughly." Of course, I told him
+that, whatever it might be generally, this case was altogether an
+exception; that it was a moral and absolute certainty that the lady had
+nothing to do with it, and that the investigation, when it was once
+undertaken, would have to proceed, say, on the line that the author of
+these communications was a man or a woman having a personal enmity
+against a lady, and instigated by a desire to annoy and pain her.</p>
+
+<p>'"Well, sir," he said, "of course, if you employ me in this matter it
+will be my business to carry it out according to instructions; but I am
+afraid that it is not likely anything will come of my search."</p>
+
+<p>'"But," I said, "there is nothing impossible or improbable in the fact
+that someone should have a grudge against her; she has just become
+engaged to be married."</p>
+
+<p>'"That alters the case altogether," he said quickly; "there may be some
+other woman who wants to marry the man, or there may be some one who may
+consider that she will be left in the lurch if this marriage comes off;
+and either of these might endeavour to make a scandal, or to get up a
+quarrel that might cause the engagement to be broken off. If you had
+mentioned about the engagement before, that is the first idea that would
+have occurred to me. There are very few things a jealous woman will
+stick at. The case looks more hopeful now, and when I come to know the
+man's name, I ought very soon to be able to put my finger on the writer
+of the letter, if it is a woman. At any rate, if there is no other clue,
+that is the one I should take up first."</p>
+
+<p>'That brought our interview to an end. I paid him a couple of guineas
+for his advice, and he fully understood that he might, or might not, be
+called in on some future occasion.'</p>
+
+<p>'It is a confounded nuisance,' Mr. Hawtrey said thoughtfully; 'is the
+fellow really trustworthy, Danvers?'</p>
+
+<p>'He can be trusted to keep the matter to himself,' the barrister said;
+'these men are engaged constantly in delicate business, such as getting
+up divorce suits, and it would ruin their business altogether were they
+to allow a word to escape them as to the matter in hand. At any rate, I
+know enough about Slippen to be able to answer for his discretion.
+However, I hope that there will be no occasion to move in the matter at
+all. Of course you will not do so unless there is a repetition of the
+annoyance?'</p>
+
+<p>'I have little hope there will not be, Danvers,' Mr. Hawtrey groaned;
+'whoever wrote that letter is certain to follow it up. Whatever effect
+it was intended to produce he could hardly count on its being effected
+by a single attack.'</p>
+
+<p>'I own that I am afraid so, too,' Danvers agreed. 'You will, I hope, let
+me know if it is so.'</p>
+
+<p>'That you may be sure. I am afraid that now you have taken the trouble
+to aid me in the matter, you will have to go through with it altogether.
+This is utterly out of my line; anything connected with poaching or
+stealing fruit, or drunken assaults, my experience as a county
+magistrate enables me to treat with something like confidence, but here
+I am altogether at sea and your experience as a barrister is of the
+greatest benefit to me. What time do you get to your chambers in the
+morning?'</p>
+
+<p>'I am almost always there by half-past nine, and between that hour and
+half past ten you are almost certain to find me; but if you come later
+my clerk will be able to find me in the courts, and unless I am engaged
+in a case being tried I can always come out to you.'</p>
+
+<p>'I have been wanting to see you, father,' Miss Hawtrey said, as soon as
+the latter returned home, 'I expect Lord Halliburn will be here soon
+after lunch, and cousin Mary and I are going with him to the Botanical.
+Had I better tell him about this or not?'</p>
+
+<p>'That is a difficult question to answer, Dorothy, and I should be sorry
+to offer any advice about it. You know Lord Halliburn a good deal better
+than I do, and can best judge how he will take a matter like this; he
+must certainly be told sooner or later, for even if there is no
+repetition of this before your marriage there may be afterwards. Many
+men would laugh at the whole thing, and never give it a moment's
+thought, while others, although they would not doubt the assertion of
+the woman they were engaged to, would still fret and worry over it
+amazingly.'</p>
+
+<p>'I am sure he would not doubt me for a moment, father, but I should
+think that he really might worry over it.'</p>
+
+<p>'That is rather my opinion too, Dorothy; still, it is clear that he must
+be told either by you or me. However, there is no occasion to tell him
+to-day. A flower show is not the place you would choose for the purpose,
+even if you had not Mary Daintree with you. We shall see if another
+letter comes or not; if it does he must be told at once.'</p>
+
+<p>Dorothy looked a little relieved at the necessity for telling Lord
+Halliburn being postponed for the day.</p>
+
+<p>'It is of no use worrying over it, my dear,' her father said kindly. 'It
+is an annoyance, there is no denying, but it is nothing to fret over,
+and as the insinuations are a pack of lies the cloud will blow away
+before long.'</p>
+
+<p>The next morning, as soon as breakfast was over, Mr. Hawtrey drove to
+the central post office, where the postal authorities had promised the
+day before that they would retain any communications of the kind he
+described. He had been introduced to the official in charge of the
+department where complaints of stolen letters were investigated and
+followed up.</p>
+
+<p>'I have an envelope for you, Mr. Hawtrey,' that gentleman said, when he
+entered, 'and have been more fortunate than I expected, for I can tell
+you where it was posted; it was dropped into the letter-box at No. 35
+Claymore Street, Chelsea. It is a grocer's shop. In tying up the bundles
+the man's eye fell on this; it struck him at once as being an attempt to
+annoy or extort money, and he had the good sense to put it into an
+envelope and send it on here with a line of explanation, so as to leave
+us the option of detaining it if we thought fit.'</p>
+
+<p>'I am very pleased to hear it,' Mr. Hawtrey said. 'It is a great thing
+to know there is at least one point from which we can make a start.'</p>
+
+<p>'It is not much, but it may assist you. You must remember, however, that
+it is scarcely likely that the next letter will be posted at the same
+office; fellows of this kind are generally pretty cautious, and the next
+letter may come from another part of London altogether. I have sent a
+note to the man at this post office, telling him that he did right in
+stopping the letter, and that he is to similarly detain any others of
+the same kind that may be posted there. I will send them on to you. The
+men on your round have been already ordered not to deliver any letters
+of the kind, but to send them back here. I sincerely hope, Mr. Hawtrey,
+that you may succeed in getting hold of the fellow, but if you do I am
+afraid it will not be through our department; the chances against
+detecting a man posting a thing of this kind are almost infinite.'</p>
+
+<p>It was just half past ten when Mr. Hawtrey reached Danvers' chambers. He
+found that the occupier had not yet gone to the Court.</p>
+
+<p>'There is another of them,' Mr. Hawtrey said, throwing the letter down
+before him. 'I got it at the central office.' It was in the same
+handwriting as that on the previous day: 'Unless you agree to my terms
+your letters will be sent to Lord H&mdash;&mdash;.' 'The post-office people have
+discovered that this letter was posted at a receiving office at Claymore
+Street, Chelsea.'</p>
+
+<p>'That would be valuable, Mr. Hawtrey, if there were any probability of
+the next being posted at the same place. I could make an arrangement to
+have a boy placed inside by the box so that he could see each letter as
+it fell in. Then he would only have to run out and follow whoever had
+posted it. I should probably require some special order from the
+Postmaster-General for this, but I dare say I could get that. At any
+rate, we can wait a day or two. If the next letter is posted there we
+will try that plan; if it is posted elsewhere it will, of course, be
+useless.'</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Hawtrey next drove to Lord Halliburn's, in Park Lane.</p>
+
+<p>'I have come on very unpleasant business, Halliburn,' he said. 'Dorothy
+would have told you herself about it yesterday, but I thought it better
+to let it stand over for a day, especially as she would not have an
+opportunity of discussing it with you,' and he then laid the two letters
+before him, and told him the steps he had taken and the conjectures that
+he and Danvers had formed on the subject of the sender.</p>
+
+<p>Lord Halliburn was a young man of about nine-and-twenty. He somewhat
+prided himself on his self-possession, and, although generally liked,
+was regarded, as Danvers had told his friend, as somewhat of a prig. His
+face expressed some annoyance as he heard the story.</p>
+
+<p>'It is certainly unpleasant,' he said. 'I am, of course, perfectly sure
+that Dorothy is in no way to blame in the matter. This can be only a
+malicious attempt to annoy her. Still, I admit it is annoying. Things of
+this sort are sure to get about somehow. I am certain that everyone who
+knows Dorothy will see the matter in the same light as we do, but those
+who do not will conclude that there is something in it. Probably enough
+ere long there will be a mysterious paragraph in one of those society
+papers. Altogether it is certainly extremely annoying. The great thing
+is to find out who sent them. I quite agree with you it cannot be an
+attempt to extort money; had it been so, the demands would have been
+sent under seal and not in this manner. I suppose you have no idea of
+anyone having any special enmity against either you or her?'</p>
+
+<p>'Not the slightest. The man who, as I told you, Danvers consulted
+without mentioning any names, was of opinion that it might be the work
+of some woman, and was intended to cause unpleasantness between you and
+Dorothy. Of course, in that case you might be more able to form an idea
+as to the writer than I can be.'</p>
+
+<p>'No, indeed, there is no woman in my case,' Lord Halliburn said. 'I have
+always been perfectly free from entanglements of that kind; nor have I
+ever had anything like a serious flirtation before I met Miss Hawtrey;
+indeed, as you know, I have been travelling abroad almost constantly
+since I left college. I can assure you, on my honour, that I cannot
+think of anyone who could have a motive, however slight, for making
+mischief between us. Of course, it would be out of the question that
+mischief could be made out of such things as these; they are too
+contemptible for notice, beyond the fact that they are naturally
+annoying. I shall see Dorothy this afternoon, and shall tell her not to
+give the matter a thought, but at the same time I shall be extremely
+glad if you can put your hand on the sender of these things.'</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IV" id="CHAPTER_IV"></a>CHAPTER IV</h2>
+
+
+<p>Mr. Hawtrey's hope that a clue had been obtained was speedily
+dissipated, for the next letter was posted in the south of London, and
+the one after it at Brompton. It was clear that the man who sent them
+did not confine himself to one particular office, and that it would be
+useless to set a watch on that in Claymore Street, Chelsea. Edward
+Hampton coming in that afternoon, he relieved his mind by telling what
+had happened.</p>
+
+<p>'It is a comfort to talk it over with some one, Ned. You were a
+police-officer for some time out in India, I think, and may be able to
+see your way through this business. Danvers has been very kind about it,
+but so far nothing has come of his suggestions.'</p>
+
+<p>'My Indian police experience is not much to the point. I had a police
+district for a year, but my duties consisted principally in hunting down
+criminals. Have you told Lord Halliburn?'</p>
+
+<p>'Yes; as soon as the second letter came I went to him; it was only right
+that he should know.'</p>
+
+<p>'Certainly. How did he take it, Mr. Hawtrey? if I may ask.'</p>
+
+<p>'He was naturally annoyed at it; though, of course, he agreed with me
+that it was simply a piece of malice. A detective, to whom Danvers had
+spoken, without mentioning any name, suggested that it might be the work
+of some woman who had a grudge against him, or felt herself aggrieved at
+his engagement. I mentioned this to him, and he assured me that, so far
+as he knew, there was no one who had any complaint against him, and that
+he had never had any entanglement of any kind.'</p>
+
+<p>'It is a horribly annoying thing, Mr. Hawtrey, and I am sure Miss
+Hawtrey must feel it very much. I thought she was not looking quite
+herself when I met her at dinner the night before last. Still, there
+must be some way of getting to the bottom of it. If it is not the work
+of an enemy, either of Lord Halliburn or of your daughter, it may be the
+work of one who has an enmity against yourself&mdash;one who is striking at
+you through yours.'</p>
+
+<p>'That is just possible, Ned; but beyond men I have sentenced on the
+bench I don't know of anyone who would put himself out of his way to
+annoy me. Assuredly this cannot be the work of any Lincolnshire rustic.'</p>
+
+<p>'But you have certainly one enemy who is just the sort of man to
+conceive and carry out such a blackguard business as this&mdash;I mean that
+man who was impertinent to you on the racecourse, and whose history you
+told us that evening.'</p>
+
+<p>'I had not thought of him. Yes, that suggestion is certainly a probable
+one. He is evidently deeply impressed with the sense of injury, though,
+Heaven knows, I did not have the slightest ill-feeling against him, but
+was driven to do what I did by his own courses, and especially by his
+father's earnest request that he should not succeed him. There is no
+doubt as to his malice, and there can be as little as to his
+unscrupulousness.'</p>
+
+<p>'Danvers and I were both of opinion, Mr. Hawtrey, that by his tone and
+manner when he spoke to you about payment of debts, that he had already
+done you some injury or had some distinct plan in his head. At that time
+your daughter was not engaged to Lord Halliburn, and his ideas may have
+been vague ones until the public notice of the engagement met his eye,
+when he may have said to himself, "This is my opportunity for taking my
+revenge, by annoying both father and daughter."'</p>
+
+<p>'It is possible, Ned. I can hardly bring myself to think that the son of
+my old friend would be capable of such a dastardly action, but I admit
+that there is at least a motive in his case, and that I can see none in
+that of anyone else.'</p>
+
+<p>'At any rate, Mr. Hawtrey, here is a clue worth following, and as I have
+nothing whatever to do, and my own time hangs rather heavily on my
+hands, I will, if you will allow me, undertake to follow it up.'</p>
+
+<p>'But with no evidence against him, not a particle, what can you do,
+Ned?'</p>
+
+<p>'My business will be to get evidence. The first thing is to find out
+where the fellow lives, and to have him watched and followed, and if
+possible, caught in the act of posting one of these letters.'</p>
+
+<p>'Remember, Ned, I would above all things avoid publicity, for Dorothy's
+sake. Nothing is more hateful than for a girl to be talked about, and it
+is only as a last resource that I would bring a charge against him at
+the Police Court.'</p>
+
+<p>'I can quite understand that, and will certainly call in no police to my
+aid until I have previously consulted you and received your sanction to
+do so. It will be easy enough to find him, for I should know him in an
+instant, and shall probably meet him at the first racecourse I go to. It
+is not as if I knew nothing of his habits.'</p>
+
+<p>For the next week Captain Hampton frequented every racecourse within a
+short distance of London, but without meeting the man he was looking
+for. Men of the same class were there in scores&mdash;some boisterous, some
+oily-mouthed, some unmitigated ruffians, others crafty rogues.</p>
+
+<p>Several times he accosted one of these men, and inquired if he had seen
+a betting man having the name of Marvel on his hat; each time the
+response was the same.</p>
+
+<p>'I have not seen him here to-day. I know who you mean well enough, but
+he is not here. I can lay you the odds if you like. You would be safe
+with me.'</p>
+
+<p>Further inquiry elicited the conjecture that 'he might have gone up
+North, or to some other distant races.'</p>
+
+<p>'There are two meetings pretty well every day,' one said, 'sometimes
+three, and a man cannot be at them all. What do you want him for? If it
+is to get money out of him, you won't find the job a very easy one,
+unless he has happened to strike on a vein of luck. You had much better
+take the odds from me.'</p>
+
+<p>Captain Hampton explained that his business was a private one, and
+altogether unconnected with betting.</p>
+
+<p>'Well, if you will give me your name I will let him know that you want
+to see him, if I happen to run up against him. I should say that he will
+be at Reading next week.'</p>
+
+<p>But Captain Hampton said his name would be unknown to Marvel, and the
+bookmaker, after looking him over suspiciously, concluded that it was of
+no use wasting further time, and turning away set up a stentorian shout
+of 'Six to one, bar one.'</p>
+
+<p>Captain Hampton tried Reading, but was as unsuccessful here as in his
+previous attempts.</p>
+
+<p>'Want Marvel?' one man he asked repeated. 'Well, I have not seen him
+here, and I haven't seen him for the last ten days; so I expect he has
+either gone down on a country tour, or he is ill, or he is so short of
+the dibs that he can't pay his fare down. He would be here if he could;
+for he would manage to make enough money to pay his expenses, anyhow. It
+is hard when a man cannot do that.'</p>
+
+<p>Captain Hampton was not to be baffled, and after examining a sporting
+paper took a ticket early next morning for the North. He was away a
+week, and returned home disheartened. He had not seen the man nor did
+any of those he had questioned know the name of Marvel. 'It is like
+enough I may know the man,' one said confidentially, 'but I don't know
+the name; names don't go for much in the outside ring. A man is Marvel
+one day, and if when the racing is over he cannot pay his bets and has
+to go off quiet, he alters the cut of his hair next time and puts a
+fresh name on his hat, and is ready to take his davy, if questioned,
+that he was not near the course, and never heard the name of Marvel; and
+as he is sure to have some one with him to back him up and swear that he
+was with him at the other side of England on that day, the chap as wants
+his money concludes that he may as well drop it.'</p>
+
+<p>The day after his return Ned Hampton went to Epsom and there recognised
+with a start of satisfaction the man of whom he was in search. He had no
+name in his hat, and was talking to two or three men of his own class,
+one of whom he recognised as the man who had offered to tell Marvel that
+he wished to see him. He moved up in the crowd, and placed himself close
+to the men, but with his back towards them. Marvel was speaking.</p>
+
+<p>'But what sort of fellow was he?'</p>
+
+<p>'A military-looking swell.'</p>
+
+<p>'And he said I should not know his name? I should know it sharp enough
+if it was down in my book without a pencil mark through the bet. There
+are people, you know, who, quite accidentally of course, I haven't
+settled up with.'</p>
+
+<p>There was a laugh among the group. 'A good many I should fancy, Jacob,
+but I don't think this chap could have been one of them. A man who has
+been left in the lurch generally takes it out in strong language. If
+this chap had wanted you for a tenner and you had not forked over, he
+would probably have spoken of you as a swindling scoundrel and said that
+if he met you he would take it out of you in another way if he could not
+get the money. Now he didn't seem put out at all; he wanted to see you
+about something or other, but I don't think it was anything to do with
+money. I can always tell when there is anything wrong about that. A man
+may put it as mild as he likes, but there is something in it that says
+he is nasty.'</p>
+
+<p>'Well, I don't want to see him whoever he is,' Marvel said, 'so if he
+comes across any of you again tell him you hear I've retired, or that I
+have drowned myself, or anything else you like, but that anyhow I ain't
+likely to be on any of the courses again this season. And mind, you
+don't know anything about where I live or where he is likely to get any
+news of me.'</p>
+
+<p>'But where have you been the last fortnight, Jacob?'</p>
+
+<p>'I have been on another job altogether, and if it turns out well you
+ain't likely to see much more of me here. I have had about enough of
+it.'</p>
+
+<p>As he found that he was not likely to hear more, Hampton moved away in
+the crowd, but continued to keep Marvel in sight. In two or three
+minutes the man separated from his companions, moved off the course, and
+stood for a minute or two with his hands in his pockets, meditating.
+Then his mind was made up. He pushed his way through the crowd, crossed
+the course, and walked quickly towards one of the entrances. Captain
+Hampton followed him closely, and was by no means surprised to see him
+walk to the station.</p>
+
+<p>'He is evidently nervous about what they have told him,' he said to
+himself, 'and although he cannot tell what my business with him may be,
+he is determined to avoid me. All the better; I should have had great
+difficulty in keeping my eye on him in the crowd later on, and now I
+won't lose sight of him again.'</p>
+
+<p>Entering the station, the man waited until a train came up and then took
+his place in a third class carriage. Hampton entered the next
+compartment, but, to his great annoyance, found on arriving at Waterloo
+that Marvel was not in the carriage.</p>
+
+<p>'Confound it,' he muttered angrily, 'he must have slipped out at one of
+the other stations without my noticing him. It must have been at
+Vauxhall, just as those four men were pushing past me to get out. I am a
+nice sort of fellow to take up the amateur detective business. To hunt
+for a man for nearly three weeks and then when I have found him to lose
+him again like this. I will go across and see Danvers. Of course he will
+have the laugh against me. Well, I can't help that; I will take his
+advice about it. I am evidently not fit to manage by myself.'</p>
+
+<p>Danvers had just returned from the Courts when Captain Hampton reached
+the chambers.</p>
+
+<p>'Hullo, Hampton, where do you spring from? Everyone has missed you from
+your accustomed haunts. Some said you had eloped with an heiress; others
+that you are wanted for forgery. I met the Hawtreys last night at
+dinner. They both asked me after you. The young lady quite seemed to
+take your disappearance to heart. The more so, I think, because she had
+sent down a servant with a note to your lodgings, and the girl had
+learnt from your landlady that you had been away for a week. Of course,
+I could not enlighten her. Her father took me apart and asked me quite
+seriously about you. He seemed to think that you had been trying to
+ferret out something about this confounded letter business. He told me
+he had talked it over with you, regarding you as almost one of the
+family.'</p>
+
+<p>'That is just what I have been about, Danvers, and I have made an
+amazing ass of myself.'</p>
+
+<p>'You don't mean to say that!' Danvers exclaimed in affected surprise.
+'Well, I know you used to do it at school sometimes, but I hoped that
+you had got out of the habit.'</p>
+
+<p>'Bosh!' Hampton laughed. 'But I own I have done it this time. You
+remember that fellow on the racecourse?'</p>
+
+<p>'You mean at the Oaks. Of course I remember him.'</p>
+
+<p>'Well, it struck me that he might be the man who had sent the letters.
+He had, as Hawtrey told us in the evening, a bitter grudge against him,
+and such a dirty trick as this was just the sort of thing that a
+disreputable broken-down knave like him might concoct to gratify his
+malice.'</p>
+
+<p>'You are right there; I wonder the idea did not occur to me. Well, I
+retract what I said just now; so far you have told me nothing to justify
+the epithet you bestowed on yourself.'</p>
+
+<p>'My first idea,' Hampton went on, without noticing the interruption,
+'was that as I had nothing particular to do I would go down to some of
+the races near town where I felt certain I should find him, follow the
+fellow back, and track him to his home. Then I had intended to come to
+you and ask your advice as to the next step to be taken.'</p>
+
+<p>'There you showed your sagacity again, Hampton. Well, what came of it?'</p>
+
+<p>'I went for a fortnight to every racecourse near town and asked after
+Marvel from bookmakers of his stamp. They all seemed rather surprised at
+his absence, and suggested that perhaps having failed to pay up here he
+had gone to one of the country meetings up in the North. I was up in
+Yorkshire for a week but with no better result. I came up last night and
+went to Epsom this morning and there spotted my man.' He then related
+the conversation he had overheard and the manner in which he had allowed
+the man to slip through his fingers. Danvers could not help laughing,
+though he, too, was vexed.</p>
+
+<p>'I can quite understand your missing him at Vauxhall, Hampton. Of course
+it is easy to be wise after the event. It would not have done for you to
+have got in the same compartment with him at Epsom. You don't look like
+a third-class passenger, and the idea that you were the military swell
+who had been enquiring after him would probably have occurred to him;
+but if you had got out at a station or two further on, and then taken
+your place in his carriage, that idea would hardly have entered his
+mind.'</p>
+
+<p>'Well, the result is I have thrown away three weeks of my leave in
+taking a lot of trouble and we are no nearer than we were before.'</p>
+
+<p>'Not much, except that we have learnt that the man is engaged on a
+different matter, in which he intends to make money, and also that there
+is but little probability of his being met with again for some time on a
+racecourse. Of course, this business may be altogether unconnected with
+that of the Hawtreys, but on the other hand it may be. I am afraid there
+is little clue left for us to follow up. Getting out at Vauxhall might
+mean that he lived in that neighbourhood, or at Camberwell, or Peckham,
+or Kennington, or anywhere about there; or he might have crossed the
+river, and there is all the region between Chelsea and Westminster to
+choose from. If we knew that he went under the name of Marvel something
+might be done, but it is a hundred to one against that being the name he
+goes by in his domestic circle. If you have come to me for advice I can
+give you none; I can see nothing whatever to do but to wait for new
+developments. Have you seen the "Liar" this week?'</p>
+
+<p>'No; I never look at it.'</p>
+
+<p>'Well, you see there is a nasty paragraph there that unmistakably
+alludes to the affair. I have no doubt it is Halliburn's doing; he got
+so annoyed at these letters keeping on coming&mdash;and indeed it seems that
+some have been sent to him with 'Look before you leap,' 'Be sure that
+all is right before it is too late,' and things of that sort&mdash;that he
+went off to Scotland Yard, kicked up a row there, showed the envelopes
+he had received to the authorities, and gave them the whole history
+about the others. Of course, they promised that they would do what they
+could, and equally of course they will be able to do nothing. Well, I
+suppose some understrapper there got to hear of it, and probably sold
+the thing to one of the men who gather up garbage for the "Liar." I have
+got the paper. There, that is the paragraph: "There is a possibility
+that a marriage that has been arranged in high life may not come off
+after all. The noble lord who was to figure as bridegroom has received
+the unpleasant information that the young lady has been pestered with
+demands for money in exchange for compromising letters, and has himself
+received missives calculated to make one in his position extremely
+uncomfortable. Further developments may be looked for."'</p>
+
+<p>'It is scandalous,' Captain Hampton exclaimed passionately, 'that a
+blackguard rag like this is allowed to exist!'</p>
+
+<p>'Quite so, Hampton; I agree with you most heartily. Still, there it is,
+and others like it, and we have got to put up with it. If it had not
+been for that fool, Halliburn, taking things into his hands this notice
+would never have got in. One of Hawtrey's servants came round in a cab
+to fetch me this morning. I found him foaming with rage, talking about
+horsewhipping and all sorts of things. It is curious how that sort of
+thing still lingers in the minds of country squires. I told him, of
+course, that would make it ten times worse. Then he talked of an action,
+and I said, "Now, my dear Mr. Hawtrey, you are getting altogether beyond
+my province. As a friend I am very glad to give you my advice as long as
+it is merely a question of endeavouring to find out the authors of these
+libels. Now it has assumed an altogether different phase, and you must
+go to your lawyer for advice. I am sure that he will tell you that you
+can do nothing, especially as in point of fact the statements are
+perfectly true. Still, there is no saying how far the thing will go, and
+whether it may not be necessary eventually to take legal steps;
+therefore it is only fair to your solicitor that you should put him in
+possession of the whole circumstances as far as they have gone."</p>
+
+<p>'"Very well," he said, "I will go down at once to Harper and Hawes, and
+take their advice about it."'</p>
+
+<p>'There is one comfort,' Captain Hampton said; 'there are not many people
+who will understand to whom this paragraph relates. I suppose there have
+been a dozen lords of one sort and another who have become engaged
+during the season, so that, except for us who are behind the scenes,
+there is nothing to point distinctly to the identity of the parties.'</p>
+
+<p>'You need not count on that,' Danvers said shortly. 'This paragraph is
+merely intended to whet the curiosity of the public. You will see that
+next week there will be another, saying that they are now able to state,
+beyond fear of contradiction, that the nobleman and young lady who have
+been persecuted by anonymous letters are Lord Halliburn and Miss
+Hawtrey.'</p>
+
+<p>'This sort of thing makes one regret that duelling has gone out of
+fashion,' Captain Hampton said savagely. 'There is nothing would give me
+greater pleasure than to parade the editor of that blackguard paper at
+six o'clock to-morrow morning on Wimbledon Common!'</p>
+
+<p>'It would no doubt be a pleasure to you, my dear Hampton,' Danvers said
+tranquilly, 'and the result might be a matter of unmingled satisfaction
+to all decent people; but, you see, it cannot be done. If it could have
+been he would have been shot years ago, noxious beast that he is. It
+being impossible, let us change the subject. What are you going to do
+this evening?'</p>
+
+<p>'I am going to have dinner first.'</p>
+
+<p>'It is only six o'clock, my dear fellow.'</p>
+
+<p>'All the better. I want to get it over, so as to go round and catch the
+Hawtreys before they go out&mdash;that is to say, if they are going to a ball
+or anything of that sort, and not to a dinner; Mr. Hawtrey knows I have
+been doing what I could to find out this betting fellow, but has not
+mentioned it to his daughter, for the same reason, probably, that I have
+taken pains to avoid meeting them since I began the search. At any rate,
+I should not like her to think that I have been away for this three
+weeks on my own pleasure, in perfect indifference to the unpleasant
+position in which she is placed, so I shall go to report progress&mdash;or,
+rather, want of progress&mdash;and to assure them that I will continue the
+search until I have run this fellow to earth.'</p>
+
+<p>Danvers looked at his friend through his half-closed eyes with a gleam
+of quiet amusement.</p>
+
+<p>'The Indian sun does not seem to have cooled the enthusiasm of your
+youth, Hampton. You used to throw yourself then like a young demon into
+the middle of a football scrimmage, and rowed stroke in that four of
+yours till you rowed your crew to a standstill, and then tugged away all
+to yourself, till they got their wind again. To us, jaded men&mdash;&mdash;'</p>
+
+<p>'Shut up, man!' Hampton said hotly, 'this is no joking matter. Here is
+the honour and happiness of a girl who, when she was a little child, was
+very dear to me'&mdash;Danvers' eyes twinkled momentarily&mdash;'and I should be a
+brute if I did not do everything I could to put the matter straight; and
+I am quite sure,' he went on more quietly, 'that although, of course,
+they are not such friends of yours as they are of mine, you would spare
+no trouble yourself if you only saw any way in which you could be of
+real assistance.'</p>
+
+<p>'Perhaps so, old man, perhaps so; but I should not get into fever heat
+about it. You see, the matter at present principally concerns Halliburn.
+It is his business and privilege to stand first in the line of defence
+of the character of the young lady to whom he is engaged.'</p>
+
+<p>'And a nice mess he has made of his first move,' Captain Hampton agreed,
+pointing to the copy of the 'Liar.' 'Well, I won't wait any longer; they
+dine at seven o'clock when they are alone, and I will go round at eight
+on the chance of finding them in.'</p>
+
+<p>Danvers sat looking at the empty grate for some minutes after he had
+left. 'It is about even betting, I should say,' he muttered to himself,
+'and I think, if anything, the odds are slightly on Hampton, though he
+has not the slightest idea at present that he has entered for the race.
+The other one has got the start, but Hampton always had no end of last,
+and he will take every fence well, and it seems to me there are likely
+to be some awkward ones. Besides, I am not half sure that the other
+fellow will run straight when the pinch comes.'</p>
+
+<p>When Captain Hampton presented himself at the house in Chester Square,
+he found, to his satisfaction, that Mr. Hawtrey and his daughter were at
+home.</p>
+
+<p>'They have just finished dinner, sir,' the servant said; 'dessert is on
+the table.'</p>
+
+<p>'Then I will go in,' Captain Hampton said, and, opening the dining-room
+door, walked in.</p>
+
+<p>'I am presuming on my old footing to enter unceremoniously, Mr.
+Hawtrey,' he said.</p>
+
+<p>'I am glad to see you. You are heartily welcome, Ned. This reminds one
+of old times indeed.'</p>
+
+<p>Dorothy's welcome was sensibly cooler, while Mrs. Daintree, who had from
+the first set herself strongly against his intimacy at the house, was
+absolutely frigid.</p>
+
+<p>Ned saw that Dorothy's colour had perceptibly paled since he last saw
+her, and that she looked harassed and anxious.</p>
+
+<p>'It is three weeks since I saw you,' he said.</p>
+
+<p>'Is it?' she asked with an air of indifference. He laughed outright.</p>
+
+<p>'That was really very well done, Dorothy, and I quite understand what it
+means. You think I have been neglecting you altogether, and amusing
+myself while you were in trouble; and were that the case I should
+deserve all the snubbing, and more, that you could give me. I believe
+that your father has not told you what I have been doing, and I do not
+wish to enter into details now,' and he glanced towards Mrs. Daintree,
+'but I feel that I must, in justice to myself, assure you that the whole
+of my time has been occupied in the matter, and that although I have no
+success to boast of, I have, at least, tried my very best to deserve
+it.'</p>
+
+<p>'That is good of you, Ned,' the girl said brightly. 'I have been feeling
+a little hurt at your desertion, and thought it did not seem like you to
+leave me in trouble. I always used to rely upon you when I got into a
+scrape. I don't want to know what you have been doing, though father can
+tell me if he likes, but I am quite content to take your word for it.
+Now I must go; it is time for us to dress. I wish I could stay at home
+and have a quiet evening, but you see I am no longer quite my own
+mistress.'</p>
+
+<p>'Well, Hampton, what have you been doing, and why have you not been to
+see me before? I heard you were in town&mdash;at least, I heard so ten days
+ago.'</p>
+
+<p>'I should have come, sir, before, had I had anything to tell you. I have
+nothing much now, and in fact have to-day bungled matters considerably;
+still, I shall start on a fresh search to-morrow, and hope to be luckier
+than I have been so far.' He then gave a detailed account of his visits
+to racecourses, of his meeting with Truscott that morning, of the
+conversation he had overheard, and of the manner in which the man had
+eluded him.</p>
+
+<p>'Well, Ned, you certainly have deserved success, and I am indeed obliged
+to you for the immense trouble you have taken over the matter. It is too
+bad your spending your time over this annoying affair, when you are only
+home on a year's leave. What you have learned is, of course, no direct
+proof that Truscott has a hand in this affair; at the same time, what he
+said confirms to some extent your suspicions of him. Would it not be as
+well to put the search for him into the hands of a detective, now that
+there is some one definite to search for? One of these men might be
+useful, and I really would vastly rather employ one than know that you
+are spending day after day searching for him yourself. These men are
+accustomed to the work; they know exactly the persons to whom to apply;
+they have agents under them, who know infinitely better the sort of
+place where such a fellow would be likely to take up his quarters than
+you can do.'</p>
+
+<p>'No doubt that is so,' Captain Hampton admitted reluctantly. 'I should
+have liked to have run him down myself, now that I have hunted him so
+long. Still, that is a matter of no importance, the great thing is to
+lose no time. I will get Danvers to give me a note to the man he spoke
+to first.'</p>
+
+<p>'On my behalf, remember, Ned; he must be engaged on my behalf.'</p>
+
+<p>'Very well, sir, if you wish it so; but I would rather that you and I
+arrange with him direct, and that it is not done by your solicitors.
+Danvers told me that you were going to them this morning about that
+infamous paragraph in the "Liar."'</p>
+
+<p>'Certainly they shall have nothing to do with it,' Mr. Hawtrey said
+hotly; 'I was a fool to go to them at all; I might as well have gone to
+two old women. They have been lawyers to our family for I don't know how
+many years, and are no doubt excellent men in their capacity of family
+lawyers, but this matter is altogether out of their line. They looked at
+each other like two helpless fools when I told them the story, and said
+at once that they would not undertake to advise me, but that I had
+better go to Levine, or one of the other men who are always engaged in
+these what they call delicate cases, that is to say, hideous scandals.
+However, I have made up my mind to keep clear of them all as far as I
+can; but, of course, I must be guided to some extent by Halliburn's
+opinion, or rather his wishes. As to his opinion, I have no confidence
+in it one way or the other. I'm glad you did not say anything about what
+you had been doing before my cousin; she is worrying herself almost into
+a fever about it, the more so because there is no one to whom she can
+talk about it. She means well, but were it not that just at present it
+is absolutely necessary that Dorothy should show herself everywhere with
+a perfectly unconcerned air, I would make some excuse to send Mrs.
+Daintree down to the country again; as it is, I must keep her as a
+chaperon, but she is very trying I assure you, and I believe would come
+into my study to cry over the affair half-a-dozen times a day, if I
+would but let her. Now, Ned, you must excuse me, the carriage will be
+round in a few minutes, and as, with one thing and another, I got back
+too late to dress for dinner, I have not another minute to spare. Shall
+I give you a note authorising you to arrange with the detective?'</p>
+
+<p>'There is no occasion for that; I shall speak in your name, and as he
+will want to have an interview with you before long, you can then
+confirm any arrangement I have made as to his remuneration.'</p>
+
+<p>Hampton called in on Danvers in the morning for the address of the
+detective, Slippen, and a card of introduction. The address was in
+Clifford's Inn, and on finding the number Hampton saw the name over a
+door on the ground floor. A sharp looking boy was sitting on a high
+stool swinging his legs. He evidently thought that amusement somewhat
+monotonous and was glad of a change, for he jumped down with alacrity.</p>
+
+<p>'The governor is in, sir, but he has got a party in with him. I will
+take your card in. I expect he will be glad to get rid of her, for she
+has been sobbing and crying in there awful.'</p>
+
+<p>'I am in no particular hurry,' Captain Hampton said, amused at the boy's
+confidential manner.</p>
+
+<p>'Divorce, I expect,' the lad went on, as Captain Hampton took a seat on
+the only chair in the dark little office. 'I allus notice that the first
+time they comes they usually goes on like that. After a time or two they
+takes it more business-like. They comes in brisk, and says, "Is Mr.
+Slippen in?" just the same as if they was asking for a cup of tea. When
+they goes out sometimes they look sour, and I knows then that he,' and
+he jerked his thumb towards the inner office, 'hasn't any news to tell
+'em; sometimes they goes out looking red in the face and in a regular
+paddy, and you can see by the way they grips their umbrellas they would
+like to give it to some one.'</p>
+
+<p>'You must find it dull sitting here all day. I suppose you haven't much
+writing to do?'</p>
+
+<p>'I doesn't sit here much. I am mostly about. There ain't many as comes
+here of a day, and he can hear the knocker. Those as does come calls
+mostly in the morning, from ten to eleven. There, she is a-moving.'</p>
+
+<p>The inner door opened, and a stout woman came out looking flushed and
+angry; the boy slid off his stool and opened the door for her, and then
+took Captain Hampton's card in. A moment later Mr. Slippen himself
+appeared at the door.</p>
+
+<p>'Will you walk in, Captain Hampton? I am sorry to have kept you waiting.
+I rather expected,' he said, as he closed the door behind him, 'that I
+should have a call, either from Mr. Danvers or some one from him, when I
+saw that paragraph in the "Liar." I made sure it was the case he was
+speaking to me about, and I said to myself, "They are safe to be doing
+something now."'</p>
+
+<p>'Yes, it is that case that I come about. I am here on the part of Mr.
+Hawtrey, the father of the young lady. I am an intimate friend of the
+family. Mr. Danvers gave you the heads of the matter.'</p>
+
+<p>The detective nodded; he was a rather short, slightly-built man, with
+hair cut very short and standing up aggressively; his eyes were widely
+opened, with a sharp, quick movement as they glanced from one point to
+another, but the general expression of the face was pleasant and
+good-tempered.</p>
+
+<p>'He told you my opinion so far as I could form it from the very slight
+data he gave me?'</p>
+
+<p>'Yes, you thought at first that the writer of the threats really had
+possession of compromising letters; but upon hearing that she was
+engaged you thought it likely that the letters might be the work of some
+aggrieved or disappointed woman.'</p>
+
+<p>'That is it, sir.'</p>
+
+<p>'So far as we can see,' Captain Hampton went on, 'neither view was
+correct; certainly the first was not. We have, as we think, laid our
+fingers on the writer, who is a man who believes himself to have a
+personal grievance against Mr. Hawtrey himself.' He then related the
+whole story.</p>
+
+<p>'He may be the man,' Mr. Slippen said, when he had finished. 'At any
+rate there is something to go on, which there was not before. There will
+be no great difficulty in laying one's hand on him, but at present we
+have not a shred of real evidence&mdash;nothing that a magistrate would
+listen to.'</p>
+
+<p>'We quite see that. Still, it will be something to find him; then we can
+have him watched, and, if possible, caught in the act of posting the
+letters.'</p>
+
+<p>'You will find that difficult&mdash;I do not mean the watching him nor seeing
+him post his letters, but bringing it home to him. I would rather have
+to deal with anything than with a matter where you have got the Post
+Office people to get round. Once a letter is in a box it is their
+property until it is handed over to the person it is directed to. Still,
+we may get over that, somehow. The first thing, I take it, is to find
+the man. You say his betting name is Marvel?'</p>
+
+<p>'That is the name he had on his hat at Epsom on the Oaks day, but he may
+have a dozen others.'</p>
+
+<p>'Ah, that is true enough. Still, no doubt he has used it often enough
+for others to know him by it; and now for his description.</p>
+
+<p>'Thank you, that will be sufficient. I think I will send a man down to
+Windsor at once; the races are on again to-day. He will get his address
+out of one or other of his pals. It will cost a five-pound note at the
+outside. If you will give me your address, I shall most likely be able
+to let you have it this evening.'</p>
+
+<p>'I wish to goodness I had come to you before,' Captain Hampton said.
+'Here I have been wasting three weeks trying to find the man, and
+spending fifty or sixty pounds in railway fares, stand tickets and
+expenses, and you are able to undertake it at once.'</p>
+
+<p>'It is a very simple matter, Captain Hampton. I have been engaged in two
+or three turf cases, and one of my men knows a lot of the hangers-on at
+racecourses. Watches and other valuables are constantly stolen there,
+and as often enough these things are gifts, and are valued beyond their
+mere cost in money, their owners come to us to try if we can get them
+back for them, which we are able to do three times out of four. Whoever
+may steal the things, they are likely to get into one of four or five
+hands, and as soon as we let it be known that we are ready to pay a fair
+price for their return and no questions asked, it is not long before
+they are brought here. I don't say I may be able to find out this man's
+exact address, but I can find out the public-house or other place where
+he is generally to be met with. I don't suppose the actual address of
+one in ten of these fellows is known to others. They are to be heard of
+in certain public-houses, but even their closest pals often don't know
+where they live. Sometimes, no doubt, it is in some miserable den where
+they would be ashamed to meet anyone. Sometimes there may be a wife and
+family in the case, and they don't want men coming there. Sometimes it
+may be just another way. Many of these fellows at home are quiet,
+respectable sort of chaps, living at some little place where none of
+their neighbours, and perhaps not even their wives, know that they have
+anything to do with racing, but take them for clerks or warehousemen, or
+something in the city. So I don't promise to find out the fellow's home,
+only the place where a letter will find him, or where he goes to meet
+his pals, and perhaps do a little quiet betting in the landlord's back
+parlour.'</p>
+
+<p>'That will be enough for us, to begin with at any rate.'</p>
+
+<p>'Of course, the private address is only a matter of a day or two
+longer,' Mr. Slippen went on. 'I have only to send that boy of mine up
+to the place, and the first time the fellow goes there he will follow
+him, if it is all over London, till he traces him to the place where he
+lives. If, as he said, he is going to give up attending the races for
+the present, he may not go there for a day or two. But he is sure to do
+so sooner or later for letters.'</p>
+
+<p>'Thank you. It would be as well to know where he lives, but at any rate
+when we have what we may call his business address we shall have time to
+talk over our next move.'</p>
+
+<p>'Yes, that is where the real difficulty will begin, Captain Hampton. I
+expect you have got to deal with a deep one, and I own that at present I
+do not see my way at all clear before me.'</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_V" id="CHAPTER_V"></a>CHAPTER V</h2>
+
+
+<p>That evening Mr. Slippen's boy presented himself at Captain Hampton's
+lodgings with a note. It contained only the words 'Dear sir,&mdash;Our man
+uses the "White Horse," Frogmore Street, Islington. I await your
+instructions before moving further in the matter.'</p>
+
+<p>'Well, youngster, what is your name?' Captain Hampton asked, as he put
+the note on the table beside him.</p>
+
+<p>'Jacob Wrigley,' the lad replied promptly.</p>
+
+<p>'Here is half-a-crown for yourself, Jacob.'</p>
+
+<p>'Thank you, sir,' the boy said, as he took it up with a duck of the head
+and slipped it into his pocket.</p>
+
+<p>'Your office hours seem to be long, Jacob; that is, if you have been
+there since I saw you this morning.'</p>
+
+<p>'No, sir, I ain't a-been there since one o'clock, not till an hour ago.
+I have been down at Greenwich, keeping my eye on a party there. I got
+done there at six o'clock, and as the governor had said "Come round and
+tell me what you have found out, I shall be in up to nine o'clock,"
+round I went in course. The governor and me don't have no regular hours.
+Some chaps wouldn't like that, but it doesn't matter to me, 'cause I
+sleeps there.'</p>
+
+<p>'Sleep where, Jacob?'</p>
+
+<p>'In where you see me. The things is stowed away in that cupboard in the
+corner, and I get on first-rate. It is a good place, especially in
+winter. I lays the blankits down in front of the fire, and keeps it
+going all night sometimes.'</p>
+
+<p>'But haven't you got any place of your own to go to, Jacob?'</p>
+
+<p>The boy shook his head. 'I was brought up in a wan, I was,' the boy
+said. 'I hooked it one day, two years ago, 'cause they knocked me about
+so. I pretty nigh starved at first, but one day I saw a chap prigging an
+old gent's ticker. The old one shouted just as he got off; I was on the
+look-out and as the chap came along I chucked myself down in front of
+him and down he came. I grabbed him, and afore he could shake me off a
+lot of chaps got hold of him and held him till a peeler came up. They
+did not find the watch on him, but I had seen him as he ran pass
+something to a chap he ran close to and pretty nigh knocked down. I gave
+my evidence at the police court. The governor happened to be there, and
+arter it was over and the chaps had got six months, and the beak had
+said I gave my evidence very well, and gave me five bob out of the poor
+box, he came up to me and said, "You are a smart young fellow. Do you
+want a job?" I said I just did, and so he took me on; that is how it
+came about, you see. The only thing I don't like is, he makes me go to a
+night school. He says I shan't never do no good unless I can get to read
+and write; so I does it, but I hates it bitter.'</p>
+
+<p>'He is quite right, Jacob. You stick to it; it will come easier as you
+get on.'</p>
+
+<p>'Yes, I know I wants it, for letters and that sort of thing, but it is
+bitter hard. I would rather stand opposite a house all day in winter
+than I would sit for an hour trying to make my pen go where I wants it
+to. It allus will go the other way, and the drops of ink will come out
+awful. Good night, sir.'</p>
+
+<p>'Good night, lad. Tell Mr. Slippen when you see him that I shall
+probably be round to-morrow or next day.'</p>
+
+<p>On the following morning Captain Hampton called early at Chester Square.
+Mr. Hawtrey and Dorothy had just finished breakfast. Mrs. Daintree, as
+was her custom after being out late the night before, had taken hers in
+bed.</p>
+
+<p>'I have good news so far. I have discovered, or rather Slippen has,
+where Truscott is to be found. He frequents a public-house called the
+White Horse, Frogmore Street, Islington.'</p>
+
+<p>'That is good news indeed, Ned,' Mr. Hawtrey said warmly, as he shook
+hands with him. As he turned to Dorothy, he saw with surprise that she
+had turned suddenly pale, and that her hands shook as she put down the
+cup.</p>
+
+<p>'You are pleased, are you not, Dorothy?' he asked in surprise.</p>
+
+<p>The girl hesitated. 'Yes,' she said, 'of course, I am pleased in one
+way, but not in another. It frightens me to think that the man may be
+brought up, and that I may have to give evidence; it is horrid being
+talked about, but it would be much worse to stand up to be stared at,
+and to have it all put in the papers.'</p>
+
+<p>'Pooh, pooh, my dear, your evidence will be very simple,' her father
+said. 'You will only have to tell that you received the first of these
+letters, that you know nothing of the man, and that his assertion that
+he has letters of yours is utterly false.'</p>
+
+<p>'Yes, father, but I have noticed that in all trials of this sort they
+ask such numberless questions, and that they always manage somehow to
+put the witnesses into a false light. They will say, "How do you know
+that he has no letters of yours? Do you mean to tell this court that you
+have never written any letters?" And when I have said I have never
+written any letters that I should object to having read out in court
+they will insinuate that I am telling a lie, and that I have done all
+sorts of dreadful things; and though they will not be able to prove a
+word of it, I shall know, as I go out, that half the people will believe
+that I have. I shall hate it, and I am sure that Algernon will hate it
+even more.'</p>
+
+<p>'Well, Algernon has no one but himself to thank for its having come to
+this pass,' Mr. Hawtrey said sharply. 'It was his interference, and his
+going down to Scotland Yard, that caused that paragraph to appear in the
+paper. If he had left the matter alone nothing whatever would have been
+heard about it outside our circle. I like Halliburn, but I must say that
+at present nothing would give me more satisfaction than to hear that he
+had gone for a month upon the Continent, for he comes round here every
+afternoon, and worries and fusses over the matter until he upsets you
+and fills me with an almost irresistible desire to seize him by the
+shoulders and turn him out of the room.'</p>
+
+<p>'He is a little trying, father,' Dorothy admitted, 'but of course he
+does not like it.'</p>
+
+<p>'Nor do any of us. It is a hundred times worse for you than it is for
+him, and yet&mdash;But there, let us change the subject. What is it you were
+saying, Ned? Oh yes, you have heard where Truscott lives.'</p>
+
+<p>'Not exactly where he lives, but the public-house where he is to be met
+with, and in his case it comes to pretty well the same thing. I had
+nothing to do with finding it out. The man Slippen took it in hand, and
+in a few hours did more than I had done in three weeks. He sent a fellow
+down to Windsor, to some betting men he knew, and sent me word in the
+evening. It was rather mortifying, I must confess, and I feel as if I
+had been taken down several pegs in my own estimation.'</p>
+
+<p>'And what is to be done next, father?' Dorothy asked anxiously.</p>
+
+<p>'Ah, that is the point we shall have to talk over, my dear. At present
+we have not a thread of evidence to connect him with the affair. We
+must, in the first place, bring it home to him. Afterwards, we will see
+whether we must have him arrested and charged in court, or whether we
+can frighten him into making a confession. I am very much afraid that,
+after all that has been said about it, there will be nothing for it but
+a public prosecution; however, there will be time to think of that
+afterwards.' Captain Hampton saw Dorothy go pale again, and mentally
+resolved that he would do all in his power to save her from the ordeal
+from which she evidently shrank. He was a little surprised at her
+nervousness, for as a child she had been absolutely fearless, but he
+supposed that the worry, and perhaps the fidgeting of Halliburn had
+shaken her somewhat, as, indeed, was natural enough. 'You are going
+round to see this detective, I suppose?' Mr. Hawtrey asked.</p>
+
+<p>'Yes, I came in on my way for instructions. Slippen will no doubt
+propose that a sharp watch shall be kept over his movements, and I
+suppose that there can be no doubt that is the right thing to be done.'</p>
+
+<p>'I should say so, certainly.'</p>
+
+<p>'That, at least, Miss Hawtrey, will commit us to nothing afterwards, and
+I trust even yet we may find some way of avoiding the unpleasantness you
+feared.'</p>
+
+<p>'I may as well go with you, Ned,' Mr. Hawtrey said; 'I have nothing
+particular to do this morning; a walk will do me good. I am getting
+bilious and out of sorts with all this worry, and would give a good
+round sum to be quietly down in Lincolnshire again. Dorothy evidently
+feels it a good deal more than I should have thought she would,' he went
+on as they left the house.</p>
+
+<p>'It is a horribly annoying sort of thing to happen to anyone, Mr.
+Hawtrey; because it is so desperately difficult to meet anonymous
+slander of this sort, and of course her engagement makes it so much the
+worse for her.'</p>
+
+<p>'Yes, that is the rub, Ned. I am not at all pleased with the fellow; he
+seems to think of nothing but the manner in which it affects himself. I
+have had, once or twice, as much as I could do not to let out at him. I
+had it on the tip of my tongue to say, "Confound it, sir! What the deuce
+do I care for you or your family? The ancestors through whom you got
+your title were doubtless respectable enough, and as far as I know, may,
+two or three generations back, have been washer-women, when our people
+had already held their estates hundreds of years." Of course, Dorothy
+takes his part, but my own belief is that it is he who is worrying her,
+quite as much as the scandal itself.</p>
+
+<p>'Dorothy is not marrying for a title; she refused a higher one than his
+last autumn. I don't say that his being a lord might not have influenced
+her to some extent; I suppose all girls have vanity enough to like to
+carry off a man whom scores of others will envy her for, but I don't
+think that went very far with her. I believe that, as far as she knew of
+him, she liked him for himself; not, I suppose, in any desperate sort of
+way, but as a pleasant, gentlemanly sort of fellow of whom everyone
+spoke well, and whom she esteemed and thought she could be very happy
+with. She has no occasion to marry for money; of course my estate is, as
+I dare say you know, entailed, and will go to my cousin, Jack Hawtrey,
+who is a sporting parson down in Somersetshire&mdash;a good fellow, with a
+large family; but there will be plenty for her from her mother, besides
+my unentailed property.</p>
+
+<p>'I cannot help thinking that Halliburn's worrying, and the very evident
+fact that he thinks more of the scandal as affecting his future wife
+than of her feelings in the matter, may have shown her that she had
+over-estimated him, and that although he may be a very respectable and
+well-behaved young nobleman, he is a selfish and shallow-minded fellow
+after all. Dorothy may say nothing now, but she is not the sort of girl
+to forgive that sort of thing, and I don't mind saying it to you, as an
+old friend, Ned, that I should not be at all surprised if, when once
+this affair is thoroughly cleared up, she throws Halliburn over
+altogether.'</p>
+
+<p>Captain Hampton made no reply, but had his companion turned to look at
+him he could hardly have avoided noticing that the expression on his
+face expressed anything but sympathy with the tone of irritation in
+which he had himself spoken.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Slippen was in when they arrived at Clifford's Inn. The door was
+opened by him when they knocked, a proof that the boy was not at his
+post.</p>
+
+<p>'Come in, Captain Hampton; I fancied that you would be down here.'</p>
+
+<p>'This is Mr. Hawtrey, Mr. Slippen,' said Ned, as they followed him into
+his room; 'he thought he would like to talk over with you the plan of
+campaign.'</p>
+
+<p>'I am glad you have come, sir; it is always more satisfactory to meet
+one's principal in matters of this kind; there is less chance of any
+mistake being made. It is surprising sometimes to find, after one is
+half through one's work, that one has been proceeding under an entirely
+false impression. One may think, for example, that one's client is bent
+upon carrying a matter out to the bitter end, and will not hear of
+anything of a compromise, and then one discovers that he is perfectly
+ready to condone everything, and to make every sacrifice to avoid
+publicity. Of course, if one had known that in the first place, it would
+have immensely facilitated matters.'</p>
+
+<p>'I should be very glad to avoid publicity myself,' Mr. Hawtrey said,
+'but unfortunately the matter has gone so far that I do not see how it
+can possibly be avoided.'</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Slippen shook his head.</p>
+
+<p>'I don't see, myself, at present,' he agreed, 'how the scandal is to be
+set at rest, except by the prosecution of its author&mdash;that is to say, if
+we can get evidence enough to prosecute him. Of course, if we had such
+evidence it would be easy enough to force him into making a complete
+retractation; but, if we did, such a retractation would hardly be
+satisfactory, as, supposing it were published, people would say, "How
+are we to know that this letter is written by the fellow who wrote the
+others? If it is the man, how is it that he is not prosecuted for it?"
+Certainly there would be a strong suspicion that he had been bought
+off.'</p>
+
+<p>'I see that myself,' Mr. Hawtrey agreed. 'I don't see any other way of
+clearing the matter up except by putting him in the dock, though I would
+give a great deal to avoid it. My daughter is extremely averse to the
+idea of the publicity attending such an affair, and especially to having
+to appear as a witness, which is not surprising when one knows the
+outrageous licence given to counsel in our days to cross-examine
+witnesses.'</p>
+
+<p>Captain Hampton noticed the sudden keen glance shot at his client from
+Mr. Slippen's eyes, followed by a series of almost imperceptible little
+nods, and was seized with a sudden and fierce desire to make a violent
+assault upon the unconscious detective.</p>
+
+<p>'At any rate,' Mr. Hawtrey continued, 'I see nothing at present but to
+let the matter go on, and for you to obtain, if possible, some decisive
+proof of the man's connection with these letters. So far we have really
+only the most shadowy grounds for our suspicion against him.'</p>
+
+<p>Again Mr. Slippen nodded, this time more openly and decisively.</p>
+
+<p>'Quite the most shadowy, Mr. Hawtrey. I am far from saying that he may
+not be the man, but beyond his having, as I understand, a grievance of
+very many years' duration against yourself there is really nothing
+whatever to connect him with the affair.'</p>
+
+<p>'Nothing, Mr. Slippen. It is, in fact, simply because there is no one
+else against whom we have even such slight grounds as this to go upon,
+that we suspect this fellow of being the author of these rascally
+communications.'</p>
+
+<p>'You will understand, Mr. Hawtrey, that being employed by you I consider
+it my duty to let you know exactly the light in which the matter strikes
+me. Of course, I do not know the man as you do, but from what I have
+learnt from Captain Hampton he seems to be an unprincipled blackguard; a
+man who has been concerned in various shady transactions on the turf,
+and who has come down to the rank of the lowest class of betting men; a
+fellow who pays his bets when he has made a winning book on a race and
+is a welsher when he loses.</p>
+
+<p>'Of course, it may be that such a man is of so vindictive a nature that
+he may have taken all this trouble simply to annoy you, but I cannot
+help thinking that if he had embarked upon it he would have played his
+hand so as not only to annoy but to extort money to cease that
+annoyance. Now the writer of these letters has certainly not done that.
+Had he had any idea of extorting money he would have sent some sort of
+private intimation to you, by means of a cautiously worded letter, to
+the effect that an arrangement could be made by which the thing could be
+put a stop to. You have received no such missive; therefore, if this man
+is the author he is simply a malicious scoundrel, and not, in this
+instance at any rate, a clever rogue, as I should certainly have
+expected to find him from his antecedents.'</p>
+
+<p>'That is to say, you do not think he is the man?'</p>
+
+<p>'Yes, I think it comes almost to that, Mr. Hawtrey. I do not know him,
+and, of course, he may be the man, but I own that I shall be a good deal
+surprised if I find that he is so. Still, in the absence of any other
+clue whatever, I propose to follow this up. It will be something at
+least to clear it out of the way and to have done with it. I shall
+detail my boy to watch the public-house till the man comes to it, and
+then to find out where he lives and what are his habits; to follow his
+footsteps and take note of every place where he posts a letter. We shall
+get, at any rate, negative evidence that way. If, for instance, a letter
+is posted in the south of London, and we know that on that day the man
+never went out of Islington, I think that it will be very strong proof
+that he has nothing to do with the matter. Of course the reverse would
+not be so convincing the other way; but if we had the coincidence, three
+or four times repeated, of the letter bearing the mark of a district in
+which he had dropped one into the post, we should feel that we were a
+long way towards proving his connection with the affair.'</p>
+
+<p>'Quite so,' Mr. Hawtrey agreed; 'that will, as you say, either go far to
+confirm our suspicions, or will altogether clear the ground so far as he
+is concerned, and we must then look for a clue in some other direction
+altogether.'</p>
+
+<p>That afternoon Captain Hampton, having nothing to do, made his way up to
+Islington. The lad was not to be put on the watch until the next
+morning, and he thought that he might see this man at the public-house
+he frequented, and perhaps glean something from any conversation he
+might have with the men he met there. After some inquiry as to the
+direction of Frogmore Street, he turned up the Liverpool Road, and had
+gone but a few hundred yards when his eye fell on a couple engaged in
+earnest conversation on the raised walk, on the opposite side of the
+street. He paused abruptly in his stride. One was unquestionably the man
+for whom he was seeking. He was better dressed than when he had seen him
+before, and had more the air of a gentleman, but there could be no
+question as to his identity. The other was as unmistakably Dorothy
+Hawtrey.</p>
+
+<p>There was no question of an accidental likeness; it was the girl
+herself, and he recognised the dress as one he had seen her wear.
+Turning sharply on his heel he turned down a bye street, and came out
+into Upper Street. There were too many people here for him to think; he
+passed on, walking in the road at the edge of the pavement, to the
+Angel, and then turned down the comparatively quiet pavement of
+Pentonville Hill.</p>
+
+<p>What could it mean? He could see but one solution, and yet he refused to
+accept it. To believe it was to believe Dorothy Hawtrey to be guilty of
+deception and lying. Was it possible that, after all, this man could
+have possessed letters of hers, and that she had been driven at last to
+meet him and redeem them? He remembered her pallor when she had heard
+that morning that this fellow's whereabouts had been discovered, and how
+she had urged that no steps should be taken against him. It had all
+seemed natural then; it seemed equally natural now under this new
+light&mdash;and yet he refused to believe it. So he told himself over and
+over again. That he had seen her in conversation with Truscott was
+undeniable; of that, at least, he was certain, but equally certain was
+it to him that there must be some other explanation of the meeting than
+that which had at first struck him. What could that explanation be? No
+answer occurred to him; he could hit upon no hypothesis consistent with
+her denial of any knowledge whatever of the writer of these letters.</p>
+
+<p>He was at the bottom of the hill now; disregarding the hails of various
+cabmen, he crossed the road and made his way down through the squares.
+It was better to be walking than sitting still. He scarcely noticed
+where he was going, and was almost surprised when he found himself in
+Jermyn Street. He went upstairs, lighted a cigar, and sat down.</p>
+
+<p>'What is coming to me?' he said to himself. 'I am generally pretty good
+at guessing riddles, and there must be some explanation of this mystery,
+if I can but hit upon it.'</p>
+
+<p>But after thinking for another hour, the only alternative to the first
+idea that had occurred to him was that Dorothy, in her horror of the
+idea of a public trial and of being forced to appear in the witness box,
+had taken the desperate resolution to find this man herself, at the
+address he had mentioned to her and her father, to bribe him to desist
+from his persecution of her, and to warn him that unless he moved away
+at once the police would be on his track.</p>
+
+<p>It was all so unlike the high-spirited child he had known, and the girl
+as he had believed her still to be, that it was difficult to credit that
+she would allow herself to be driven to take such a step as this, in
+order to escape what seemed to him a minor unpleasantness.</p>
+
+<p>Still, as he told himself, there were men of tried bravery in many
+respects who were moral cowards, and it might well be that, though
+generally fearless, Dorothy might have a nervous shrinking from the
+thought of standing up in a crowded court, exposed to an inquisition
+that in many cases was almost a martyrdom. It was an awful mistake to
+have made. If the scoundrel had been bribed into silence now, he would
+be all the more certain to recommence his persecution later on, and
+after having once met with and paid him for his silence how could she
+refuse to do so when another demand was made?</p>
+
+<p>One thing seemed to Ned Hampton unquestionable. He must maintain an
+absolute silence as to what he had seen&mdash;the harm was done now and could
+not be undone. He was certain that she had not noticed him, and could
+never suspect that he had her secret. As for himself there was nothing
+for him now but to stand aside altogether. Filled as he was with the
+deepest pity for Dorothy, he was powerless to help her. When the next
+trouble came it was her husband who would have to stand beside her, and
+to whom, sooner or later, she would have to own the false step she had
+taken.</p>
+
+<p>He felt that at any rate it was out of the question that he should see
+her again at present. It was fortunate that he had retired from the
+investigation in favour of Mr. Slippen, and could therefore run away for
+a bit without seeming to have deserted Mr. Hawtrey. He had thought about
+hiring a yacht, and this would serve as a pretext for him to run down to
+Ryde. He could easily put away a fortnight between that town, Cowes,
+Southampton, and Portsmouth. As to the yacht he had no real intention
+now of looking for one. He must wait for a while and see what happened
+next. He was sure to meet men he knew at Southsea, and anything was
+better than staying in London.</p>
+
+<p>He accordingly at once wrote a note to Mr. Hawtrey, saying that it would
+be some time before Slippen obtained such evidence against Truscott as
+would put them in a position to bring it home to him, and that as he
+could not be of any use for a time he had resolved to run down for a
+week to Southsea, and look round the various yards in search of a yacht
+of about the size he wanted, for a cruise of six weeks or two months,
+with the option of taking her up the Mediterranean through the winter.
+Then he wrote several letters of excuse to houses where he had
+engagements, and started the next morning by the first train for
+Portsmouth. He was a fortnight absent, and on his return called on Mr.
+Hawtrey at an hour when he knew that he was not likely to meet Dorothy.</p>
+
+<p>'So you are back again, Ned? Your note took me quite by surprise, for
+you had said nothing as to your going away when I met you early in the
+day.'</p>
+
+<p>'No, sir, it was a sort of sudden inspiration. I was sick of London, and
+had had a very dull time of it going about to races for three weeks
+before; so I thought that I would have a complete change, made up my
+mind at once, packed my portmanteau, and was off. Have you had any news
+from Slippen?'</p>
+
+<p>'None. He has written to me two or three times; his last note came this
+morning, saying that his boy has been watching the public-house ever
+since, and that the man has certainly not been there. The boy is a sharp
+fellow and found that the fellow had called in there on the very day
+before he began his watch, and he also discovered by bribing a postman
+where he had lodged, but upon going there found he had given up his room
+on the same day he had last been at the public-house, and had left no
+address, nor had the people of the house the slightest idea where he had
+gone. I suppose the fellow took fright at the publicity there had been
+about the affair; at any rate, no more of those letters have come since.
+That is certainly a comfort, but it looks as if we were never going to
+get to the bottom of the mystery. Of course, it is extremely annoying,
+but I suppose we shall live it down. Halliburn offered a reward of a
+hundred pounds for the discovery of Truscott's, or as he calls him
+Marvel's, address. That was a week ago, and he has received no answer as
+yet, which is certainly a fresh proof that the fellow was the author of
+the letters. If not, he himself would have turned up and claimed the
+reward.'</p>
+
+<p>'That is not quite certain, Mr. Hawtrey. He has doubtless been concerned
+in many other shady transactions, and may think he is wanted for some
+other affair altogether.'</p>
+
+<p>'You are right, that may be so; I did not think of that. Still, it is
+strange the offer of a reward has brought no news of him. He must be
+well known to numbers of men who would sell their own father for a
+hundred pounds.'</p>
+
+<p>'If he is really alarmed he may have changed his name, and gone to some
+part of the country where he is altogether unknown, or he may have
+crossed the Channel to some of the French or Belgian ports. There is a
+lot of betting carried on from that side, and he may manage to live
+there as he has lived here&mdash;by fleecing fools.'</p>
+
+<p>Two days later, Hampton met the Hawtreys at a dinner-party. Dorothy was
+looking pale and languid, but at times she roused herself and talked
+with almost feverish gaiety. Lord Halliburn was there; he was sitting
+next to Dorothy, and seemed silent and preoccupied, and looked, Hampton
+thought, vexed when she had one of her fits of talking. When they had
+rejoined the ladies after dinner Hampton was chatting with the lady he
+had taken down, and who was an old friend of his family.</p>
+
+<p>'Is it not awfully sad, this affair of Miss Hawtrey's?' she said. 'It is
+evidently preying on her health. I never saw anybody more changed in the
+course of a few weeks. Of course, everyone who knows her is quite
+certain that there is no foundation whatever for these wicked libels
+about her. Still, naturally, people who don't know her think that there
+must be something in it, and she must know, wherever she goes, that
+people are talking about it. It is terrible! I do not know what I should
+do were she a daughter of mine.'</p>
+
+<p>'Yes, it is a most painful position; there does not seem any method by
+which these anonymous libels can be met and answered. The most
+scandalous part of the business is that any notice of a thing of this
+sort should get into the papers. The form in which it was noticed
+rendered it impossible to obtain redress of any kind; the statements
+contained as to the annoyance caused by these letters, and as to the
+nature of their contents, were accurate, and Mr. Hawtrey is therefore
+unable to take any steps against them. I have known Miss Hawtrey from
+the time that she was a little child; as you are aware they are my
+greatest friends, and I assure you that one's powerlessness in these
+days to take any step to right a wrong of this sort, makes me wish I had
+lived at any time save in the middle of the nineteenth century. A
+hundred years ago one would have called out the editor or proprietor, or
+whatever he calls himself, of a paper that published this thing, and
+shot him like a dog; four hundred years ago one would have sent him a
+formal challenge to do battle in the lists; if one had lived in Italy a
+couple of centuries back, and had adopted the customs of the country,
+one would have had him removed by a stab in the back by a bravo&mdash;not a
+manner that commends itself to me I own, but which, as against a man
+whose journal exists by attacking reputations is, I should consider,
+perfectly legitimate.'</p>
+
+<p>'But he is not the chief offender in the case, Captain Hampton.'</p>
+
+<p>'I don't know. The anonymous libeller could really have done no harm had
+it not been that there were organs that were ready to inform the world
+of his attacks upon this lady; the letters could have been burnt and
+none been any the wiser, and in time the annoyance would have ceased.'</p>
+
+<p>'Do you think the author of these things will ever be found out?'</p>
+
+<p>'I should hardly think so. It is clearly the outcome of malice on the
+part of some man or woman who has either a grudge against Mr. Hawtrey,
+his daughter, or Lord Halliburn, or of some one interested in breaking
+off Miss Hawtrey's engagement.'</p>
+
+<p>'I don't think Lord Halliburn has behaved nicely in the matter,' Mrs.
+Dean said. 'If he had shown himself perfectly indifferent to the affair
+from the first, people would never have talked so much. It is his
+palpable annoyance that has more than confirmed these gossiping
+rumours.'</p>
+
+<p>'Between ourselves, Mrs. Dean, although I should not at all mind his
+knowing it, my opinion is, that Halliburn is a cad.'</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Dean laughed. 'It is next door to blasphemy to speak in society of
+a peer as a cad, Captain Hampton; still, I am not at all sure that you
+are wrong. But I must be going; my husband has been making signs to me
+for the last ten minutes.'</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VI" id="CHAPTER_VI"></a>CHAPTER VI</h2>
+
+
+<p>Captain Hampton had spoken harshly of Lord Halliburn, but then he was
+scarcely able to appreciate the difficulties of the young nobleman. Lord
+Halliburn was in many respects a model peer. His talents were more than
+respectable, his life was irreproachable, he was wealthy and yet not a
+spendthrift. The title was of recent creation, his father being the
+first holder of the earldom, having been raised to that rank for his
+political services to the Whig party, just as his grandfather, a wealthy
+manufacturer, had been rewarded for the bestowal of a park, a public
+library, and other benefactions to his native town, by a baronetcy. And
+yet Lord Halliburn supported his position as worthily as if the earldom
+had come down in an unbroken line from the days of the Henrys, and was
+held up as an example to less tranquil and studious spirits.</p>
+
+<p>He had scarcely been popular at Eton, for he avoided both the river and
+the playing fields, and was one of a set who kept aloof from the rest,
+talked together upon politics, philosophy, and poetry, held mildly
+democratic opinions as to the improvement of the existing state of
+things, were particular about their dress, and subdued in their talk.
+That they were looked upon with something like contempt by those who
+regarded a place in the eight or the eleven as conferring the proudest
+distinction that could be aimed at, they regarded not only with
+complacency, but almost with pride, and privately considered themselves
+to belong to a far higher order than these rough athletes. At college,
+his mode of life was but little altered. He belonged to a small coterie
+who lived apart from the rest, held academic discussions in each others'
+rooms upon many abstruse subjects, were familiar with Kant, regarded the
+German thinkers with respectful admiration, quoted John Stuart Mill and
+Spencer as the masters of English thought, were mildly enthusiastic over
+Carlyle and Ruskin, and had leanings towards Comte and Swedenborg.</p>
+
+<p>It was only at the Union that Lord Everington, as he then was, came in
+contact with those outside his own set, and here he quite held his own,
+for he was a neat and polished speaker, never diverging into flights of
+fancy, but precise as to his facts and close in his reasoning. His
+speeches were always listened to with attention, and though far from
+being one of the most popular, he was regarded as being one of the
+cleverest and most promising debaters at the Union. Just as he was
+leaving college a terrible blow fell upon him, for at the sudden death
+of his father, he succeeded to the title. To some men the loss would not
+have been without its consolations. To him it meant the destruction of
+the scheme on which he had laid out his life. He had intended to enter
+Parliament as soon as possible, and had sufficient confidence in himself
+to feel sure that he should succeed in political life, and would ere
+many years become an Under-Secretary, and in due course of time a member
+of the Cabinet.</p>
+
+<p>Now all this prospect seemed shattered. In the Peers he would have but
+slight opportunity of distinguishing himself, and would simply be the
+Earl of Halliburn, and nothing more. It was, however, to his credit that
+even in the dull atmosphere of the Gilded Chamber he had, to some
+extent, made his mark. He studied diligently every question that came
+up, and, while clever enough not to bore the House by long speeches, he
+came, ere long, to be considered a very well-informed and useful young
+member of it, and had now the honour of being Under-Secretary for the
+Colonies. It was a recognition of his work that he enjoyed keenly,
+although he felt bitterly how few were his opportunities in comparison
+to what they would have been had his chief been in the Peers and he in
+the Commons.</p>
+
+<p>As it was, his fellow peers evinced no curiosity whatever in regard to
+colonial matters, and it was of rare occurrence that any question was
+asked upon the affairs of which he had charge. Nevertheless, it was a
+great step. It brought him within the official circle, and more than
+once the mastery of the subject shown in his answers had won for him a
+few words of warm commendation from the Leader of the House.</p>
+
+<p>Then came, as he now thought it, the unfortunate idea of marriage. It
+would add to his weight, he had considered. As a bachelor his house in
+Park Lane, his place in the country, and his wealth, were but of slight
+advantage to him, but, as his chief one day hinted to him, he would be
+able to be of far more use to his party were he in a position to
+entertain largely.</p>
+
+<p>'We are rather behindhand in that respect, Halliburn. Four-fifths of the
+good houses are Tory. These things count for a good deal. You may say
+that it is absurd that it should be so, but that does not alter the fact
+that it gratifies the wives and daughters of the country members to have
+such houses open to them. You have plenty of money, and you don't throw
+it away, so that you can afford to do things well. If I were you, I
+should certainly look out for a wife.</p>
+
+<p>'She need not be a politician. She need not even belong to one of our
+families. Whatever her people's politics she will naturally, as your
+wife, come in time to take your views; and besides, there is no harm,
+rather the reverse, in keeping up a connection with that side. You must
+see as well as I do that the time is fast coming when there will be a
+considerable change in politics. Even now we are far nearer, upon all
+important points, to the Tories than we are to these Radical fellows who
+at present vote with us, but who in time will want to control us. The
+Tories have come much nearer to us, and we to them. Already we are
+scarcely in a majority on our own side of the house, and it will not be
+many years before we shall have to concede the demand to give a large
+share of ministerial appointments to Radicals. We shall then perceive
+that we must choose between becoming the followers of men whose ways and
+politics we hate, or the allies of men of our own stamp, whose way of
+looking at things differs but very little from our own. Therefore, I
+should say it would be just as well for you to choose a wife from their
+ranks as from your own.'</p>
+
+<p>Lord Halliburn had, as was his custom, thought the matter over coolly
+and carefully, and had come to the conclusion that it would be well for
+him to marry. He was by no means blind to the fact that there would be
+no great difficulty in his doing so. He was not unobservant of the
+frequency of invitations to houses where there were daughters of
+marriageable age, and had often smiled quietly at the innocent
+man&oelig;uvres upon the part both of mothers and daughters. He had,
+however, never seriously given the matter a thought, being rather of
+opinion that a wife would interfere with his work, would compel him to
+take a more prominent part in society, and would expect him to devote a
+considerable proportion of his time to her. Now that the matter was
+placed before him in another light, he saw that there was a good deal to
+be said on the other side. The fact that the suggestion came from his
+chief was not without weight, and he decided accordingly to marry.</p>
+
+<p>He proceeded about the matter in the same methodical manner in which he
+carried out the other work of his life, and was not very long in
+deciding in favour of Miss Hawtrey. She was one of the belles of the
+season, and, as was no secret, had refused two or three excellent
+offers. There would, therefore, be a certain <i>éclat</i> in carrying her
+off. She belonged to an old county family. Her father, although a
+Conservative, had taken no prominent part in politics, and his daughter
+would no doubt soon prove amenable to his own opinions and wishes. Above
+all, she would make a charming hostess. Having once made up his mind, he
+set to work seriously, and soon became interested in it to a degree that
+surprised him.</p>
+
+<p>To his rank and his position in the Ministry he speedily found that she
+was absolutely indifferent, and was as ready to dance and laugh with an
+impecunious younger son as with himself. This indifference stimulated
+his efforts, and as a man, as well as a peer and politician, he was
+gratified when he received an affirmative reply to his proposal. His
+chief himself congratulated him upon his engagement, and he knew that he
+was an object of envy to many, for in addition to being a belle, Miss
+Hawtrey was also an heiress, and for a short time he was highly
+gratified at the course of events. It was thus he felt cruelly hard
+when, within a fortnight of his engagement, this unpleasant affair took
+place.</p>
+
+<p>It seemed intolerable to him that the lady whom he had chosen should be
+the subject of these libellous attacks. He did not for an instant doubt
+that she was, as she said, wholly ignorant of the author of these
+letters, and that there was nothing whatever on which these demands for
+money could be based. Still, the business was none the less annoying,
+and in his irritation he had taken the step that had unfortunately
+resulted in the matter becoming public. He was angry with himself;
+angry, although he could have given no reason for the feeling, with
+Dorothy; very angry with society in general, for entertaining the
+slightest suspicion of the lady whom he had selected to be his wife.
+That such suspicion should, even in the vaguest manner, exist, was in
+itself wholly at variance with his object in entering upon matrimony.
+The wife of the Earl of Halliburn should not be spoken of except in
+terms of admiration; that the finger of suspicion should be pointed at
+her was intolerable.</p>
+
+<p>His house might even be shunned, instead of the entry there being so
+exclusive as to be eagerly sought for. Of course, it was not her fault,
+and it should make no difference as to his course. Still, the affair
+was, he freely owned, annoying in the extreme. He had had but few
+troubles, and bore this badly. The belief that the clerks in his office
+were talking of his affairs kept him in a state of constant irritation,
+and he fancied that even the impassive door-keeper smiled furtively as
+he passed him on his way in and out. Being in the habit of attaching a
+good deal of importance to his personality he believed that anything
+that affected him was a matter of much interest to the world at large,
+and that it occupied the thoughts of other people almost as much as it
+did his own. For the first time he felt that there were some advantages
+in a seat in the Upper House. In that grave, and for the most part
+scanty, gathering of men, generally much older than himself, he could
+feel that his troubles elicited but little more than a passing remark,
+and, indeed, the only sign of their knowledge of them that even his
+irritated self-love could detect was a slightly added warmth and
+kindness on the part of two or three of his leaders.</p>
+
+<p>With the younger men it was different. 'I never thought much of that
+fellow Halliburn,' said Frank Delancey, who had been in his form at
+Eton, and was now, like himself, an under secretary, but in the Commons.
+'I never believe in fellows who moon their time away instead of going in
+for the water or fields, and Halliburn is showing now that he is not of
+good stuff. He has not got the cotton out of his veins yet. Of course,
+it is not pleasant for a girl you are engaged to, to be talked about;
+but a man with any pluck and honour would not show it as he does.
+Instead of going about looking bright and pleasant, as if such a paltry
+accusation was too contemptible to give him a moment's thought, he gives
+himself the airs of Hamlet when he begins to suspect his uncle, and
+walks about looking as irritable as a bear with a sore head. He hasn't
+even the decency to behave like a gentleman when he is with her, I hear.
+Young Vaux, of the Foreign Office, told me yesterday that he met them
+both at dinner the day before, and the fellow looked downright cross,
+instead of being, as he ought to have been, more courteous and devoted
+than usual. I fancy that you will hear that it is broken off before
+long. I don't think Dorothy Hawtrey is the sort of girl to stand any
+nonsense.'</p>
+
+<p>'No, I quite agree with you, Delancey,' his companion&mdash;Fitzhurst, member
+for an Irish constituency&mdash;said. 'Still, I should say it would last
+until this blows over. As long as the engagement goes on it is in itself
+a sort of proof that everything is all right, and that these reports are
+but a parcel of lies. The girl would feel that if she broke it off fresh
+stories would get about, and that half the people would say that it was
+his doing and that the stories were true, after all.'</p>
+
+<p>'I will bet you a fiver that it does not come off, Tom.'</p>
+
+<p>'No, I would not take that, but I would not mind betting evens that it
+lasts three months.'</p>
+
+<p>'Well, I will go five pounds even with you, and I will take five to one,
+if you like, that it does not last another month.'</p>
+
+<p>'No, I will take the even bet, but not the other. There is no saying
+what developments may turn up.'</p>
+
+<p>But Dorothy had even before this offered to release Lord Halliburn from
+the engagement; he had refused the offer with vehemence, declaring
+himself absolutely unaffected by the story, and, indeed, taking an
+injured tone and accusing her of doubting his love for her.</p>
+
+<p>'I am not doubting your love, Algernon,' she replied, 'but it is
+impossible for me to avoid seeing that the matter is a great annoyance
+to you, and that it is troubling you very much. You have several times
+spoken quite crossly to me, and I am not in the habit of being spoken
+crossly to. My father is naturally quite as annoyed as you are, but as
+he believes, as you do, that the accusations are entirely false, he is
+not in any way vexed with me.'</p>
+
+<p>'Nor am I, Dorothy; not in the slightest degree, though I own that the
+knowledge that people are talking about us does irritate me; but
+certainly I did not mean to speak crossly to you, and am very sorry if I
+did so.'</p>
+
+<p>And so the matter had dropped, but Dorothy had none the less felt that
+at a time when Halliburn ought to have been kinder than usual, and to
+have helped her to show a brave front in the face of these rumours, he
+had added to instead of lightening her troubles.</p>
+
+<p>One morning at breakfast Dorothy gave an exclamation of surprise upon
+opening one of her letters.</p>
+
+<p>'What is it, my dear?'</p>
+
+<p>'I don't understand it, father. Here is a letter from Gilliat, saying he
+would be obliged if I will hand over to an assistant who will call for
+it to-day, whichever of the two diamond tiaras I may have decided not to
+retain, as he expects a customer this afternoon whom it might suit. I
+don't know what he means. Of course I have not been choosing any jewels.
+I should not think of such a thing without consulting you, even if I had
+had money enough in my pocket to indulge in such adornments.'</p>
+
+<p>She handed the letter to her father.</p>
+
+<p>'It must be some mistake,' he said, after glancing it through; 'the
+letter must have been meant for some one else. It must be some stupid
+blunder on the part of a clerk. We will go round there together after
+breakfast. I have not bought you anything of the sort yet, dear, and was
+not intending to do so until the time came nearer; indeed, I had
+intended to get your mother's diamonds re-set for you. Of course, I
+should have gone to Gilliat's, as we have always dealt with his firm.'</p>
+
+<p>After breakfast they drove to Bond Street.</p>
+
+<p>'I want to see Mr. Gilliat himself, if he is in,' Mr. Hawtrey said.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Gilliat was in.</p>
+
+<p>'My daughter has received a letter which is evidently meant for some one
+else, Mr. Gilliat. It is about two diamond tiaras, which, it seems,
+somebody has taken in order to choose one of them. Of course it was not
+intended for her.'</p>
+
+<p>Gilliat took the letter, glanced at it, and then at Dorothy. 'I do not
+quite understand,' he said doubtfully.</p>
+
+<p>'Not understand?' Mr. Hawtrey repeated with some irritation. 'Do you
+mean to say that Miss Hawtrey has been supplied with two diamond
+tiaras?'</p>
+
+<p>'Would you mind stepping into my room behind, Mr. Hawtrey?' the jeweller
+replied, leading the way into an inner room. As he closed the door his
+eye met Dorothy's with a look of inquiry, as if asking for instructions.
+Hers expressed nothing but surprise. 'Am I to understand, Mr. Hawtrey,'
+he asked gravely, after a pause, 'that Miss Hawtrey denies having
+received the tiaras?'</p>
+
+<p>'Certainly you are,' Mr. Hawtrey said hotly, 'she knows nothing whatever
+about them.'</p>
+
+<p>The jeweller pressed his lips tightly together, thought for a moment,
+and then touched a bell on the table. An assistant entered. 'Ask Mr.
+Williams to step here for a moment.'</p>
+
+<p>The principal assistant entered: 'Mr. Williams, do you remember on what
+day it was that Miss Hawtrey selected the two tiaras?'</p>
+
+<p>'It was about three weeks ago, sir; I cannot tell you the exact day
+without consulting the sales book.'</p>
+
+<p>'Do so at once, if you please.'</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Williams went out and returned in a moment with the book.</p>
+
+<p>'It was the 15th of last month, sir&mdash;July.'</p>
+
+<p>'You served her yourself, I think, Mr. Williams, or, rather, perhaps you
+assisted me in doing so?'</p>
+
+<p>'Certainly, sir.'</p>
+
+<p>'What was the value of the tiaras, Mr. Williams?'</p>
+
+<p>'One was twelve hundred, the other was twelve hundred and fifty, sir.'</p>
+
+<p>'She took them away herself?'</p>
+
+<p>'Certainly, sir; I offered to place them in the carriage for her, but
+she said it was a few doors up the street, and she would take them
+herself.'</p>
+
+<p>'You have not a shadow of doubt about the facts, Mr. Williams?'</p>
+
+<p>'None whatever, sir,' the assistant said, in some surprise.</p>
+
+<p>'You know Miss Hawtrey well by sight?'</p>
+
+<p>'Certainly, sir; she has been here many times, both by herself, for
+repairs or alterations to her watch or jewellery, and with other
+ladies.'</p>
+
+<p>'Thank you, Mr. Williams, that will do at present.'</p>
+
+<p>The door closed and the jeweller turned to his customers.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Hawtrey looked confounded, his daughter bewildered.</p>
+
+<p>'I do not understand it,' she said. 'I have not been here, Mr. Gilliat,
+since the beginning of May, when I came to you about replacing a pearl
+that had become discoloured in my necklace.'</p>
+
+<p>'I remember that visit perfectly, Miss Hawtrey,' the jeweller said
+gravely, 'but I must confirm what my assistant has said. Allow me to
+recall to you that, in the first place, you told me that in view of an
+approaching event you required a tiara of diamonds, and of course,
+having heard of your engagement to Lord Halliburn, I understood your
+allusion, and came in here with you, and had the honour of showing you
+five or six tiaras. Of these you selected two, and said that you should
+like to show them to Mr. Hawtrey before choosing. I offered to send an
+assistant with them, but you said that your carriage was standing a few
+doors off and that you would rather take them yourself. Our firm having
+had the honour of serving Mr. Hawtrey and his family for several
+generations, and knowing you perfectly, I had, of course, no hesitation
+in complying with your request. I may say, as an evidence of the
+exactness of my memory, that Miss Hawtrey was dressed exactly as she is
+at present. I had, of course, an opportunity of noticing her dress as
+she was examining the goods. She had on that blue walking dress with
+small red spots, and the bonnet with blue feathers with red tips.'</p>
+
+<p>'Will you give me the hour as well as the day at which you say my
+daughter called here?' Mr. Hawtrey said sternly.</p>
+
+<p>'My own impression is that it was about three o'clock,' the jeweller
+said, after a moment's thought.</p>
+
+<p>'Will you call your assistant and ask him?'</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Williams being summoned said that he had no distinct recollection as
+to the precise time, but that it was certainly somewhat early in the
+afternoon. He had returned from lunch about two, and it was not for some
+little time after that that Miss Hawtrey called; he should say it was
+between three and half past three.</p>
+
+<p>'That will be near enough,' Mr. Hawtrey said. 'You shall hear from me
+again shortly, Mr. Gilliat; I know that I can rely upon you to say
+nothing in the meantime to anyone on the subject.'</p>
+
+<p>'Certainly, Mr. Hawtrey.'</p>
+
+<p>'Now, Dorothy, let us be going.'</p>
+
+<p>Dorothy at the moment was unable to follow her father; she had sunk down
+in a chair, pale and trembling; her look of intense surprise had given
+way to one of alarm and horror, and it was not until she had drunk some
+water that the jeweller brought her, that she recovered sufficiently to
+take her father's arm and walk through the shop to the carriage.</p>
+
+<p>'Well, Dorothy,' Mr. Hawtrey said, as they drove off, 'what does all
+this mean?'</p>
+
+<p>'I have not the least idea, father; I am utterly bewildered.'</p>
+
+<p>'You still say that you did not go to the shop&mdash;that you did not examine
+those tiaras and choose two of them?'</p>
+
+<p>'Of course I say so, father. I have never been in the shop since I went
+about that pearl. Surely, father, you cannot suspect me of having stolen
+those things.'</p>
+
+<p>'I am the last man in the world to suspect you of anything
+dishonourable, Dorothy, but this evidence is staggering. Here are two
+men ready to swear to the whole particulars of the incident. They are
+both sufficiently acquainted with your appearance to be able to
+recognise you readily. They can even swear to your dress. That you
+should do such a thing seems to be incredible and impossible, but what
+am I to think? You could not have done such a thing in your senses; it
+would be the act of a madwoman, especially to go to a shop where you are
+so well known.'</p>
+
+<p>'But why should I have done it, father? I could not have worn them
+without being detected at once.'</p>
+
+<p>'You could not have worn them,' her father agreed, 'but they might have
+been turned into money had you great occasion for it.'</p>
+
+<p>Dorothy started.</p>
+
+<p>'Do you mean, father&mdash;oh, surely, you never can mean that I could have
+stolen those things to turn them into money in order to satisfy the man
+who has been writing those letters?'</p>
+
+<p>'No, my dear. I don't mean that myself, but that is certainly what
+anyone who did not know you would say. There, don't cry so, child,' for
+Dorothy was sobbing hysterically now; 'do not let us talk any more until
+we get home. We have got the day and hour at which you were supposed to
+have been at Gilliat's. Perhaps we may be able to prove that you were
+engaged somewhere else, and that it was impossible you could have been
+at Gilliat's about that time.'</p>
+
+<p>Nothing more was said until they reached home.</p>
+
+<p>'You had better come into my study, Dorothy; we shall not be disturbed
+there. Now, dear,' he said, 'let us have the matter out. I can only say
+this, that if you again give me your assurance that you are absolutely
+ignorant of all this, and that you never went to Gilliat's on the day
+they say you did, I shall accept your assurance as implicitly as I did
+before; but before you speak, remember, dear, what that entails. These
+people are prepared to swear to you, and will, of course, take steps to
+obtain payment for these things. If such steps are taken the whole
+matter will be gone into to the bottom. Remember everything depends on
+your frankness. It will be terribly painful for you to acknowledge that,
+after all, you had got into some entanglement, and that you did in a
+moment of madness take these things in order to free yourself from it.
+It would be terribly painful for me to hear this, but upon hearing it I
+should of course take steps to raise this twenty-five hundred pounds,
+for at present I do not happen to have so much at my bankers, and to
+settle Gilliat's claim. But even painful as this would be it would be a
+thousand times better than to have all this gone into in public. On the
+other hand, if you still assure me that you know nothing of it I must
+refuse to pay the money, both because to do so would be to admit that
+you took the things, and because, in the second place, whoever has taken
+these tiaras&mdash;for that some one has done so we cannot doubt&mdash;may again
+personate you and involve us in fresh trouble and difficulties.'</p>
+
+<p>'I did not do it, father; indeed I did not do it. I have had no
+entanglement; I was in no need of money; I have never been near
+Gilliat's shop, unless, indeed, I was altogether out of my mind and did
+it in a state of unconsciousness, which I cannot think for a moment. I
+have worried over this until I hardly knew what I was doing, but I never
+could have gone to that shop and done as they say without having a
+remembrance of it. Why, the last place I should choose if I had ever
+thought of stealing would be a place where I was perfectly known.
+Indeed, father, I am altogether innocent. I cannot account for it, not
+in the least, but I am sure that I had nothing to do with it.'</p>
+
+<p>'Then, my dear, I will not doubt you for another moment,' Mr. Hawtrey
+said, kissing her tenderly. 'Now we just stand in the same position as
+we did in regard to the other affair; we have got to find out all about
+it. In the first place, get your book of engagements, and let us see
+what you were doing on the afternoon of the 15th.'</p>
+
+<p>Dorothy went out of the room and soon returned with a pocket book.</p>
+
+<p>'Not satisfactory, I can see,' Mr. Hawtrey said, as he glanced at her
+face.</p>
+
+<p>'No, father; here it is, you see&mdash;"Lunch with Mrs. Milford;" nothing
+else. I remember about that afternoon now. I drove in the carriage to
+Mrs. Milford's, and had lunch at half-past one; there was one other lady
+there. Mrs. Milford had tickets for a concert, at St. James's Hall I
+think it was, but I am not sure about that. I had a headache, and would
+not go with them; and, besides, I had some shopping to do. I got out of
+her brougham in Hanover Square. I went into Bond Street certainly, and I
+got some gloves and scent; then I went into Cocks' and looked through
+the new music and chose one or two pieces, then I went into the French
+Gallery. Mrs. Milford had been talking about it at lunch, so I thought I
+would drop in. There were very few people there, so I sauntered round
+and sat down and looked at those I liked best. It was quiet and
+pleasant. I must have been in there a long time. When I came out I took
+a cab and drove straight home. It was six o'clock when I got back, and I
+remember I went straight up to my room and had a cup of tea there, then
+I took off my gown and my maid combed my hair, as it was time for me to
+dress for dinner. My head was aching a good deal and it did me good. We
+dined at the Livingstones' that evening.'</p>
+
+<p>'It is unfortunate, certainly, Dorothy. I had hoped we might have been
+able to have fixed you somewhere that would have proved conclusively
+that you could not possibly have been at Gilliat's that afternoon. As it
+is, your recollections do not help us at all, for your time from
+somewhere about three till six is practically unaccounted for. The
+people you bought the gloves and scent from could prove that you were
+there, but you probably would not have been many minutes in their shop.
+Cocks' may remember that you were there a quarter of an hour or so.'</p>
+
+<p>'I think I was there half-an-hour, father.'</p>
+
+<p>'Well, say half-an-hour; the rest of the time you were really in the
+picture gallery, but it is scarcely likely that, even if the man who
+took your money at the door or the attendant inside noticed you
+sufficiently to swear to your face, they would be able to fix the day,
+still less have noticed how long you stayed. At any rate it is clear
+that it would be possible for you to have done all you say you did that
+afternoon and still to have spared time for that visit to Gilliat's.'</p>
+
+<p>'I see that it is all terrible, father, but what can it all mean?'</p>
+
+<p>'That is more than I can understand, Dorothy. At present we are face to
+face with what seems to me two impossibilities. I mean looking at them
+from an outsider's point of view. The one is that these shopmen should
+have taken any one else for you when they are so well acquainted with
+your face, and are able to swear even to the dress. No less difficult is
+it to believe that did you require money so urgently that you were ready
+to commit a crime to obtain it, you would go to the people to whom you
+were perfectly well known, and so destroy every hope and even every
+possibility of the crime passing undetected. One theory is as difficult
+to believe as the other. Those letters were a mystery, but this affair
+is infinitely more puzzling. I really do not know what to do. I must
+take advice in the matter, of course. I would rather pay the money five
+times over than permit it to become public, but who is to know what form
+this strange persecution is to take next?'</p>
+
+<p>'Do you think there is any connection between this and the other,
+father?'</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Hawtrey shook his head. 'I do not see the most remote connection
+between the two things. But there may be; who can say?'</p>
+
+<p>'I would rather face it out,' Dorothy said, passionately. 'I would
+rather be imprisoned as a thief than go on as I have been doing for the
+last six weeks; anything would be better. Even if you were to pay the
+money the story might get about somehow, just as the other did. Then the
+fact that you paid it would be looked upon as a proof that I had taken
+the diamonds. Who will you consult, father?'</p>
+
+<p>'My lawyers would be the proper people to consult, undoubtedly; but they
+were quite useless before, and this is wholly out of their line, I
+think. I will take a hansom and go across to Jermyn Street, and see if I
+can find Ned Hampton in. I have great faith in his judgment, and no one
+could be kinder than he has been in the matter. You don't mind my
+speaking to him?'</p>
+
+<p>'Oh, no, father. I would rather that you should speak to him than to any
+one.'</p>
+
+<p>Captain Hampton was in and listened in silent consternation to Mr.
+Hawtrey's story, and for a long time made no answer to the question.</p>
+
+<p>'I can make neither head nor tail of it, Ned. What do you think?'</p>
+
+<p>At first sight it seemed to him that this story explained the meeting he
+had seen opposite the Agricultural Hall. She had either turned the
+diamonds into money or had handed them over to this man to buy his
+silence. Then his faith in Dorothy rose again. It was absolutely absurd
+to suppose for a moment that she should have thus committed a crime
+which must be certainly brought home to her, and which would ruin her
+far more than any revelations this man might make could do.</p>
+
+<p>'It is an extraordinary story, Mr. Hawtrey,' he said, at last; 'even
+putting our knowledge of your daughter's character out of the question,
+is it possible to believe that any young lady possessed of ordinary
+shrewdness would go to a place where she was well known, and, have acted
+in the way that she is reported to have done?'</p>
+
+<p>'It would certainly seem incredible, Ned, but here are two or three
+people prepared to swear that she did do so, and that they identified
+her by her dress as well as by herself.'</p>
+
+<p>'We must look at the matter in every light, Mr. Hawtrey; however
+confident you may feel of her innocence, we must look at it from the
+light in which other people will regard it. They will say, of course,
+that Miss Hawtrey had urgent need of money for some purpose or other,
+and will naturally suppose that reason to be her desire to silence the
+author of those letters. They will say, that although she would of
+course know that the bill would be sent in to her father, she would be
+sure that he would rather pay the money than betray her sin to the
+world.'</p>
+
+<p>'I quite see that,' Mr. Hawtrey agreed, 'but if she had been driven to
+desperation by this fellow, why did she not come direct to me in the
+first place, instead of committing a theft to drive me to pay, when she
+might be pretty sure in some way or other the facts would leak out, and
+do her infinitely more harm with the world than any indiscretion
+committed years ago could do? Besides, had she done it for this purpose,
+would she not have carried through that course of action, and when the
+bill came in have implored me to pay it without question, and so save
+her from disgrace and ruin?'</p>
+
+<p>'That certainly is so,' Captain Hampton said, as his face brightened
+visibly; 'the more one thinks of it the more mysterious the affair
+seems. I should like to think it all over quietly. I suppose you will
+not go out this evening?'</p>
+
+<p>'Certainly not. There will be no more going out until this mystery has
+been cleared up. It has been hard enough for Dorothy to bear up over her
+last trouble, but it would be out of the question for her to go into
+society with this terrible thing hanging over her.'</p>
+
+<p>'Then I will come round about nine o'clock. I shall have had time to
+think it over before that.'</p>
+
+<p>Captain Hampton's cogitations came to nothing. He walked up and down his
+little room until the lodger in the parlour below went out in despair to
+his club. He tried the effect of an hour's stroll in the least
+frequented part of Kensington Gardens. He drove to Mr. Slippen's to
+inquire if any clue had been obtained as to Truscott's movements. He ate
+a solitary dinner at his lodgings and smoked an enormous quantity of
+tobacco, but could see no clue whatever to the mystery. The meeting he
+had witnessed was to him a piece of evidence far more damning than that
+of the jeweller and his assistants. If she could explain that, the other
+matter might be got over, though he could not see how. If she could not
+explain it, it was evident that he had nothing to do but to advise her
+father to settle the business at any cost.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VII" id="CHAPTER_VII"></a>CHAPTER VII</h2>
+
+
+<p>At nine o'clock Captain Hampton called at Chester Square and was shown
+into the drawing-room, from which, as previously arranged, Mr. Hawtrey
+had dismissed Mrs. Daintree, telling her that he had some private
+matters to discuss with Ned Hampton.</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Daintree had retired tearfully, saying that for her part she
+preferred hearing nothing about this painful matter&mdash;meaning that of the
+letters, for she was ignorant of the later development.</p>
+
+<p>Dorothy looked flushed and feverish. Her eyes were large and brilliant,
+and there was a restlessness in her manner as she shook hands with her
+old friend.</p>
+
+<p>'Well, Ned,' she asked, with an attempt at playfulness, 'what is your
+verdict&mdash;guilty or not guilty?'</p>
+
+<p>'You need not ask me, Dorothy. Even the evidence of my own eyes would
+scarcely avail to convince me against your word.' Then he turned to her
+father. 'I have done nothing but think the matter over since you left
+me, and I can see but one solution&mdash;an utterly improbable one, I
+admit&mdash;but I will not tell you what it is until I have spoken to Miss
+Hawtrey. Would you mind my putting a question or two to her alone?'</p>
+
+<p>'Certainly not, Ned,' said Mr. Hawtrey, rising.</p>
+
+<p>But Dorothy exclaimed: 'No, no, father, I will not have it so. I don't
+know what Captain Hampton is going to ask me, but nothing that he can
+ask me nor my answers could I wish you not to hear. Please sit down
+again. There shall be no mysteries between us, at any rate.'</p>
+
+<p>'Perhaps it is best so,' Captain Hampton agreed, though he felt the ring
+of pain in the girl's voice at what she believed to be a sign that he
+doubted her. 'I am willing, as I said just now, to disbelieve the
+evidence of my own eyes on your word. I am determined to believe you
+innocent. It is impossible for me to do otherwise. But there is one
+matter I want cleared up. On the fifteenth of last month&mdash;that is the
+day on which these things were missed&mdash;I saw a lady so exactly like you
+in face and in dress that I should under any other circumstances be
+prepared to swear to her, speaking to the man Truscott, in the Liverpool
+Road, Islington. This was at about half-past four in the afternoon.'</p>
+
+<p>A look of blank wonderment passed across Dorothy's face as he spoke, and
+then changed into one of indignation.</p>
+
+<p>'I was never in Islington in my life, Captain Hampton; I never heard the
+name of Liverpool Road that I know of. I have never seen this man,
+Truscott, since that day at Epsom. And you have believed this? You
+believe that I would meet this man alone, for the purpose, I suppose, of
+bribing him to silence? I have been mistaken in you altogether, Captain
+Hampton. I thought you were a friend.'</p>
+
+<p>'Stop, Dorothy,' her father said, authoritatively, as with her head
+erect she walked towards the door, 'you must listen to this; it is
+altogether too important to be treated in this way. We must hear what
+Captain Hampton really saw, and he will tell us why he did not mention
+the fact to me before. Sit down, my dear. Now, Captain Hampton, please
+tell it to us again.'</p>
+
+<p>Ned Hampton repeated his story, and then went on,</p>
+
+<p>'You know I went suddenly out of town, Mr. Hawtrey. That I had been
+mistaken never once occurred to me. Up to that time I had never for an
+instant doubted your daughter's assertions that she knew nothing as to
+any letters in the possession of Truscott. That morning, as you may
+remember, I mentioned before you the name of the place where he was to
+be found, and when, as I thought, I saw her with him, it certainly
+appeared to me possible that after the dread Miss Hawtrey expressed of
+appearing in a public court to prosecute him, she might, in a moment of
+weakness, have gone off to see the man, to warn him of the consequences
+that would ensue if he continued to persecute her, and to tell him that
+unless he moved he would in a few hours be in custody. I thought such an
+action altogether foreign to her nature, but I own that it never for a
+moment occurred to me to doubt the evidence of my own eyes, especially
+as the person was dressed exactly as your daughter had been when I saw
+her that morning. That the person I saw was not her I am now quite ready
+to admit. In that case it is morally certain that the person who took
+away those jewels was also not her; and this strengthens the idea I had
+before conceived, and which seemed, as I told you, a most improbable
+one, namely, that there is another person who so closely resembles your
+daughter that she might be mistaken for her, and, if so, this person is
+acting with the man Truscott. Should this conjecture be the true one it
+explains what has hitherto been so mysterious. The letters were designed
+to injure your daughter in public estimation, and to prepare the way for
+this extraordinary robbery, which would enrich Truscott as well as
+gratify his revenge. What do you think, Mr. Hawtrey?'</p>
+
+<p>'The idea is too new for me to grasp it altogether, Ned. Until now there
+seemed no possible explanation of the mystery. This, certainly, strange
+and improbable as it is, does afford a solution.'</p>
+
+<p>'Well, father, I will leave you to talk it over,' Dorothy said, rising
+again, 'unless Captain Hampton has seen me anywhere else and wishes to
+question me about that also. And I think, father, that it will be much
+better in future to put the matter altogether into the hands of a
+lawyer; it would be his business to do his best for me whether he
+thought me innocent or guilty. At any rate, it is more pleasant to be
+suspected by people you know nothing about, than by those you thought
+were your friends.' Then without waiting for an answer she swept from
+the room.</p>
+
+<p>'No use stopping her now,' her father said, shrugging his shoulders; 'it
+is not often that I have known Dorothy fairly out of temper from the
+time she was a child, but when she is it is better to let her cool down
+and come round of herself.'</p>
+
+<p>'It will be a long time before she comes round as far as I am
+concerned,' Captain Hampton said. 'I am not surprised that she should be
+indignant that I should have suspected her for a moment, but I don't see
+how I could have helped it. I saw her, or someone as much like her as if
+it was herself in a looking-glass, talking to this man Truscott, the
+very day when we had for the first time found out where we were likely
+to lay hands on him. What could anyone suppose? I did not think for a
+moment that she had done anything really wrong, or even, after what she
+had said, that he could hold letters of any importance; but she had
+evidently so great a dread of publicity that, as I say, it did strike me
+she had gone to meet him in order to warn him, and perhaps to get back
+any trumpery letters he might have had, stolen from her or from some one
+else. I did think this up to the time when you told me of this affair at
+the jeweller's. That seemed so utterly and wholly impossible that I
+became convinced there must be some entirely different solution, if we
+could but hit upon it, and the only idea that occurred to me was that of
+there being some one else exactly like her, and that this person,
+whoever she is, has been used by Truscott both to injure your daughter
+and to obtain plunder.'</p>
+
+<p>'I don't see how you could have helped suspecting as you did, when you
+saw Truscott speaking with some one whom you did not doubt being
+Dorothy. Had I been in your place and witnessed that meeting, it seems
+to me that I must have doubted her myself. Though I am her father, I own
+that I did doubt her for a moment this morning when I heard the story at
+Gilliat's; but let us leave that alone for a moment, Ned; the pressing
+question is, what am I to do?'</p>
+
+<p>'I will give no opinion,' Captain Hampton said firmly; 'that must be a
+question for you and Miss Hawtrey to decide. If my conjecture is right,
+and this man, Truscott, and some woman closely resembling your daughter
+are working to obtain plunder on the strength of that likeness, you may
+be sure that this successful <i>coup</i> they have made will only be the
+first of a series. On the other hand, you have not a shadow of evidence
+to adduce against Gilliat's claim; there is simply her assertion against
+that of two or three other people, and if he sues you, as, of course, he
+will if you do not pay, it seems to me certain that a jury would give
+the verdict against you&mdash;unless, of course, we can put this other woman
+and Truscott into the dock. Should such a verdict be given, although
+some might have their doubts as to this extraordinary story, the public
+in general would conclude that Miss Hawtrey was a thief and a liar.
+There is no doubt that your daughter's advice is the one to be followed,
+and if I were you I would go to Charles Levine, the first thing in the
+morning, lay the whole case before him, and put yourself in his hands.'</p>
+
+<p>'I will do so, Ned. Should I mention to him that you saw her, as you
+thought, with Truscott?'</p>
+
+<p>'That must be as you think fit, sir. I don't think I should do so unless
+it were absolutely necessary. He does not know your daughter as we do,
+and would infallibly put the worst construction upon it. I should
+confine myself to the story of the letters and the jewels, stating that
+you believe there is a connection between them, and that, as you
+implicitly believe Miss Hawtrey's word, the only conclusion you can
+possibly come to is that the person who visited Gilliat's was some
+adventuress bearing a strong resemblance to her, and trading on that
+resemblance.'</p>
+
+<p>'But how about the dress, Ned?'</p>
+
+<p>'If it was, as I take it, a preconceived plot, carefully prepared, one
+can readily conceive that Miss Hawtrey's movements had been watched and
+that a dress and bonnet closely resembling hers had been got in
+readiness.'</p>
+
+<p>'It is an ugly business, Ned,' Mr. Hawtrey said, irritably. 'You and I
+believe Dorothy to be innocent, but the more one looks at it the more
+one sees how difficult it will be to persuade other people that she is
+so. However, I will see Levine in the morning. He has had more difficult
+cases in his hands than any man living.'</p>
+
+<p>'That is the best thing you can do, sir. Now I will say good-night. You
+know where I am to be found, and I must ask you to write to me there and
+make an appointment for me to meet you if you want to see me. I shall
+still do what I can in the matter, and shall spare no efforts to
+endeavour to trace this man Truscott, and if I can find him it is
+probable that I shall be able to find the woman; but please do not let
+Miss Hawtrey know that I am taking any further part in the matter. She
+is deeply offended with me, and from her point of view this is perfectly
+natural. She thinks I ought to have trusted her and believed in her in
+spite of any evidence whatever, even that of my own eyes, and she is
+naturally extremely sore that one whom she regarded as a close friend
+should not have done so. I regret it deeply myself, but seeing what I
+saw&mdash;&mdash;'</p>
+
+<p>'You could not help doing so, Ned,' Mr. Hawtrey broke in warmly; 'as I
+told you I should have doubted her myself. Do not worry yourself about
+that. When she thinks it over she will see that you were in no way to
+blame.'</p>
+
+<p>'That will be a long time first,' Captain Hampton said, gravely;
+'situated as she is, and harassed as she has been, it is very difficult
+to forgive a want of trust on the part of those in whose faith and
+support you had implicit confidence. I shall be very glad if you will
+let me know what Levine advises.'</p>
+
+<p>'That I will certainly do. I will write to you after I have seen him and
+had a talk with Dorothy. There is the affair with Halliburn, which
+complicates the whole question confoundedly. I wish to goodness he would
+start for a trip to China and not come back until it is all over. It is
+lucky that that they have got a serious debate on to-night in the Upper
+House, and that he was, as he told us when he called this afternoon,
+unable to go to the Alberys; if it hadn't been so he would have been
+here by this time, to inquire what had occurred to make us send our
+excuses at the last moment. He will be round here the first thing after
+breakfast. Well, good night, Ned, if you must be going.'</p>
+
+<p>On reaching his lodgings Captain Hampton found a boy sitting on the
+doorstep.</p>
+
+<p>'Halloa,' he said, 'who are you? Out of luck, and want something to get
+supper with, I suppose?'</p>
+
+<p>'I wanted to speak to you, Captain,' the boy said, standing up.</p>
+
+<p>'Why, you are the boy from Slippen's; have you got any news for me?'</p>
+
+<p>'No, Captain, I ain't come on his account, I have come on my own. I have
+left Slippen for good.'</p>
+
+<p>'Well, come up stairs; we can't talk at the door. Now what is it?' he
+asked, as he sat down.</p>
+
+<p>'Well, sir, it is just this: I have left Slippen. You see, it was this
+way: I was a-watching a female party and she wur a good sort. I got up
+as a crossing sweeper, and she never went across without giving me a
+penny and speaking kind like, and one day she sent me out a plate of
+victuals; so I didn't much like the job, and when Slippen wanted me to
+say I had seen a bit more than I had, I up and told him as I wasn't
+going to. Then he gave me a cuff on the head and I gave him some cheek,
+and he told me to take myself out of it and never let him see my face
+again, so you see here I am.'</p>
+
+<p>'I see you are. But why are you here?'</p>
+
+<p>'Well, you see, Captain, you allus spoke nice to me over there, and I
+says to myself, "If I was ever to leave the governor, that is just the
+sort of gent as I should like to work for." I can clean boots with any
+one, and I could run errands, and do all sorts of odd jobs, and if you
+still want to find that chap I was after I would hunt him up for you all
+over London.'</p>
+
+<p>'You are quite sure, Jacob, that you have done with Mr. Slippen? I
+should not like him to think that I had taken you away from him.'</p>
+
+<p>'I ain't a-going back to him no ways,' the boy said, positively, 'not
+even if he would have me; and after what I said to him he would not do
+that. He called me a blooming young vaggerbond, and I says to him,
+"Vaggerbond yourself, ain't you wanting to make up false evidence agin a
+female? You are worse nor a vaggerbond," says I. "You are just the worst
+kind of a spy," says I, "and a liar at that." Then I had to make a bolt
+for it, and he arter me, and he run nigh fifty yards before he stopped;
+that is enough to show how mad he wor over it. First of all I thinks as
+I would go to the Garden, and take to odd jobs and sleeping under the
+waggons, as I used to do afore I took up with him. Then I says to
+myself, "There is that Captain Hampton; he is a nice sort of gent. I
+could get along first-rate with him if he would have me."'</p>
+
+<p>'But those clothes you have got on, Jacob; I suppose Slippen gave you
+those?'</p>
+
+<p>'Not he; Slippen ain't that sort; he got the clothes for me, and says
+he, "These 'ere clothes cost twenty-two bob. I intend to give you
+half-a-crown a week, and," says he, "I shall stop a bob a week for your
+clothes." I have been with him about half a year, so we are square as to
+the things.'</p>
+
+<p>'But how did you live on eighteenpence a week?'</p>
+
+<p>'I got a bob now and then from people who came to Slippen. When they
+knew as I was doing the watching for them they would tip me, so as to
+give me a h'interest in the case, as they said. I used to reckon on
+making two bob a week that way, so with Slippen's eighteenpence, I had
+sixpence a day for grub. I have got my old things wrapped up in the
+cupboard. I used to use them mostly when I went out watching. I can get
+them any time; I have got the key. I used to have to let myself in and
+out, so I have only got to watch till I see him go out, and then go in
+and get my things, and I can leave the key on the table when I come
+out.'</p>
+
+<p>Captain Hampton looked at the boy for some time in silence; it really
+seemed a stroke of good luck that had thrown him in his way. There was
+no doubt of his shrewdness; he was honest so far as his ideas of honesty
+went. He wished to serve him, and would probably be faithful. He himself
+felt altogether at sea as to how to set about the quest for this man and
+the unknown woman who must be his associate. Even if the boy could be of
+no material assistance, he would have him to talk to, and there was no
+one else to whom he could say anything on the subject.</p>
+
+<p>'Well, Jacob,' he said at last, 'I am disposed to give you a trial.'</p>
+
+<p>'Thank you, Captain,' the lad said gratefully. 'I will do my best for
+you, sir, whatever you tell me. I knows as I ain't much good to a gent
+like you, but I will try hard, sir, I will indeed.'</p>
+
+<p>'And now what am I to do with you?' Captain Hampton went on. 'I am sure
+my landlady would not like to have you down in the kitchen, so for the
+present you had better get your meals outside.'</p>
+
+<p>'That is all right, Captain. I can take my grub anywhere.'</p>
+
+<p>'Very well, then, I will give you two shillings a day for food; that
+will be sixpence for breakfast and tea and a shilling for dinner. I
+suppose you could manage on that.'</p>
+
+<p>'Why, it would be just a-robbing of you,' the boy said, indignantly. 'I
+can get a breakfast of a big cup of tea and a whopping piece of cake for
+twopence at a coffee-stall, and the same at night, that is fourpence,
+and for fourpence more I can get a regular blow out: threeha'porth of
+bread and two saveloys for dinner. I could do first-rate on eightpence.'</p>
+
+<p>'That is all nonsense, Jacob. If you are coming to be my servant you
+must live decently. I daresay if you had a place where you could see to
+your own food you might do it cheaper, but having to pay for things at a
+coffee-shop, two shillings a day would be a fair sum. As I don't want
+you to do anything for me in the house at present I do not see that it
+will be of any use getting you livery, so we won't talk about that now.
+You will most likely want another suit of clothes of some sort while
+going about to look for this man, whom I still want to find. As for your
+lodgings, I will see if there is a room vacant upstairs; if not, you
+must get a bed out.'</p>
+
+<p>He rang the bell, and his landlord, who acted as valet to his lodgers,
+appeared.</p>
+
+<p>'Richardson, I have engaged this boy to run errands for me. I do not
+want him to interfere in the house, and have arranged about his board,
+as no doubt you would find him in the way downstairs; but if you have an
+attic empty I should like to arrange for his sleeping here.'</p>
+
+<p>'I could arrange that, sir. I have a small room at the top of the house
+empty; I would let it at four shillings a week.'</p>
+
+<p>'Very well then. He will sleep here to-night.'</p>
+
+<p>'Perhaps he will step up with me and I will show it to him, sir.'</p>
+
+<p>Hampton nodded, and the boy followed the man out of the room. He
+returned in a couple of minutes.</p>
+
+<p>'That will do, I suppose, Jacob?'</p>
+
+<p>'It just will do,' the boy said; 'it is too good for a chap like me. The
+bed is too clean to sleep in: I would a sight rather lie down on the mat
+there, sir.'</p>
+
+<p>'That won't do at all, Jacob. You must get into clean and tidy ways if
+you are to be with me. To-morrow morning I will give you some money, and
+you must go out and get yourself a stock of underlinen&mdash;shirts, and
+drawers, and stockings, and that sort of thing, and another pair or two
+of shoes. And now it is getting late and you had better go off to bed.
+Give yourself a thorough good wash all over before you turn in, and
+again in the morning. Here are two shillings for your food to-morrow. Be
+here at nine o'clock and then we will talk things over. Here is another
+half-crown to get yourself a comb and brush.'</p>
+
+<p>The next morning the boy presented himself looking clean and tidy.</p>
+
+<p>'In the first place here is a list, Jacob, of the things you must get,
+or rather that I will get for you, for I will go out with you and buy
+them. And now about your work. I still want to find this man. Did you
+discover what name he was known by at his lodging?'</p>
+
+<p>'He was known there as Cooper, Captain, I got that out of the servant
+girl, but lord bless you a name don't go for anything with these chaps.
+No, he may call hisself something else at the next place he goes to.'</p>
+
+<p>'You learnt he went away in a cab?'</p>
+
+<p>The lad nodded.</p>
+
+<p>'The first thing to do is to find that cab. It may have been taken from
+a stand near; it may have been one he hailed passing along the road. How
+would you set about that?'</p>
+
+<p>'Offer a reward,' the boy replied promptly. 'Get a thing printed and I
+will leave it at all the stands in that part.'</p>
+
+<p>'Yes, that will be a good way.' Captain Hampton wrote a line or two on a
+piece of paper. It was headed&mdash;A Reward.&mdash;The cabman who took a man with
+several boxes from&mdash;&mdash;'What is the address, Jacob, where the man
+lodged?'</p>
+
+<p>'Twelve, Hawthorn Street.'</p>
+
+<p>'From Hawthorn Street, Islington, on the evening of the 15th July, can
+earn one pound by calling upon Captain Hampton, 150 Jermyn Street.'</p>
+
+<p>'That will do it,' the boy said, as the advertisement was read out.</p>
+
+<p>'Well, I will get a hundred of these struck off at once, then you can
+set to work.'</p>
+
+<p>Having gone to a printer's and ordered the handbills, which were to be
+ready in an hour, Captain Hampton went with the boy and bought his
+clothes.</p>
+
+<p>'Now, Jacob, you will go back to the printer's in an hour's time and
+wait until you get the handbills. Here are five shillings to pay for
+them; then take a 'bus at the Circus for Islington and distribute the
+handbills at all the cab stands in the neighbourhood. I shan't want you
+any more to-day, but if I am at home when you come in you can let me
+know how you have got on. Be in by half-past nine always. You had better
+go on at your night school; you have nothing to do after dark and there
+is nowhere for you to sit here. There is no reason why you should not go
+on working there as usual.'</p>
+
+<p>'All right, Captain; if you says so in course I will go, but I hates it
+worse nor poison.'</p>
+
+<p>On his return Captain Hampton read the paper and wrote some letters, and
+was just starting to go out to lunch when Mr. Hawtrey was shown in.</p>
+
+<p>'I am very glad I have caught you, Ned; I meant to tell you I would come
+round after seeing Levine. This business will worry me into my grave.
+This morning Dorothy declared that the thing must be fought out. Her
+objection to going into court has quite vanished. She says that it is
+the only chance there is of getting to the bottom of things, and that if
+that is not done we must go away to China or Siberia, or some
+out-of-the-way place where no one will know her. Then I went to Levine.
+Danvers called for me and took me there. I wrote to him last night and
+asked him to do so. Nothing could have been more polite than Levine's
+manner&mdash;I should say he would be a charming fellow at a dinner table. I
+went into the whole thing with him, he took notes while I was talking,
+and asked a question now and then; of course, I told him our last
+notion, that there must be somebody about exactly like Dorothy in face
+and figure. "And dress, too?" he asked, with a little sort of emphasis.
+"Yes, and dress too," I said. When I had done he simply said that it was
+a singular case, which I could have told him well enough, and that he
+should like to take a little time to think it over. His present idea was
+that I had best pay the money. I told him that I did not care a rap
+about the money, but that if this thing got about, the fact that I had
+compromised it would be altogether ruinous to my daughter. He said, "I
+think you can rely upon it that Gilliat will preserve an absolute
+silence. I can assure you that jewellers get to know a great many
+curious family histories, and it is part of their business to be
+discreet." "Yes," I said, "but don't you see if, as I believe, this
+fellow Truscott got up the first persecution purely to revenge what he
+believes is a grievance against me&mdash;if that is so, and if he has any
+connection with this second business, you may be sure that somehow or
+other he will get something nasty about it put in one of these gutter
+journals." That silenced him, and he again said he would think it over.
+When I got up to go he asked Danvers to wait a few minutes, as he took
+it that if the matter went into court he would, as a matter of course,
+be retained on our side. So I came away by myself and drove here. The
+worst of it is, I believe that the man thinks that Dorothy did it. Of
+course, as he does not know her he is not altogether to be blamed, but
+it is deucedly annoying to have to do with a man who evidently thinks
+your daughter is a thief.'</p>
+
+<p>'Did he say anything as to our idea that some one else must have
+represented her?'</p>
+
+<p>'Not a single word; he listened attentively while I told him, but he
+made no remarks whatever about it.'</p>
+
+<p>After the doors of Mr. Levine's office had closed behind Mr. Hawtrey,
+the solicitor leant back in his chair and looked at Danvers with raised
+eyebrows.</p>
+
+<p>'You have heard the story before, I suppose?' he asked.</p>
+
+<p>'I heard about the first business, but not about this matter of the
+jewels; except that he gave me a slight outline as we drove here this
+morning. It is a curious business.'</p>
+
+<p>'It is a very unpleasant business, but scarcely a curious one,' the
+lawyer said, with a grave smile. 'I have heard so many bits of queer
+family history, that I scarcely look at anything that way now as
+curious. You would be astonished, simply astonished, did you know how
+often things of this kind occur.'</p>
+
+<p>'Then you think that Miss Hawtrey took the jewels?'</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Levine's eyebrows went up again in surprise at the question. 'My
+impression so far is,' he said, 'as between solicitor and counsel, that
+there is not the slightest doubt in the world about it. The girl had got
+into some bad sort of scrape; some blackguard had got her under his
+thumb. She had a good marriage on hand; it was absolutely necessary to
+shut the fellow's mouth. A largish sum was wanted, and she dared not ask
+her father, so she played a bold stroke&mdash;a wonderfully bold stroke I
+must say&mdash;relying upon brazening it out and getting her father to
+believe&mdash;as she evidently has succeeded in doing&mdash;that there is a double
+of herself somewhere about, who represented her. All the first part of
+the case is a comparatively ordinary one. This is curious, even to
+me&mdash;in its daring audacity, it is really magnificent. Of course, her
+father must pay the money; to defend it would be to ruin her utterly. Do
+you mean to say you don't agree with me?'</p>
+
+<p>'I hardly know what to think,' Danvers said, doubtfully. 'I know Miss
+Hawtrey intimately, and have done so for some years, and in spite of the
+apparent impossibility of her innocence, I own that I cannot bring
+myself to believe in her guilt. She is one of the brightest, frankest,
+and most natural girls I know.'</p>
+
+<p>The lawyer looked at him with a smile of almost pity.</p>
+
+<p>'You surprise me, sir. My experience is that in the majority of cases of
+this kind it is just the very last girl one would suspect who goes
+wrong. Why, my dear sir, if we were to set up such a ridiculous defence
+as this in an action to recover the price of the jewels, we should
+simply be laughed out of court.'</p>
+
+<p>'Mr. Hawtrey tells me that his daughter is most anxious that he should
+defend the case.'</p>
+
+<p>Again the eyebrows went up.</p>
+
+<p>'Of course she would say so. She must know well enough that, whether her
+father put himself into my hands or any one else's, the advice would be
+the same: Pay the money; you have no shadow of a chance of getting a
+verdict, and to bring it into court would utterly ruin your daughter's
+prospects. Of course, it is her cue to appear anxious for a trial,
+knowing perfectly well that such a thing is out of the question.'</p>
+
+<p>'I think you might alter your opinion if you saw her.'</p>
+
+<p>'I certainly should be glad to see her,' Charles Levine said. 'I admire
+talent, and she must be amazingly clever. I have a great respect for
+audacity, and I never heard in all my experience of a more brilliant
+piece of boldness than this. She must be a great actress, too; of the
+highest order. Altogether I should be very glad to see her. She deserves
+to succeed, and as there is no doubt that you and I will be able to
+persuade her father that there is nothing for it but to pay the money. I
+think her success is pretty well assured.'</p>
+
+<p>'I agree with you that this money must be paid, but I am not prepared to
+go further yet.'</p>
+
+<p>'My dear sir,' the lawyer said, 'you confirm the opinion I have always
+held, that the judgment of no man under fifty is worth a penny where a
+young and pretty woman is concerned. Mind, there are many men, perhaps
+the majority, who cannot be trusted in such a matter up to any time of
+life, but up to fifty the rule is almost universal.'</p>
+
+<p>'I am glad to hear it,' Danvers said, 'for in that case your own
+judgment cannot be accepted as final.'</p>
+
+<p>'I rather expected that, Mr. Danvers, but you must remember that in
+matters of this kind I have had more experience than a dozen ordinary
+men of the age of eighty. Now, I really cannot spare any more time. I
+have given your client a good two hours, and my waiting-room must be
+full of angry men. I shall write to Mr. Hawtrey to-morrow to say that
+upon thinking the matter well over my first impressions are more than
+confirmed, and that I am of opinion that no jury in the world would give
+him a verdict, and that it would be nothing short of insanity to go into
+Court. I shall mention, of course, that I am much struck with his theory
+of the affair, which indeed appears to me to furnish the only complete
+explanation of the matter, but that in the absence of a single
+confirmatory piece of evidence it would be hopeless for the most
+eloquent counsel to attempt to persuade twelve British jurymen to
+entertain the theory. I think it would be as well if you were to call on
+him this evening or to-morrow morning and shew him that your view agrees
+with mine. That much you can honestly say, can you not?'</p>
+
+<p>'Certainly. However difficult I may find it to persuade myself that Miss
+Hawtrey is in any way the woman you picture her, I am as convinced as
+you are that it is absolutely necessary that the money should be paid.'</p>
+
+<p>On Mr. Hawtrey reaching his home he found Mrs. Daintree upon the sofa in
+tears, while Dorothy, with a book in her hand, was sitting with an
+unconcerned expression a short distance from her.</p>
+
+<p>'What is the matter now?' he asked testily. 'Upon my word I believe my
+annoyances would have upset Job.'</p>
+
+<p>'Would you believe it? Cousin Dorothy has just declared to me her
+intention of writing to Lord Halliburn to break off the match.'</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Hawtrey did not explode as his cousin had expected that he would do.</p>
+
+<p>'It is not a step to be taken hastily,' he said, gravely, 'but it is one
+upon which Dorothy herself is the best judge. You have not written yet,
+child?'</p>
+
+<p>'No, father. I should not think of doing so without telling you first. I
+have, of course, been thinking a good deal about it, and it certainly
+seems to me that it would be best.'</p>
+
+<p>'Well, a few hours will make no difference. The idea is at present new
+to me: I will think it over quietly this afternoon, and this evening we
+will talk it over together.'</p>
+
+<p>'It would be nothing short of madness for her to do so,' Mrs. Daintree
+said, roused to a state of real anger by Mr. Hawtrey's defection, when
+she had implicitly relied upon his authority being exerted to prevent
+Dorothy from carrying out her intention. 'It would be madness to break
+off so excellent a match. It would make her the talk of the whole town,
+and would seem to confirm all the wicked rumours that have been going
+about.'</p>
+
+<p>'As to the match, cousin, there are as good fish in the sea as ever came
+out of it. As to the public talk, it is better to be talked about for a
+week or two than to have a life's unhappiness. That is the sole point
+with which I concern myself.'</p>
+
+<p>Dorothy, with a softened face now, got up and kissed her father.</p>
+
+<p>'That is right dear,' he said. 'Now let us put the matter aside for the
+present. I have been busy all the morning and want my lunch badly; so
+even if you are not hungry yourself, come down and keep me company.
+Come, cousin, dry your eyes, and put your cap straight, and come down to
+lunch.'</p>
+
+<p>'Food would choke me,' Mrs. Daintree said; 'I have a dreadful headache,
+and shall go and lie down.'</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VIII" id="CHAPTER_VIII"></a>CHAPTER VIII</h2>
+
+
+<p>'Mr. Danvers is in the library, sir,' a servant announced at nine
+o'clock that evening.</p>
+
+<p>'Will you come down, Dorothy?'</p>
+
+<p>'No, father, I do not want to hear what is said. No doubt he will
+suppose I took the diamonds.'</p>
+
+<p>'No, no, my dear, you should not say that.'</p>
+
+<p>'But I do say that, father. When even Captain Hampton was willing enough
+to believe me guilty, what can I expect from others?'</p>
+
+<p>'You are too hard on Ned altogether, Dorothy, a great deal too hard. He
+spent a month of his leave entirely in your service, and now because he
+could not disbelieve the evidence of his own eyes you turn against him.'</p>
+
+<p>'I am obliged to him for the trouble he has taken, father, but that is
+not what I want at present. I want trust; and I thought that if any one
+would have given it to me fully it would have been Ned Hampton, and
+nothing would have made me doubt him.'</p>
+
+<p>'Well, my dear,' her father said, dryly, 'you may think so now, but if
+you were to see him filling his pockets out of a bank till, I fancy for
+a moment your trust in him would waver. However, I will go down to
+Danvers.'</p>
+
+<p>He returned at the end of twenty minutes.</p>
+
+<p>'His advice is the same as that which, as I mentioned this afternoon,
+Levine gave when I told him of the circumstances, and which I have no
+doubt he will repeat when he has further thought the matter over,
+namely, that unless we can obtain some evidence to support your denial,
+we have no chance of obtaining a verdict if we go into court. Danvers
+says that, of course, to those who know you, the idea of your taking
+these diamonds is absolutely preposterous; still, as the jury will not
+know you, and the public who read the report will not know you, they can
+only go by the evidence. He says that trying to look at it as a
+stranger, his opinion would be that it was an extraordinary case, but
+that unless we believed thoroughly that you had not taken the things, we
+should never have taken so hopeless a case into court. Still, he thinks
+that the verdict of those who only look at the outside of things would
+be that the denial was almost worse than the act. Had it not been for
+the unfortunate rumours previously circulated, many people might be of
+opinion that it was a case of kleptomania, and that no woman in her
+senses would have thus openly carried the things away from a place where
+she was well known.'</p>
+
+<p>'I see all that, father; the more I have thought it over, the more I
+feel that it is certain that every one will be against me.'</p>
+
+<p>'Then in that case, Dorothy, why fight a battle we are certain to lose?
+From the money point of view alone, it would be better to pay this
+twenty-five hundred pounds than the twenty-five hundred pounds plus the
+costs on both sides, which we might put down roughly at another
+thousand. If we pay it now, the matter may never become public, for even
+if the scoundrel was malicious enough to try and get a rumour about it
+into one of these so-called society papers I should doubt whether he
+could do so. In the last case they got the report, no doubt, from some
+one in Scotland Yard, but no editor would be mad enough to risk an
+action for libel with tremendous damages merely on an anonymous report,
+or at best, a report given only on the authority of an impecunious
+hanger-on of the turf. It seems to me, therefore, that we should have
+everything to lose, and nothing to gain, by bringing the matter into
+court.'</p>
+
+<p>'But the same thing may be done again, father; if they have succeeded so
+well now they are sure to try and repeat it.'</p>
+
+<p>'We might take measures to prevent their doing that. The moment the
+thing is settled we will go down into the country, and when we return to
+town next season I will get a companion for you&mdash;some bright, sensible
+woman, who will not be half her time laid up with headaches, and who
+will always go with you whenever you go out; so that were such an
+attempt made again, you would be in a position to prove conclusively
+where you were at the time. Danvers suggested that if I pay the money to
+Gilliat I should do so with a written protest, to the effect that I was
+convinced that you had not been in his shop on the day in question, but
+that as I was not in a position to prove this I paid the money,
+reserving to myself the right to reclaim it, should I be at any time in
+a position to prove that you had not been at his shop on that day, or be
+able to produce the woman who represented you. Should the matter by any
+chance ever crop up again, a copy of this protest would be an
+advantage.'</p>
+
+<p>'At any rate, father, I could never marry Lord Halliburn unless this
+matter were entirely cleared up; it would be unfair to him in the
+extreme. He might receive an anonymous letter from these people, and if
+he asked me if it was true, what could I say? He has been greatly upset
+by the other business, what would he say did he know that I have been
+accused of theft? That brings us back to the subject of my engagement.
+You have been thinking it over since lunch, father?'</p>
+
+<p>'Yes, dear, I have been thinking it over as well as I could, and I again
+repeat that the only light in which I can regard it is that of your
+happiness. I quite see that your being engaged to a man in his position
+does add to the embarrassment and difficulty of the position. We have to
+consider not only ourselves but him. Still, that matters after all
+comparatively little. Supposing this matter were all cleared up
+satisfactorily, how would you stand then? You might then bitterly regret
+the step you now want to take.'</p>
+
+<p>'No, father; up to the time when this trouble first began I don't think
+that I thought very seriously about it. Lord Halliburn was very nice, I
+liked him as much as any man I have met. I suppose I was gratified by
+his attentions; every one spoke well of him; I own that I was rather
+proud of carrying him off, and it really seemed to me that I was likely
+to be very happy with him. Since then I have looked at it in a different
+way. I knew, of course, that husbands and wives are supposed to share
+each other's troubles, but it had never really seemed to me that there
+was a likelihood of troubles coming into my life. Well, troubles have
+come, and with them I have come to look at things differently. To begin
+with, I have learnt more of Lord Halliburn's character than I probably
+should have done in all my life if such troubles had not come.</p>
+
+<p>'I have been disappointed in him. I do not say that in the first matter
+he doubted me for an instant&mdash;it was not that; but I found out that he
+is altogether selfish. He has thought all through, not how this affected
+me, but how it would affect himself; he has been querulous, exacting,
+and impatient. Had he been the man I thought him he would have been
+kinder and more attentive than before; he would have tried to let every
+one see by his manner to me how wholly he trusted me; he would have
+striven to make things easier for me; but he has made them much harder.
+If I held in my hands now the proofs [missing text] against me, I would
+send them to him and at the same time a letter breaking off my
+engagement. When I think it over, I am sometimes inclined to be almost
+grateful to this trouble, because it has opened my eyes to the fact that
+I have been very nearly making a great mistake, and that, had I married
+Lord Halliburn, my life might have gone on smoothly enough, but that
+there would never have been any real community of feeling between us. He
+would have regarded me as a useful and, perhaps, an ornamental head to
+his house, but I should never have had a home in the true sense of the
+word, father; that is, a home like this.'</p>
+
+<p>'Then that is settled, my dear. Now that you have said as much as you
+have, we need not say another word on the matter. I must say, frankly,
+that I have of late come almost to dislike him, and it has several times
+cost me no inconsiderable effort to keep my temper when I saw how
+entirely he regarded the matter in a personal light, and how little
+thought he gave to the pain and trouble you were going through. I am in
+no hurry to lose you, my dear, and the thought that it might be a few
+months has given me many a heartache. And now, how will you do it?&mdash;Will
+you write to him or see him?'</p>
+
+<p>'I would rather tell him, father.'</p>
+
+<p>'You see, dear, both for his sake and your own it must be publicly known
+that the engagement is broken by you, and not by him. It would be very
+unfair on him for it to be supposed that he has taken advantage of these
+rumours to break off his engagement, and it would greatly injure you, as
+people would say that he must have become convinced of their truth.'</p>
+
+<p>Dorothy nodded. 'I will see him, father. I shall speak to him quite
+frankly; I shall tell him that this attack having been made on me it is
+possible that there may be at some future time other troubles from the
+same source, and that it would be unfair to him, in his position as a
+member of the Ministry, for his wife to be made the target of such
+attacks. I shall also tell him that quite apart from this, I feel that I
+acted too hastily and upon insufficient knowledge of him in accepting
+him; that I am convinced that our marriage would not bring to either of
+us that happiness that we have a right to expect. That is all I shall
+say, unless he presses me to go into details, and then I shall speak
+just as frankly as I have done to you.'</p>
+
+<p>'Well, dear, I can only say I am heartily glad,' Mr. Hawtrey said,
+kissing her, 'and am inclined to feel almost grateful to that fellow
+Truscott for giving me back my little girl again. Of course, I know it
+must come some day, but after having been so much to each other for so
+many years, it is a little trying at first to feel that one is no longer
+first in your affections.'</p>
+
+<p>'The idea of such a thing, father,' Dorothy said, indignantly, 'as if I
+ever for a moment put him before you.'</p>
+
+<p>'Well, if you have not, child, it shows very conclusively that you did
+not care for him as a girl should care for a man she is going to marry.
+I do not say that it is so in many marriages that are, as they term it,
+arranged in society, but where there is the real, honest love that there
+ought to be, and such as I hope you will some day feel for some one, he
+becomes, as he should become, first in everything.'</p>
+
+<p>'It seems to me quite impossible, father, that I could love any other
+man as I do you.'</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Hawtrey smiled.</p>
+
+<p>'I hope you will learn it is very possible, some day, Dorothy. Well, at
+any rate, this has done away with your chief reason for objecting to my
+paying for these diamonds. No doubt I shall hear from Levine some time
+to-morrow; at any rate, there is no reason to decide finally for another
+day or two. Gilliat can be in no hurry, and a month's delay may make
+some difference in the situation.'</p>
+
+<p>'Well, dear, is it over?' Mr. Hawtrey asked next day, when Dorothy came
+into his study. 'It was a relief to me when I saw his brougham drive
+off, for I knew that you must be having an unpleasant time of it.'</p>
+
+<p>'Yes; it has not been pleasant, father. He came in looking anxious, as
+he generally has done of late, thinking that my request for him to call
+this morning meant that there was news of some sort, pleasant or
+otherwise. I told him at once that I had been seriously thinking over
+the matter for some time, and that I had for several reasons come to the
+conclusion that it would be better that our engagement should terminate,
+and then gave him my first reason. He was very earnest, and protested
+that as he had never for a moment believed in these rumours he could not
+see that there was any reason whatever for breaking off the engagement.
+I said that I did him full justice in that respect, but that the matter
+had certainly been a great source of annoyance to him, and that I was
+convinced of the probability of further trouble of the same kind, and
+that as we had been powerless to detect the author of this we might be
+as powerless in the future. Then I frankly told him that I knew that his
+hopes were greatly centred in his political career, and that for him to
+have a wife who was the subject of a scandal would be a very serious
+drawback to him. He did not attempt to deny this, but then urged that a
+breach of the engagement at present would be taken to mean that he had
+been affected by the rumours. I said that full justice should be done to
+him in that respect; then, as he still protested&mdash;though I am convinced
+that at heart he felt relieved&mdash;I added that there were certain other
+reasons into which I need not go fully; that I thought that I had
+accepted him without sufficient consideration, and that I had gradually
+come to feel that we were not altogether suited to each other, and that
+a wife would always occupy but a secondary position in his thoughts,
+politics and public business occupying the first. I said that I had been
+brought up perhaps in an old-fashioned way and entertained the
+old-fashioned idea that a wife should hold the first place.</p>
+
+<p>'He was disposed to be angry, because, no doubt, he felt that it was
+perfectly true. However I said, "Do not be angry, Lord Halliburn. I
+shall be very, very sorry if we part other than good friends. I like and
+esteem you very much, and had it not been for these troubles I should
+never have thought of breaking my engagement to you. As it is, I am
+thinking as much of you as of myself. I am convinced I shall have
+further troubles, and perhaps more serious ones. I have already, in
+fact, had some sort of warning of them, and if they come it would make
+it much harder for me to bear them were our names associated together,
+for I feel that your prospects would be seriously injured as well as my
+own."</p>
+
+<p>'"You talk it over very calmly and coolly," he said, irritably.</p>
+
+<p>'I said that I had been thinking it over calmly for a month and more,
+and that I was sure that it was best for both of us. So at last we
+parted good friends. I have no doubt it is a relief to him as it is to
+me, but just at first, I suppose, it was natural that he should be
+upset. I don't think he had ever thought for a moment of breaking it off
+himself, but I am quite sure that if this other thing comes out he will
+congratulate himself most heartily. Well, there is an end of that,
+father.'</p>
+
+<p>'Yes, my dear; I am sorry, and at the same time I am glad. I don't
+think, dear, that you are the sort of girl who would ever have been very
+happy if you had married without any very real love in the matter. For
+my part I can see nothing enviable in the life of a woman who spends her
+whole life in what is called Society. Two or three months of gaiety in
+the year may be well enough, but to live always in it seems to me one of
+the most wretched ways of spending one's existence. And now, dear, let
+us change the subject altogether. I think for the next few days you had
+better go out again. I propose that we leave town at the end of the week
+and either go down home or, what would be better, go for a couple of
+months on the continent. That will give time for the gossip over the
+engagement being broken off to die out. You did not put off our
+engagement to dine at the Deans' to-day?'</p>
+
+<p>'No, father, I could not write and say two days beforehand that I was
+unwell and unable to come.'</p>
+
+<p>'Very well then, we will go. I always like their dinners, because she
+comes from our neighbourhood and one always meets three or four of our
+Lincolnshire friends.'</p>
+
+<p>'It is the Botanical this afternoon, father. Shall I go there with
+Cousin Mary?'</p>
+
+<p>'Do so by all means, dear.'</p>
+
+<p>As they drove that evening to the Deans', Mr. Hawtrey said, 'I had that
+letter from Levine as I was dressing, Dorothy. He goes over nearly the
+same ground as Danvers did, and is also of opinion that I should pay
+under protest, in order that if at any time we can lay our hands on the
+real offender, we can claim the return of the money. I shall go round in
+the morning and have a talk with Gilliat.'</p>
+
+<p>Dorothy was more herself than she had been for weeks. Her engagement
+had, since her trouble first began, been a greater burden to her than
+she had been willing to admit even to herself. Lord Halliburn had jarred
+upon her constantly, and she had come almost to dread their daily
+meetings.</p>
+
+<p>At an early stage of her troubles she had thought the matter out, and
+had come to the conclusion that she had made a mistake, and was not long
+in arriving at the determination that she would at the end of the season
+ask him to release her from her engagement. Before that she hoped that
+the rumours that had affected him would have died out completely, and
+would not necessarily be associated with the termination of the
+engagement. Had not this fresh trouble arisen, matters would have gone
+on on their old footing until late in the autumn, but this new trouble
+had forced her to act at once, and her first thought had been that it
+was only fair to him to release him at once. She was surprised now at
+the weight that had been lifted from her mind, at the buoyancy of
+spirits which she felt. She was almost indifferent as to the other
+matter.</p>
+
+<p>'You are more like yourself than you have been for weeks, Dorothy,' her
+father said, during the drive.</p>
+
+<p>'I feel like a bird that has got out of a cage, father. It was not a bad
+cage, it was very nicely gilt and in all ways a desirable one, still it
+was a cage, and I feel very happy indeed in feeling that I am out of
+it.'</p>
+
+<p>Dorothy enjoyed her dinner and laughed and talked merrily with the
+gentleman who had taken her down. Mrs. Dean remarked to her husband
+afterwards that the absence of Lord Halliburn, who sent a letter of
+regret that important business would prevent his fulfilling his
+engagement, did not seem to be any great disappointment to Dorothy
+Hawtrey.</p>
+
+<p>'I never saw her in better spirits, my dear; lately I have been feeling
+quite anxious about her; she was beginning to look quite worn from the
+trouble of those abominable stories.'</p>
+
+<p>'I expect she feels Halliburn's absence a positive relief,' he said.
+'You know you remarked, yourself, the last time we saw them out, how
+glum and sulky he looked, and you said that if you were in her place you
+would throw him over without hesitation.'</p>
+
+<p>'I know I said so, and do you know I wondered at dinner whether she had
+not come to the same conclusion.'</p>
+
+<p>'Dorothy has lots of spirit,' Mr. Dean said, 'and is quite capable of
+kicking over the traces. I should say there is no pluckier rider than
+that girl in all Lincolnshire, and I fancy that a woman who doesn't
+flinch from the stiffest jump would not hesitate for a moment in
+throwing over even the best match of the season if he offended her. She
+is a dear good girl, is Dorothy Hawtrey, and I don't think that she is a
+bit spoilt by her success this season. I always thought she made a
+mistake in accepting Halliburn; he is not half good enough for her. He
+may be an earl, and an Under-Secretary of State, but he is no more fit
+to run in harness with Dorothy Hawtrey than he is to fly.'</p>
+
+<p>When the gentlemen came up after dinner Dorothy made room on the sofa on
+which she was sitting for an old friend who walked across to her. Mr.
+Singleton was a near neighbour down in Lincolnshire; he was a bachelor,
+and Dorothy had always been a great pet of his.</p>
+
+<p>'Well, my dear,' he said, as he took a seat beside her, 'I am heartily
+glad to see you looking quite yourself again to-night, and to know that
+I have been able to help my little favourite out of a scrape.'</p>
+
+<p>Dorothy's eyes opened wide. 'To help me out of a scrape, Mr. Singleton!
+Why, what scrape have you helped me out of?'</p>
+
+<p>'I beg your pardon, my dear,' he said hastily. 'I told you we would
+never speak of the matter again, and here I am, like an old fool,
+bringing it up the very first time I meet you.'</p>
+
+<p>Dorothy's face paled.</p>
+
+<p>'Mr. Singleton,' she said, 'I seem to be surrounded by mysteries. Do I
+understand you to say that you have done me some kindness lately&mdash;helped
+me out of some scrape?'</p>
+
+<p>'Well, my dear, those were your own words,' he replied, looking
+surprised in turn; 'but please do not let us say anything more about
+it.'</p>
+
+<p>Dorothy sat quiet for a minute, then she made a sign to her father, who
+was standing at the other side of the room, to come across to her.
+'Father,' she said, 'will you ask Mr. Singleton to drive home with us; I
+am afraid there is some fresh trouble, and, at any rate, I must speak to
+him, and this is not the place for questions. Please let us go as soon
+as the carriage comes. Now, will you please go away, Mr. Singleton, and
+leave me to myself for a minute or two, for my head is in a whirl?'</p>
+
+<p>'But, my dear,' he began, but was stopped by an impatient wave of
+Dorothy's hand.</p>
+
+<p>'What is it, Singleton?' Mr. Hawtrey asked, as they went across the
+room.</p>
+
+<p>'I am completely puzzled,' he replied; 'what Dorothy means by asking me
+to come with you, and to answer questions, is a complete mystery to me.
+Please don't ask me any questions now. I have evidently put my foot into
+it somehow, though I have not the least idea how.'</p>
+
+<p>Ten minutes later the carriage was announced. As she took her place in
+it, Dorothy said, 'Don't ask any questions until we are at home.'</p>
+
+<p>The two men were far too puzzled to talk on any indifferent subject. Not
+a word was spoken until they arrived at Chester Square.</p>
+
+<p>'Has Mrs. Daintree gone to bed?' Dorothy asked the footman.</p>
+
+<p>'Yes, Miss Hawtrey; she went a quarter of an hour ago.'</p>
+
+<p>'Are the lights still burning in the drawing-room?'</p>
+
+<p>'Yes, miss.'</p>
+
+<p>They went upstairs.</p>
+
+<p>'Now, Dorothy, what does all this mean?' her father asked, impatiently.</p>
+
+<p>'That is what we have got to learn, father. Mr. Singleton congratulated
+me on having recovered my spirits, and took some credit to himself for
+having helped me out of a scrape. As I do not in the least know what he
+means, I want him to give you and me the particulars.'</p>
+
+<p>'But, my dear Dorothy,' Mr. Singleton said, 'why on earth do you ask me
+that question? Surely you cannot wish me to mention anything about that
+trifling affair.'</p>
+
+<p>'But I do, Mr. Singleton. You do not know the position in which I am
+placed at present. I am surrounded by mysteries, I am accused of things
+I never did. Now it seems as if there were a fresh one; possibly if you
+tell us the exact particulars of what you were speaking of it may help
+us to get to the bottom of it.'</p>
+
+<p>'I don't understand it in the least,' Mr. Singleton said, gravely. 'You
+are quite sure, Dorothy, that you wish me to repeat before your father
+the exact details of our interview?'</p>
+
+<p>'If you please, Mr. Singleton; every little minute particular.'</p>
+
+<p>'Of course I will do as you wish, my dear,' the old gentleman said,
+kindly, 'it seems to me madness, but if you really wish it I will do so.
+If I make any mistake correct me at once. Well, this is the story,
+Hawtrey. I need not tell you it would never have passed my lips, except
+at Dorothy's request. A short time since, a fortnight or three weeks, I
+cannot tell you the day exactly, my servant brought me up word that a
+lady wished to see me. She had given no name, but I supposed it was one
+of these charity collecting women, so I told her to show her in. To my
+surprise it was Miss Dorothy. After shaking hands she sat down, and to
+my astonishment burst into tears. It was some time before I could pacify
+her, and get her to tell me what was the matter; then she told me that
+she had got into a dreadful scrape, that she dared not tell you, that it
+would be ruin to her, and that she had come to me as one of her oldest
+friends, to ask me if I could help her to get out of it.</p>
+
+<p>'Of course, I said I would do anything, and at last, with great
+difficulty, and after another burst of crying, she told me that she must
+have a thousand pounds to save her. She said something about wanting to
+pawn some of her jewels, but this would not come to enough. Of course, I
+pooh-poohed this, and said that I was very sorry to hear that she had
+got into a scrape, but that a thousand pounds were a trifle to me in
+comparison to the happiness of the daughter of an old friend. She was
+very reluctant to receive it, and wanted, at least, to pawn her jewels
+for two or three hundred pounds, but I said that that was nonsense, and
+eventually I drew a cheque for a thousand pounds, which I made payable
+to Mary Brown or bearer, as I, naturally, did not wish her name to
+appear at all in the matter.</p>
+
+<p>'She was most grateful for it. I told her that, of course, I should
+never allude to the matter again, and that she was not to trouble about
+it in the slightest, for that I had put her down for five thousand
+pounds in my will and would change the figure to four, so that she would
+only be getting the money a little earlier than I had intended. This
+evening, unfortunately, I was stupid enough, in saying that I was
+pleased to see her looking more like her old self, to add that I was
+glad to know that I had been the means of helping my little favourite
+out of a scrape. It was stupid of me, I admit, to have even thus far
+broken my promise never to allude to the thing again, but why she should
+have insisted upon my telling a story&mdash;painful to both of us&mdash;to you, is
+altogether beyond my comprehension.'</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Hawtrey was too much astonished to ask any questions, but looked
+helplessly at Dorothy, who said quietly&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>'Thank you for telling the story, Mr. Singleton, and thank you still
+more for so generously coming, as you believed, to my assistance. You
+cannot remember exactly which day it was?'</p>
+
+<p>'No, my dear, but I could see the date on the counterfoil of my
+cheque-book.'</p>
+
+<p>'Was it the fifteenth of last month, Mr. Singleton?'</p>
+
+<p>'Fifteenth? Well, I cannot say exactly, but it would be somewhere about
+that time.'</p>
+
+<p>'And about what time of day?'</p>
+
+<p>'Some time in the afternoon, I know; somewhere between three and four, I
+should say. I know I had not been back long after lunching at the
+Travellers'. I generally leave there about three, and it is not more
+than five minutes' walk up to the Albany.'</p>
+
+<p>'Now, father, please tell Mr. Singleton about Gilliat's.'</p>
+
+<p>'But, Dorothy,' Mr. Singleton exclaimed, when he heard the story, 'it is
+absolutely impossible that you could have done such a thing.'</p>
+
+<p>'It seems to me impossible, Mr. Singleton, but here is the evidence of
+two people that I did do it; and now I have your evidence that on the
+same afternoon I came to you and obtained a thousand pounds from you.
+Either those two men were dreaming or out of their minds, and you were
+dreaming or out of your mind, or I am out of my mind and do things
+unconsciously. My own belief is that I can account for my whole
+afternoon,' and she repeated the details that she had given her father
+as to her movements. 'But even if I could have done these things without
+knowing it, where are the jewels and where is the cheque?'</p>
+
+<p>'The cheque was presented next day and paid. It came back with my bank
+book at the end of the month.'</p>
+
+<p>'It is not often I go out in the morning,' Dorothy said, 'and I should
+think I could prove that I did not do so on the morning of the 16th; but
+I cannot be sure if, in a state of somnambulism or in a sort of trance,
+I did not call at the jewellers and on you. I might, had I gone out,
+have changed that cheque in a similar state. That would have been a
+straightforward thing, but how could I get rid of the jewels? If I had
+them now and wanted to raise money on them I should not have the least
+idea how to do so, and I could hardly have carried out such a scheme in
+a state of unconsciousness. The jewellers say I was dressed in a blue
+dress with red spots, and I went out in a gown of that pattern on that
+day.'</p>
+
+<p>'I did not notice the dress particularly,' Mr. Singleton said, 'but it
+was certainly a blue of some sort. Of course it is quite out of the
+question that you could have done all these things unconsciously; but
+what does it all mean? I am absolutely bewildered.'</p>
+
+<p>'We have only one theory to account for it, Singleton. We believe, in
+fact we are positively convinced, that there is somewhere a girl so
+exactly resembling Dorothy that even those who know her well, like
+yourself, might take one for the other, and that she and perhaps an
+accomplice are taking advantage of this likeness to personate Dorothy.
+They have even gone the length of having a dress made exactly like hers.
+I will now tell you the real history of that affair that got into the
+papers. You will see that the party we believe to be at the bottom of it
+would know, or would have means of finding out, that Gilliat was our
+family jeweller, and that you were an intimate friend. Our theory is
+that revenge as well as plunder was the motive, and that the first part
+of the affair was simply an endeavour to injure Dorothy, and to suggest
+a motive for her need of money just at this time.'</p>
+
+<p>'It is an extraordinary story,' Mr. Singleton said, when he heard it
+all. 'I cannot doubt that it is as you suggest. That my little Dorothy
+should behave in this way is too ridiculous to be believed for a moment;
+though I own that I should have been ready, if obliged, to swear in
+court that it was she who came to me.'</p>
+
+<p>'Did she wear a veil?' Dorothy asked, suddenly. 'I forgot to ask Mr.
+Gilliat that.'</p>
+
+<p>'Yes, she had a veil on and kept it down all the time. It was a warm day
+and I rather wondered afterwards at your wearing it, for I do not think
+I ever saw you in a veil. But I supposed that you did not want to be
+seen coming up to me, and that perhaps you felt that you could tell your
+story more easily behind it.'</p>
+
+<p>'Was it a thick veil?'</p>
+
+<p>'No, it seemed to me the usual sort of thing ladies wear.'</p>
+
+<p>'Did you notice anything particular about the voice?'</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Singleton thought for a minute. 'I did not notice anything at the
+time. Of course it differed from your ordinary voice as I am accustomed
+to hear it. You see she was crying, with a handkerchief up to her face,
+and spoke low and hesitatingly. All of which changes the voice. I never
+doubted it was you, you see, and as I had never heard you speak in low,
+broken tones, sobbing and crying, any difference there may have been did
+not strike me.'</p>
+
+<p>'But altogether, Mr. Singleton, even now that I declare that I was not
+the person who called upon you, you can, thinking it over, see nothing
+that would lead you to doubt that it was myself.'</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Singleton shook his head. 'No, Dorothy, I am sorry to say that I
+cannot. Your word is quite sufficient for me, and I feel as certain that
+this woman was an impostor as if she herself came forward to own it. The
+likeness, however, in figure and in face was extraordinary, although I
+admit that the veil made an alteration in the face. It always does. I
+frequently pass ladies I know well, and if they have thick veils down do
+not recognise them until they bow and smile. There was just that
+difference between the face and yours as I usually see it. I can
+remember now that as you, or rather this woman came into the room, I did
+not for the first instant recognise her owing to the veil; it was but
+momentarily, just the same hesitation I have so often felt before,
+neither more nor less.'</p>
+
+<p>'However, it was possible, Mr. Singleton, that the resemblance may not
+have been absolutely perfect, and that had she not had a veil on you
+would have seen it at once.'</p>
+
+<p>'That is possible, quite possible,' Mr. Singleton assented.</p>
+
+<p>'And now, Singleton, as an old friend, tell me what is to be done.
+To-day we had all but settled that I should pay the value of those
+diamonds to Gilliat. Dorothy has been anxious that I should fight the
+case, but Levine, into whose hands I put myself, and Danvers, who would
+have been one of our counsel, were both so strongly of opinion that we
+had no chance whatever of getting a verdict, and that it would greatly
+damage Dorothy, that I persuaded her to let me pay. But, you see, this
+affair of yours changes the position of affairs altogether. As she has
+victimised you, so she may victimise others of my friends, as well as
+other tradesmen, and it seems to me that the only way to put a stop to
+that will be publicity.'</p>
+
+<p>'I think, Hawtrey, that the first person to be consulted in the matter
+is Lord Halliburn. You see this game may go on again in the future on
+even a larger scale, for the Countess of Halliburn's orders would be
+fulfilled without a moment's hesitation by any tradesman in London.'</p>
+
+<p>'There is no need to consult him, Singleton; Dorothy broke off the
+engagement with him this morning. You need not commiserate her,' he went
+on, as Mr. Singleton was about to express his deep regret. 'I may tell
+you, as an old friend, that there were perhaps other reasons besides
+these troubles, and that, for myself, I am heartily glad that the
+engagement is at an end.'</p>
+
+<p>'Well, if that is the case, I may say I am glad too, Hawtrey. Of course,
+the match was a good one, but I never altogether fancied it, and had
+always felt some disappointment that my little favourite should be, as I
+thought, making a match for position instead of for love. So it was
+that, young lady, and not, as I was fool enough to fancy, getting out of
+a money scrape, that made you so bright and like yourself at dinner this
+evening?'</p>
+
+<p>Dorothy smiled faintly.</p>
+
+<p>'It was getting out of a scrape, you see, Mr. Singleton, although not
+the one you thought of. I think you are a little hard on me. I certainly
+should not have accepted Lord Halliburn unless at the time I had thought
+I liked him very much; but I think that during the trouble I had I came
+to see that something more than liking is necessary, and that a man who
+may be a very pleasant member of society would not necessarily make so
+pleasant a partner in life.'</p>
+
+<p>'Well, now as to your advice, Singleton.'</p>
+
+<p>'I can give none, Hawtrey. The matter is too important and too much out
+of my line for my opinion to be worth a fig; but I will tell you what I
+will do. It is clear that you must see Levine and tell him about this
+affair; if you write and make an appointment with him to-morrow, say at
+twelve o'clock, I will call here at half-past eleven and go with you. If
+you will take my advice you will take Dorothy with you. Levine is pretty
+well accustomed to read faces, and I think he will be more likely to
+take our view of the matter when he has once seen her. You may as well
+sit down and write a note at once; I will post it as I drive back. I
+think, too, I would write to Danvers and ask him to be there; he is a
+clever young fellow, and his opinion may help us. While you are writing
+I will get Dorothy to tell your footman to whistle for a hansom for me.'</p>
+
+
+<h3>END OF THE FIRST VOLUME</h3>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="NEW_LIBRARY_NOVELS" id="NEW_LIBRARY_NOVELS"></a>NEW LIBRARY NOVELS.</h2>
+
+
+<p>THE ONE TOO MANY. By <span class="smcap">E. Lynn Linton</span>.</p>
+
+<p>IN DIREST PERIL. By <span class="smcap">David Christie Murray</span>.</p>
+
+<p>THE TIGER LILY: a Tale of Two Passions. By <span class="smcap">G. Manville Fenn</span>.</p>
+
+<p>THE RED-HOUSE MYSTERY. By Mrs. <span class="smcap">Hungerford</span>.</p>
+
+<p>THE COMMON ANCESTOR. By <span class="smcap">John Hill</span>.</p>
+
+<p>DOROTHY'S DOUBLE. By <span class="smcap">G. A. Henty</span>.</p>
+
+<p>CHRISTINA CHARD. By Mrs. <span class="smcap">Campbell Praed</span>.</p>
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<pre>
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Dorothy's Double, by G. A. Henty
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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Dorothy's Double, by G. A. Henty
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Dorothy's Double
+       Volume I (of 3)
+
+Author: G. A. Henty
+
+Release Date: May 14, 2011 [EBook #36103]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DOROTHY'S DOUBLE ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by David Edwards, Mary Meehan and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This
+file was produced from images generously made available
+by The Internet Archive)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+                        DOROTHY'S DOUBLE
+
+                         BY G. A. HENTY
+
+AUTHOR OF 'RUJUB THE JUGGLER' 'IN THE DAYS OF THE MUTINY' 'THE CURSE OF
+CARNE'S HOLD' ETC.
+
+
+    IN THREE VOLUMES--VOL. I.
+
+    London
+    CHATTO & WINDUS PICCADILLY
+    1894
+
+    PRINTED BY
+    SPOTTISWOODE AND CO., NEW-STREET SQUARE
+    LONDON
+
+
+
+
+DOROTHY'S DOUBLE
+
+
+
+
+PROLOGUE
+
+
+A dark night on the banks of the Thames; the south-west wind, heavily
+charged with sleet, was blowing strongly, causing little waves to lap
+against the side of a punt moored by the bank. Its head-rope was tied
+round a weeping willow which had shed most of its leaves, and whose
+pendent boughs swayed and waved in the gusts, sending at times a shower
+of heavy drops upon a man leaning against its trunk. Beyond stretched a
+broad lawn with clumps of shrubs, and behind loomed the shadow of a
+mansion, but so faintly that it might have passed unnoticed in the
+darkness had it not been for some lights in the upper windows.
+
+At times the man changed his position, muttering impatiently as the
+water made its way down between his collar and neck and soaked through
+his clothes to the shoulders.
+
+'I must have been waiting an hour!' he exclaimed at last. 'If she
+doesn't come soon I shall begin to think that something has prevented
+her getting out. It will be no joke to have to come again to-morrow
+night if it keeps on like this. It has been raining for the last three
+days without a stop, and looks as if it would keep on as much longer.'
+
+A few minutes later he started as he made out a figure in the darkness.
+It approached him, and stopped ten yards away.
+
+'Are you there?' a female voice asked.
+
+'Of course I am,' he replied, 'and a nice place it is to be waiting in
+for over an hour on such a night as this. Have you got it?'
+
+'Yes.'
+
+'That is all right. Well, chuck your bonnet down there, three or four
+feet from the edge of the water.'
+
+'And my cloak? I have brought that and a shawl, as you told me.'
+
+'No; give it to me. Now get into the boat, and we will shove off.'
+
+As soon as the woman had seated herself in the punt the man unfastened
+the head-rope and stepped in; then, taking a long pole in his hand, he
+let the boat drift down with the strong stream, keeping close to the
+bank. Where the lawn ended there was a clump of bushes overhanging the
+water. He caught hold of these, broke off two branches that dipped into
+the stream, then, hauling the punt a little farther in, he took the
+cloak the woman had handed to him and hitched it fast round a stump that
+projected an inch or two above the swollen stream.
+
+'That will do the trick,' he said. 'They will find it there when the
+river falls.' Then he poled the boat out and let her drift again. 'You
+have brought another bonnet, I see, Polly.'
+
+'You don't suppose I was going to be such a fool as to leave myself
+bareheaded on such a night as this,' she said sullenly.
+
+'Well, there is no occasion to be bad-tempered; it has been a deal worse
+for me than it has for you, waiting an hour and a half there, besides
+being a good half-hour poling this tub up against the stream. I suppose
+it went off all right?'
+
+'Yes, there was no difficulty about it. I kicked up a row and pretended
+to be drunk. Not too bad, or they would have turned me straight out of
+the house, but I was told I was to go the first thing in the morning.
+The rest was easy enough. I had only to slip down, get it, and be off,
+but I had to wait some time at the door. I opened it about an inch or
+two, and had to stand there listening until I was sure they were both
+asleep. I am sorry I ever did it. I had half a mind to chuck it up three
+or four times, but----'
+
+'But you thought better of it, Polly. Well, you were perfectly right;
+fifty pounds down and a pound a week regular, that ain't so bad you
+know, especially as you were out of a place, and had no character to
+show.'
+
+'But mind,' she said threateningly, 'no harm is to come to it. I don't
+know what your game is, but you promised me that, and if you break your
+word I will peach, as true as my name is Polly Green. I don't care what
+they do to me, but I will split on you and tell the whole business.'
+
+'Don't you alarm yourself about nothing,' he said, good-temperedly. 'I
+know what my game is, and that is enough for you. Why, if I wanted to
+get rid of it and you too I have only to drive my heel through the side
+of this rotten old craft. I could swim to shore easily enough, but when
+they got the drags out to-morrow they would bring something up in them.
+Here is the end of the island.'
+
+A few pushes with the pole, and the punt glided in among several other
+craft lying at the strand opposite Isleworth Church. The man helped the
+woman with her burden ashore, and knotted the head-rope to that of the
+boat next to it.
+
+'That is how it was tied when I borrowed it,' he said; 'her owner will
+never dream that she has been out to-night.'
+
+'What next?' the woman asked.
+
+'We have got to walk to Brentford. I have got a light trap waiting for
+me there. It is a little crib I use sometimes, and they gave me the key
+of the stable-door, so I can get the horse out and put him in the trap
+myself. I said I was starting early in the morning, and they won't know
+whether it is at two or five that I go out. I brought down a couple of
+rugs, so you will be able to keep pretty dry, and I have got a
+driving-coat for myself. We shall be down at Greenwich at that little
+crib you have taken by six o'clock. You have got the key, I suppose?'
+
+'Yes. The fire is laid, and we can have a cup of tea before you drive
+back. Then I shall turn in for a good long sleep.'
+
+An hour later they were driving rapidly towards London.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I
+
+
+A slatternly woman was standing at the entrance of a narrow court in one
+of the worst parts of Chelsea. She was talking to a neighbour belonging
+to the next court, who had paused for a moment for a gossip in her
+passage towards a public-house.
+
+'Your Sal is certainly an owdacious one,' she said. 'I saw her yesterday
+evening when you were out looking for her. I told her she would get it
+hot if she didn't get back home as soon as she could, and she jest
+laughed in my face and said I had best mind my own business. I told her
+I would slap her face if she cheeked me, and she said, "I ain't your
+husband, Mrs. Bell, and if you were to try it on you would find that I
+could slap quite as hard as you can."'
+
+'She is getting quite beyond me, Mrs. Bell. I don't know what to do with
+her. I have thrashed her as long as I could stand over her, but what is
+the good? The first time the door is open she just takes her hook and I
+don't see her again for days. I believe she sleeps in the Park, and I
+suppose she either begs or steals to keep herself. At the end of a week
+maybe she will come in again, just the same as if she had only been out
+for an hour. "How have you been getting on since I have been away?" she
+will say. "No one to scrub your floor; no one to help you when you are
+too drunk to find your bed," and then she laughs fit to make yer blood
+run cold. Owdacious ain't no name for that wench, Mrs. Bell. Why, there
+ain't a boy in this court of her own size as ain't afraid of her. She is
+a regular tiger-cat, she is; and if they says anything to her, she just
+goes for them tooth and nail. I shan't be able to put up with her ways
+much longer. Well, yes; I don't mind if I do take a two of gin with
+you.'
+
+They had been gone but a minute or two when a man turned in at the
+court. He looked about forty, was clean shaven, and wore a rough
+great-coat, a scarlet and blue tie with a horseshoe pin, and tightly cut
+trousers, which, with the tie and pin, gave him a somewhat horsey
+appearance. More than one of the inhabitants of the court glanced
+sharply at him as he came in, wondering what business he could have
+there. He asked no questions, but went in at an open door, picked his
+way up the rickety stairs to the top of the house, and knocked at a
+door. There was no reply. He knocked again louder and more impatiently;
+then, with a muttered oath, descended the stairs.
+
+'Who are you wanting?' a woman asked, as he paused at a lower door.
+
+'I am looking for Mrs. Phillips; she is not in her room.'
+
+'I just saw her turn off with Mother Bell. I expect you will find them
+at the bar of the Lion, lower down the street.'
+
+With a word of thanks he went down the court, waited two or three
+minutes near the entrance, and then walked in the direction of the
+public-house. He had gone but a short distance, however, when he saw the
+two women come out. They stood gossiping for three or four minutes, and
+then the woman he was in search of came towards him, while the other
+went on down the street.
+
+'Hello, Mr. Warbles!' Mrs. Phillips exclaimed when she came near to him;
+'who would have thought of seeing you? Why, it is a year or more since
+you were here last, though I must say as your money comes every month
+regular; not as it goes far, I can tell you, for that girl is enough to
+eat one out of 'arth and 'ome.'
+
+'Well, never mind that now,' he said impatiently, 'that will keep till
+we get upstairs. I have been up there and found that you were out. I
+want to have a talk with you. Where is the girl?'
+
+'Ah, where indeed, Mr. Warbles; there is never no telling where Sal is;
+maybe she is in the next court, maybe she is the other side of town. She
+is allus on the move. I have locked up her boots sometimes, but it is no
+odds to Sal. She would just as lief go barefoot as not.'
+
+By this time they arrived at the door of the room, and after some
+fumbling in her pocket the woman produced the key and they went in. It
+was a poverty-stricken room; a rickety table and two chairs, a small bed
+in one corner and some straw with a ragged rug thrown over it in
+another, a kettle and a frying-pan, formed its whole furniture. Mr.
+Warbles looked round with an air of disgust.
+
+'You ought to be able to do better than this, Kitty,' he said.
+
+'I s'pose as I ought,' she said philosophically, 'but you know me,
+Warbles; it's the drink as does it.'
+
+'The drink has done it in your case, surely enough,' he said, as he saw
+in his mind's eye a trim figure behind the bar of a country
+public-house, and looked at the coarse, bloated, untidy creature before
+him.'
+
+'Well, it ain't no use grunting over it,' she said. 'I could have
+married well enough in the old days, if it hadn't been that I was always
+losing my places from it, and so it has gone on, and I would not change
+now if I could. A temperance chap come down the court a week or two ago,
+a-preaching, and after a-going on for some time his eye falls on me, and
+says he to me, "My good woman, does the demon of drink possess you
+also?" And says I, "He possesses me just as long as I have got money in
+my pocket." "Then," says he, "why don't you take the pledge and turn
+from it all?" "'Cause," says I, "it is just the one pleasure I have in
+life; what should I do I should like to know without it? I could dress
+more flash, and I could get more sticks of furniture in my room, which
+is all very well to one as holds to such things, but what should I care
+for them?" "You would come to be a decent member of society," says he. I
+tucks up my sleeves. "I ain't going to stand no 'pertinence from you,
+nor from no one," says I, and I makes for him, and he picks up his bag
+of tracts, and runs down the court like a little dog with a big dog
+arter him. I don't think he is likely to try this court again.'
+
+'No, I suppose you are not going to change now, Kitty. I have come here
+to see the girl,' he went on, changing the subject abruptly.
+
+'Well, you will see her if she comes in, and you won't if she don't
+happen to, that is all I can say about it. What are you going to do
+about her? It is about time as you did something. I have done what I
+agreed to do when you brought her to me when she was three years old.
+Says you, "The woman who has been taking charge of this child is dead,
+and I want you to take her." Says I, "You know well enough, Warbles, as
+I ain't fit to take care of no child. I am just going down as fast as I
+can, and it won't be long before I shall have to choose between the
+House and the river." "I can see that well enough," says you, "but I
+don't care how she is brought up so as she lives. She can run about
+barefoot through the streets and beg for coppers, for aught I care, but
+I want her to live for reasons of my own. I will pay you five shillings
+a week for her regular, and if you spend, as I suppose you will, one
+shilling on her food and four shillings on drink for yourself, it ain't
+no business of mine. I could have put her for the same money in some
+country cottage where she would have been well looked after, but I want
+her to grow up in the slums, just a ragged girl like the rest of them,
+and if you won't take her there is plenty as will on those terms." So I
+says, "Yes," and I have done it, and there ain't a raggeder or more
+owdacious gal in all the town, East or West.'
+
+'That is all right, Kitty; but I saw someone yesterday, and it has
+altered my plans--but I must have a look at her first. I saw her when I
+called a year ago; I suppose she has not changed since then?'
+
+'She is a bit taller, and, I should say, thinner, which comes of
+restlessness, and not for want of food. But she ain't changed otherwise,
+except as she is getting too much for me, and I have been wishing for
+some time to see you. I ain't no ways a good woman, Warbles, but the gal
+is fifteen now, and a gal of fifteen is nigh a woman in these courts,
+and I have made up my mind as I won't have her go wrong while she is on
+my hands, and if I had not seen you soon I should just have taken her by
+the shoulder and gone off to the workhouse with her.'
+
+'They would not have taken her in without you,' the man said with a hard
+laugh.
+
+'I would have gone in, too, for the sake of getting her in. I know I
+could not have stood it for many days, but I would have done it.
+However, the first time I got leave to come out I would have taken my
+hook altogether and got a room at the other end of the town, and left
+her there with them. I could not have done better for her than that, but
+that would have been a sight better than her stopping here, and if she
+went wrong after that I should not have had it on my conscience.'
+
+'Well, that is all right, Kitty; I agree with you this is not the best
+place in the world for her, and I think it likely that I may take her
+away altogether.'
+
+'I am glad to hear it. I have never been able to make out what your game
+was. One thing I was certain of--that it was no good. I know a good many
+games that you have had a hand in, and there was not a good one among
+them, and I don't suppose this differs from the rest. Anyhow, I shall be
+glad to be shot of her. I don't want to lose the five bob a week, but I
+would rather shift without it than have her any longer now she is
+a-growing up.'
+
+The man muttered something between his teeth, but at the moment a step
+was heard coming up the stairs.
+
+'That's Sal,' the woman said; 'you are in luck this time, Warbles.'
+
+The door opened, and a girl came in. She was thin and gaunt, her eyes
+were large, her hair was rough and unkempt, there were smears of dirt on
+her face and an expression of mingled distrust and defiance.
+
+'Who have you got here?' she asked, scowling at Mr. Warbles.
+
+'It is the gent as you saw a year ago, Sally; the man as I told you had
+put you with me and paid regular towards your keep.'
+
+'What does he want?' the girl asked, but without removing her glance
+from the man.
+
+'He wants to have a talk with you, Sally. I do not know exactly what he
+wants to say, but it is for your good.'
+
+'I dunno that,' she replied; 'he don't look like as if he was one to do
+anyone a good turn without getting something out of it.'
+
+Mr. Warbles shifted about uneasily in his chair.
+
+'Don't you mind her, Mr. Warbles,' the woman said; 'she is a limb, she
+is, and no mistake, but she has got plenty of sense. But you had best
+talk to her straight if you want her to do anything; then if she says
+she will, she will; if she says she won't, you may take your oath you
+won't drive her. Now, Sal, be reasonable, and hear what the gentleman
+has to say.'
+
+'Well, why don't he go on, then?' the girl retorted; 'who is a-stopping
+him?'
+
+Mr. Warbles had come down impressed with the idea that the proposition
+he had to make would be received with enthusiasm, but he now felt some
+doubt on the subject. He wondered for a moment whether it would be best
+to speak as Mrs. Phillips advised him or to stick to the story he had
+intended to tell. He concluded that the former way was the best.
+
+'I am going to speak perfectly straight to you, Sally,' he began.
+
+The girl looked keenly at him beneath her long eyelashes, and her face
+expressed considerable doubt.
+
+'I am in the betting line,' he said; 'horse-racing, you know; and I am
+mixed up in other things, and there is many a job I might be able to
+carry out if I had a sharp girl to help me. I can see you are sharp
+enough--there is no fear about that--but you see sharpness is not the
+only thing. A girl to be of use must be able to dress herself up and
+pass as a lady, and to do that she must have some sort of education so
+as to be able to speak as ladies speak. I ought to have begun earlier
+with you, I know, but it was only when thinking of you a day or two ago
+that it struck me you would do for the work. You will have to go to
+school, or at least to be under the care of someone who can teach you,
+for three years. I don't suppose you like the thought of it, but you
+will have a good time afterwards. You will be well dressed and live
+comfortably, and all you will have to do will be to play a part
+occasionally, which to a clever girl will be nothing.'
+
+'I should learn to read and write and to be able to understand books and
+such like?'
+
+'Certainly you would.'
+
+'Then I am ready,' she said firmly; 'I don't care what you do with me
+afterwards. What I want most of anything in the world is to be able to
+read and write. You can do nothing if you can't do that. I do not
+suppose I shall like schooling, but it cannot be so bad as tramping
+about the streets like this,' and she pointed to her clothes and
+dilapidated boots, 'so if you mean what you say I am ready.'
+
+The thought that she was intended to bear a part in dishonest courses
+afterwards did not for a moment trouble her. Half of the inhabitants of
+the court were ready to steal anything worth selling if an opportunity
+offered. She herself had often done so. She had no moral sense of right
+or wrong whatever, and regarded theft as simply an exercise of skill and
+quickness, and as an incident in the war between herself and society as
+represented by the police. As to counterfeit coin, she had passed it
+again and again, for a man came up once a fortnight or so with a roll of
+coin for which Mrs. Phillips paid him about a fourth of its face value.
+These she never attempted to pass in Chelsea, but tramped far away to
+the North, South or East, carrying with her a jug hidden under her
+tattered shawl, and going into public houses for a pint of beer for
+father.
+
+This she considered far more hazardous work than pilfering, and her
+quickness of eye and foot had alone saved her many times, as if the
+barman, instead of dropping the coin into the till, looked at it with
+suspicion and then proceeded to test it she was off like a deer, and was
+out of sight round the next turning long before the man could get to the
+door. The fact that she was evidently considered sharp enough to take
+part in frauds requiring cleverness and address gratified rather than
+inclined her to reject the proposition.
+
+'It ain't very grateful of you, Sally, to be so willing to leave me
+after all I have done for you,' Mrs. Phillips said, rather hurt at her
+ready acceptance of the offer.
+
+'Grateful for what?' the girl said scornfully, turning fiercely upon
+her; 'you have been paid for feeding me and what have you done more?
+Haven't I prigged for you, and run the risk of being sent to quod for
+getting rid of your dumps? Haven't you thrashed me pretty nigh every
+time you was drunk, till I got so big you daren't do it? I don't say as
+sometimes you haven't been kind, just in a way, but you have been a
+sight oftener unkind. I don't want to part bad friends. If you ain't
+showed me much kindness, you have shown me all as ever I have known, and
+yer might have been worse than you have. I suppose yer knows this man,
+and know that he is going to do as he says, and means to treat me fair,
+for mind you,' and here she turned darkly to Warbles, 'if you tries to
+do anything as is wrong with me I will stick a knife into you.'
+
+'I am going to do you no harm, Sally,' he said hastily.
+
+'Yer had better not,' she muttered.
+
+'I mean exactly what I say, and nothing more. Mrs. Phillips may not have
+been quite as kind to you as she might, but she would not let you go
+with me if she did not know that no harm will be done with you.'
+
+'Very well, then, I am ready,' the girl said, preparing to put on the
+tattered bonnet she had taken off when she came in, and had held
+swinging by its strings.
+
+'No, no,' Mr. Warbles said, in dismay at the thought of walking out with
+this ragged figure by his side, 'we can't manage it as quickly as all
+that. In the first place, there are decent clothes to be bought for you.
+You cannot go anywhere as you are now. I will give Mrs. Phillips money
+for that.'
+
+'Give it me,' the girl said, holding out her hand; 'she can't be trusted
+with it; she would be drunk in half an hour after you had gone, and
+would not get sober till it was all spent. You give it me, and let me
+buy the things; I will hand it over to her to pay for them.'
+
+'That would be best,' Mrs. Phillips said, with a hard laugh; 'she is
+right, Warbles. I ain't to be trusted with money, and it is no use
+pretending I am. Sally knows what she is about. When she has got money
+she always hides it, and just brings it out as it is wanted; we have had
+many a fight about it, but she is just as obstinate as a mule, and next
+morning I am always ready to allow as she was right.'
+
+'How much will you want, Kitty?'
+
+'Well, I should say that to get three decent frocks and a fair stock of
+underclothes and boots would run nigh up to ten pounds. If it ain't so
+much she can give you back what there is of it. When will you come and
+fetch her?'
+
+'We had better say three days. You can get all the things in a day, no
+doubt; but I shall have to make arrangements. I think I know just the
+woman that would do. She was a governess once in good families, I am
+told; but she went wrong, somehow, and went down pretty near to the
+bottom of the hill; she lives a few doors from me, and gets a few
+children to teach when she can. I expect I can arrange with her to take
+Sally, and teach her. If she won't do it, someone else will; but being
+close it would be handy to me. I could drop in sometimes of an evening
+and see how she was getting on.'
+
+'Are you my father?' the girl asked suddenly.
+
+'No, I am not,' he answered readily.
+
+The girl was looking at him keenly, and was satisfied that he spoke the
+truth.
+
+'I am glad of that,' she said. 'I always thought that if I had a father
+I should like to love him. If you had been my father I expect as you
+would have wanted me to love you, and I am sure I should never be able
+to do it.'
+
+'You are an outspoken girl, Sally,' Mr. Warbles said, with an unpleasant
+attempt at a laugh. 'Why shouldn't you be able to love me?'
+
+'Because I should never be able to trust you,' the girl said. 'I am
+ready to work for you and to be honest with you as long as you are
+honest with me. I s'pose you wouldn't be paying all this money and be
+going to take such pains with me if you didn't think as you would get it
+back again. I don't know much, but I know as much as that; so mind, I
+don't promise to love you, that ain't in the agreement.'
+
+'Perhaps you will think differently some day, Sally; and, after all, two
+people can get on well enough together without much love. Well, have her
+ready in three days, Kitty; but there is no use in my coming here for
+her. Of course, the girl must have a box, and you will want a cab. Drive
+across Westminster Bridge and stop just across it on the right-hand
+side. Be there as near as you can at eight o'clock in the evening; that
+will suit me, and it ought to suit you. It is just as well you should
+get her out of the court after dark, so that she won't be recognised in
+her new things, and you will get off without being questioned. I shall
+be there waiting for you, but if anything should detain me, which is not
+likely, wait till I come.'
+
+When he had gone the girl flung her bonnet into a corner, then knelt
+down and made up the fire; then she produced two mutton chops from her
+pocket and placed them in the frying-pan over it.
+
+'Good ones,' she said. 'I got them at a swell shop near Buckingham
+Palace; they were outside, just handy. Well, I s'pose them's the last I
+shall nick; that is a good job.' She then took a jug out of the
+cupboard. 'I have got sixpence left out of that half-crown I changed
+yesterday. We have got bread enough, so I will bring in a quart.'
+
+The woman nodded. She had of late, as she had told Warbles, quite
+determined she would not keep the girl much longer with her, but the
+suddenness with which the change had come about had been so unexpected
+that as yet she hardly realised it. Sally was a limb, no doubt. She had
+got quite beyond her control, and although the petty thievings had been
+at first encouraged by her, the aptness of her pupil, the coolness and
+audacity with which she carried them out, and the perfect unconcern with
+which she started on the dangerous operation of changing the counterfeit
+money, had troubled and almost frightened her. As the girl had said, she
+had never been kind to her, had often brutally beaten her, and usually
+spoke of her as if she were the plague of her life, but the thought that
+she would now be without her altogether touched her keenly, and when the
+girl returned she found her in tears.
+
+'Hello! what's up?' she asked in surprise. 'You ain't been a drinking as
+early as this, have you?' for tears were to Sally's mind associated with
+a particular phase of drunkenness.
+
+The woman shook her head.
+
+'Yer don't mean to say as you are crying because I am going?' Sally went
+on in a changed voice. 'I should have thought there was nothing in the
+world you would be so pleased at as getting rid of me.'
+
+'I have said so in a passion, may be, Sally. You are a limb, there ain't
+no doubt of that; but it ain't your fault, and I might have done for you
+more than I have, if it had not been for drink. I don't know what I
+shall do without you.'
+
+'It will make a difference in the way of food, though,' the girl said;
+'I am a onener to eat: still I don't think you can get rid of the dumps
+as well as I can. You got two months last time you tried it.'
+
+'It ain't that, Sally, though I dare say you think it is, but I shall
+feel lonesome, awful lonesome, without you to sit of an evening to talk
+to. You have been like a child to me, though I ain't been much of a
+mother to you, and you mayn't believe it, Sally, but it is gospel truth,
+as I have been fond of you.'
+
+'Have you now?' the girl said, leaning forward eagerly in her chair. 'I
+allus thought you hated me. Why didn't you say so? I wouldn't have
+'greed to go with that man if I had thought as you wanted me. I don't
+care for the dresses and that sort of thing, though I should like to get
+taught something, but I would give that up, and if you like I will go by
+myself and meet him where he said, and give him back that ten pound, and
+say I have changed my mind and I am going to stop with you.'
+
+'No, it is better that you should go, Sally; this ain't no place for a
+girl, and I ain't no woman to look after one. I have been a-thinking
+some months it was time you went; it didn't matter so much as long as
+you was a kid, but you are growing up now, and it ain't to be expected
+as you would keep straight in such a place as this; besides, any day you
+might get nabbed, and three months in quod would finish you altogether.
+So you see, Sally, I am glad and I am sorry. Warbles ain't the man I
+would put you in charge of if I had my way. He has told you hisself what
+he means to do with you, and I would a lot rather you had been going out
+into service; only of course no one would take you as you are, it ain't
+likely. Still if you keep your eyes open, and you are a sharp girl, you
+may make money by it; but mind me, Sally, money is no good by itself,
+nor fine clothes, nor nothing.
+
+'It was fine clothes and drink as brought me to what I am. I was a nice
+tidy-looking girl when Warbles first knew me, and if it hadn't been for
+clothes and drink I might have been a respectable woman, and perhaps
+missus of a snug public now. Well, perhaps your chances will be as good
+as mine was. I have two bits of advice to give yer. When you have
+finished that pint of beer you make up your mind never to touch another
+drop of it. The second is, don't you listen to what young swells say to
+yer. You look out for an honest man who wants to make you his wife, and
+you marry him and make him a good wife, Sally.'
+
+The girl nodded. 'That is what I mean to do, and when I get a
+comfortable home you shall come and live with us.'
+
+'It wouldn't do, Sally; by that time I reckon I shall be lying in a
+graveyard, but if I wasn't it would not do nohow. No man will put up
+with a drunken woman in his house, and a drunken woman I shall be to the
+end of my life--but there, them chops are ready, Sally, and it would be
+a sin to let them spoil now you have got them.'
+
+When the meal was over, and Sally had finished her glass of beer, she
+turned it over.
+
+'That is the last of them,' she said; 'I don't care for it one way or
+the other. Now tell me about that cove, who is he?'
+
+'He is what he says--a betting man, and was when I first knew him; I
+don't know what his real name is, but I don't expect it's Warbles. He
+was a swell among them when I first knew him, and spent his money free,
+and used to look like a gentleman. I was in a house at Newmarket at the
+time, and whenever the races was on I often used to see him. Well, I
+left there, and did not come across him for two years; when I did, I had
+just come out of gaol; I had had two months for taking money from the
+till. I met him in the street, and he says to me, "Hello, Kitty! I was
+sorry to hear that you had been in trouble; what are you doing?"'
+
+'What should I be doing?' says I; 'there ain't much chance of my getting
+another situation after what has happened. I ain't a-doing nothing yet,
+for I met a friend on the day I came out who gave me a couple of quid,
+but it is pretty nigh gone.' 'Well, look here,' says he, 'I have got a
+kid upon my hands: it don't matter whose kid it is, it ain't mine; but I
+have got to keep it. It has been with a woman for the last three years,
+and she has died. I don't care how it is brought up so as it is brought
+up; it is nothing to me how she turns out so that she lives. I tell you
+what I will do. I will give you ten pounds to furnish a room and get
+into it, and I will pay you five shillings a week as long as it lives;
+and if you ever get hard up and want a couple of pounds you can have
+'em, so as you don't come too often.'
+
+'Well, I jumped at the offer, and took you, and I will say Warbles has
+been as good as his word. It wasn't long before I was turned out of my
+lodging for being too drunk and noisy for the house, and it wasn't more
+than a couple of years before I got pretty nigh as low as this. I had
+got to know a good many queer ones when I was in the public line, and I
+chanced to drop across one of them, and when I met him one day he told
+me he could put me into an easy way of earning money if I liked, but it
+was risky. I said I did not care for that, and since then I have always
+been on that lay. For a bit I did very well; I used to dress up as a
+tidy servant, and go shopping, and many a week I would get rid of three
+or four pounds' worth of the stuff; but in course, as I grew older and
+lost my figure and the drink told on me, it got more difficult. People
+looked at the money more sharply, and I got three months for it twice. I
+was allus careful, and never took more than one piece out with me at a
+time, so that I got off several times till they began to know me. You
+remember the last time I was in--I told you about it, and since then you
+have been doing it.'
+
+'But what will you do when I am gone?'
+
+'Well, you know, Sally, I gets a bit from men who comes round of an
+evening and gives me things to hide away under that board. They knows as
+they can trust me, and I have had five thousand pounds worth of diamonds
+and things hidden away there for weeks. No one would ever think of
+searching there for it. I ain't known to be mixed up with thieves, and
+this court ain't the sort of place that coppers would ever dream of
+searching for jewels. Sometimes nothing comes for weeks, sometimes there
+is a big haul; but they pay me something a week regular, and I gets a
+present after a good thing has been brought off, so you needn't worrit
+about me. I shan't be as well off as I have been, but there will be
+plenty to keep me going, and if I have to drink a bit less it won't do
+me any harm.'
+
+'I wonder you ain't afraid to drink,' Sally said, 'lest you should let
+out something.'
+
+'I am lucky that way, Sally. Drink acts some ways with some people, and
+some ways with others. It makes some people blab out just the things
+they don't want known; it makes some people quarrelsome; it shuts up
+some people's mouths altogether. That is the way with me. I take what I
+take quiet, and though the coppers round here see me drunk pretty often
+they can't never say as I am drunk and disorderly, so they just lets me
+find my way home as I can.'
+
+'And this man has never said no more about me than he did that first
+time?' Sally asked. 'Why should he go on paying for me all this time?'
+
+'He ain't never said a word. I've wondered over it scores of times.
+These betting chaps are free with their money when they win, but that
+ain't like going on paying year after year. I thought sometimes you
+might be the daughter of some old pal of his, and that he had promised
+him to take care of you. I thought that afterwards he had been sorry he
+had done so, but would not go back from his word and so went on paying,
+though he did not care a morsel whether you turned out well or bad. Now
+I am going out, Sally.'
+
+'You don't want to go out no more to-day,' Sally said decidedly. 'You
+just stop in quietly these last three days with me.'
+
+'I would like to,' the woman said, 'but I don't think it is in me. You
+do not know what it is, Sally. When drink is once your master there
+ain't no shaking it off. There is something in you as says you must go,
+and you can't help it; nothing but tying you down would do it.'
+
+'Well, look here, give me ninepence. I will go out and get you another
+quart of beer and a quartern of gin to finish up with. I have never been
+out for spirits for you before, though you have beat me many a time
+'cause I wouldn't, but for these three days I will go. That won't be
+enough to make you bad, and we can sit here and talk together, and when
+we have finished it we can turn in comfortable.'
+
+The woman took the money from a corner of a stocking, and gave it to
+Sally, and that night went to bed sober for the first time for months.
+The next morning shopping began, and Sally, although not easily moved,
+was awe-struck at the number and variety of the garments purchased for
+her. The dresses were to be made up by the next evening, when she was to
+fetch them from the shop herself, as Mrs. Phillips shrunk from giving
+her address at Piper Court.
+
+During the interval Sally suffered much from a regular course of washing
+and combing her hair. When on the third morning she was arrayed in her
+new clothes, with hair neatly done up, she felt so utterly unlike
+herself that a sort of shyness seized her. She could only judge as to
+her general appearance, but not as to that of her face and head, for the
+lodging was unprovided with even a scrap of looking-glass. She had no
+doubt that the change was satisfactory, as Mrs. Phillips exclaimed,
+'Fine feathers make fine birds, Sally, but I should not have believed
+that they could have made such a difference; you look quite a
+nice-looking gal, and I should not be surprised if you turn out
+downright pretty, though I have always thought you as plain a gal as
+ever I seed!'
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II
+
+
+Epsom racecourse on the Oaks Day. The great event of the day has not yet
+been run, but the course has been cleared and two or three of the
+fillies have just come out from the paddock and are making their way at
+a walk along the broad green track, while their jockeys are chatting
+together. Luncheons have been hastily finished, and the occupants of the
+carriages and drags are standing up and beginning for the first time to
+manifest an interest in the proceedings they have nominally come down to
+witness. The general mass of spectators cluster thickly by the ropes,
+while a few take advantage of the clearance of the ground beyond to
+stroll leisurely along the line of carriages. The shouts of the men with
+cocoanuts, pincushions, and dolls on sticks, and of those with Aunt
+Sallys, rifle galleries, and other attractions, are hushed now; their
+time will not come again until the race is over.
+
+Two men, one perhaps thirty, the other some three or four years younger,
+are among those who pay more attention to the carriages and their
+occupants than to the approaching race. The younger has a face deeply
+bronzed by a sun far hotter than that of England.
+
+'How fast they change, Danvers. Six years ago I knew almost every face
+in the carriages, now I scarcely know one. Who is that very pretty girl
+standing up on the seat of that barouche?'
+
+'Don't you know? Look at the man she is talking to on the box. That is
+her father.'
+
+'By Jove! it is Mr. Hawtrey. You don't mean to say that is little
+Dorothy?'
+
+'Not particularly little, but it is certainly Dorothy Hawtrey.'
+
+'I must go and speak to them, Danvers. You know them too, don't you?'
+
+'Well, considering I meet them out pretty well every night somewhere I
+ought to do,' the other said, as with slower steps he followed his
+companion to the carriage.
+
+'How are you, Mr. Hawtrey?' the latter exclaimed, looking up at the man
+on the box.
+
+The gentleman looked down a little puzzled at the warmth with which the
+words were spoken by one whose face he did not recall.
+
+'Don't you remember me, sir? I am Edward Hampton.'
+
+'Why, Ned, is it you? You are changed out of all knowledge. You have
+come back almost as dark as a Malay. When did you arrive?'
+
+'I only reached town yesterday evening; looked up Danvers, and was lucky
+enough to find him at home. He said he was coming down here to-day, and
+as it was of no use calling on people in town on the Oaks day I came
+with him.'
+
+'Are you not going to speak to me, Captain Hampton?'
+
+'I am, indeed, Miss Hawtrey, though I confess I did not know you until
+Danvers told me who you were; and I do not feel quite sure now, for the
+Miss Hawtrey I used to know never called me anything but Ned.'
+
+'The Miss Hawtrey of those days was a little tomboy in short frocks,'
+the girl laughed, 'but I do not say that if I find that you are not so
+changed in reality as you are in appearance, I may not, perhaps, some
+day forget that you are Captain Hampton, V.C.' She had stepped down from
+her lofty seat, and was now shaking hands with him heartily. 'It does
+not seem six years since we said good-bye,' she went on. 'Of course you
+are all that older, but you don't seem so old to me. I used to think you
+so big and so tall when I was nine, and you were double that age, and
+during the next three years, when you had joined your regiment and only
+came down occasionally to us, you had become quite an imposing
+personage. That was my last impression of you. Now, you see, you don't
+look so old, or so big, or so imposing, as I have been picturing you to
+myself.'
+
+'I dare say not,' he laughed. 'You see you have grown so much bigger and
+more imposing yourself.'
+
+Suddenly Dorothy Hawtrey leapt to her seat again and touched her father
+on the arm.
+
+'Father,' she said in a whisper, 'that man who has just turned from the
+crowd and is coming towards us is the one I was speaking to you about a
+few minutes ago, who had been staring at you with such an evil look.'
+
+The man, who had the appearance of a shabby bookmaker, and who carried a
+satchel slung round his neck, and had the name of 'Marvel' on a broad
+ribbon round his hat, was now close to the carriage.
+
+'Will you take the odds, Mr. Hawtrey,' he said in a loud voice, 'against
+any of the horses? I can give you six to one, bar one, against the
+field.'
+
+'I do not bet,' Mr. Hawtrey said coldly, 'and by your looks it would
+have been better for you if you had never done so either.'
+
+'I have had a bad run lately,' the man said, 'but I fancy it is going to
+turn. Will you lay a few pounds for the sake of old times?'
+
+Mr. Hawtrey shook his head decidedly.
+
+'I have come down rather in the world,' the man went on insolently, 'but
+I could pay the bet if I lost it as well as other debts. I have never
+forgotten how much I owe you.'
+
+Hampton took a step forward towards the man, when a policeman stepped
+out from between their carriage and the next.
+
+'Now, move on,' he said, 'or I will make you, sharp; you are not going
+to annoy people here, and if you don't go at once I will walk you off to
+the police tent.'
+
+The man hesitated a moment, and then, muttering angrily, moved slowly
+away to the spot where he had left the dense line of spectators by the
+ropes.
+
+'Who is he, father?' Dorothy Hawtrey asked; 'does he really know you?'
+
+'Yes, my dear, he is the son of an old steward; he was a wild, reckless
+young scamp, and when his father died, shortly after I came into the
+property, I naturally refused to appoint him to the position. He used
+some very strong language at the time, and threatened me with all sorts
+of evils. I have met him once or twice since, and he never loses an
+opportunity of showing that he has not forgiven me; but never mind him
+now, here come the horses for their preliminary canter.'
+
+Captain Hampton and his friend remained by the carriage until the race
+was over. The former had been introduced by Dorothy to the other three
+occupants of the carriage--Lady Linkstone, her daughter Mary, and Miss
+Nora Cranfield.
+
+As soon as it was over the crowd broke up, the shouts of the men with
+the cocoanuts and Aunt Sallys rose loudly, and grooms began to lead up
+the horses to many of the carriages.
+
+'We are going to make a start at once, Ned,' Mr. Hawtrey said; 'I cannot
+offer you a seat back to town, but if you have no engagement I hope that
+you will dine with us. Will you come too, Mr. Danvers?'
+
+Danvers was disengaged, and he and Edward Hampton accepted the
+invitation at once. Ned's father had owned an estate adjoining that of
+the Hawtreys' in Lincolnshire, and the families had been neighbours for
+many years. Ned, who was the youngest of three sons had been almost as
+much at the Hawtreys' as at his own home, as Mr. Hawtrey had a nephew
+living with him who was just about the lad's age, and during the
+holidays the two boys were always together. They had entered the army
+just at the same time, but James Hawtrey had, a few months after he went
+out to India, died of fever.
+
+'Who was the man who came up and spoke to them five minutes before the
+race started?' he asked Danvers as they strolled away together.
+
+'There were two or three of them.'
+
+'I mean the man who said it was too bad, Dorothy not coming down on his
+drag.'
+
+'That is Lord Halliburn; he is very attentive there, and the general
+opinion is that it will be a match.'
+
+'He didn't look as if he had much in him,' Hampton said, after a pause.
+
+'He has a title and a very big rent roll, and has, therefore, no great
+occasion for brains; but in point of fact he is really clever. He is
+Under-Secretary for the Colonies, and is regarded as a rising young
+peer. He is not a bad fellow at all, I believe; keeps a few racers but
+does not bet, and has no vices as far as I have ever heard. That is his
+drag; he drives a first-rate team.'
+
+'Well, I hope he is a good fellow,' Captain Hampton said shortly. 'You
+see I never had a sister of my own. That little one and I were quite
+chums, and I used to look upon her almost in the light of a small
+sister, and I should not like to think of her marrying anyone who would
+not make her happy.'
+
+'I should think she has as fair a chance with Halliburn as with most
+men,' Danvers said. 'I know a man who was at Christ Church with him. He
+said that he was rather a prig--but that a fellow could hardly help
+being, brought up as he had been--but that, as a whole, he was one of
+the most popular men of his set. Now we may as well be walking for the
+station--that is, if you have had enough of it.'
+
+'I am quite ready to go. After all, an English racecourse makes but a
+dull show by the side of an Indian one. The horses are better, and, of
+course, there is no comparison between the turnouts and the dresses of
+the women, though they manage to make a brave show at the principal
+stations; but as far as the general appearance of the crowd goes, you
+are not in it here. The natives in their gay dresses and turbans give a
+wonderfully light and gay appearance to the course, and though,
+possibly, among quite the lower class they may not all be estimable
+characters, at least they do not look such a pack of unmitigated
+ruffians as the hangers-on of an English racecourse. That was a nice
+specimen who attacked Hawtrey.'
+
+'Yes, the fellow had a thoroughly bad face, and would be capable, I
+should say, of any roguery. It is not the sort of face I should expect
+to see in the dock on a charge of murder or robbery with violence, but I
+should put him down as an astute rogue, a crafty scoundrel, who would
+swindle an old woman out of her savings, rob servant girls or lads from
+the country by means of specious advertisements, or who in his own line
+would nobble a horse or act as the agent for wealthier rogues in getting
+at jockeys and concocting any villainous plan to prevent a favourite
+from winning. Of course, I know nothing of the circumstances under which
+he lost his place with Hawtrey, but there is no doubt that he has
+cherished a bitter hatred against him, and would spare no pains to take
+his revenge. If Hawtrey owned racehorses I should be very shy of laying
+a penny upon them after seeing that fellow's face.'
+
+'Well, as he does not own racehorses the fellow has no chance of doing
+him a bad turn; he might forge a cheque and put Hawtrey's name to it,
+but I should say he would have some difficulty in getting any one to
+cash it.'
+
+There were at dinner that evening only the party who had been in the
+barouche, Danvers, Hampton, and Sir Edward Linkstone.
+
+'I wish there had been no one else here this evening,' Dorothy Hawtrey
+said to Captain Hampton before dinner, 'there is so much to talk about.
+First, I want to hear all you have been doing in India, and next, we
+must have a long chat over old times; in fact, we want a cozy talk
+together. Of course you will be tremendously engaged just at present,
+but you must spare me a long morning as soon as you possibly can.'
+
+'I suppose I am not going to take you into dinner?'
+
+'No, Sir Edward Linkstone does that. We cannot ask him to take in his
+daughter or Nora Cranfield, who is staying at his house, and besides, it
+would not be nice. I should not like to be sitting by you, talking the
+usual dinner talk, when I am so wanting to have a real chat with you.
+You will take in Mary Linkstone, she is a very nice girl.'
+
+The dinner was a pleasant one, and the party being so small the
+conversation was general. It turned, however, a good deal on India, for
+Sir Edward Linkstone had been Judge of the Supreme Court at Calcutta,
+and had retired just about the time that Hampton had gone out there.
+After the ladies had left the room, Danvers remarked to their host:
+
+'That was an unpleasant-looking character who accosted you just before
+the race started for the Oaks, Mr. Hawtrey.'
+
+'Yes; I don't know that I have many enemies, beyond perhaps some
+fellows, poachers and others, whom I have had to commit for trial, but I
+do consider that fellow to be a man who would injure me if he could. His
+father, John Truscott was my father's steward, or agent as it is the
+fashion to call them now, on his estate in Lincolnshire. He had been
+there for over thirty years, and was a thoroughly trustworthy and
+honourable man, a good agent, and greatly liked by the tenants as well
+as by my father. As you may know, I came into the estates when I came of
+age. My father had died two years before. Well, I knew that Truscott had
+had a good deal of trouble with his son, who was three or four years
+older than myself.
+
+'Truscott kept a small farm in his own hands, and he made a hobby of
+breeding blood stock. Not to any great extent; I think he had only some
+five or six brood mares, but they were all good ones. I think he did
+very well by them; certainly some of the foals turned out uncommonly
+well. Of course he did not race them himself, but sold them as
+yearlings. As it turned out it was unfortunate, for it gave his son a
+fancy for the turf. I suppose it began by his laying bets on the horses
+they had bred, then it went on and he used to attend racecourses and get
+into bad company, and I know that his father had more than once to pay
+what were to him heavy sums to enable him to clear up on settlement day.
+I don't know, though, that it would have made much difference, the
+fellow might have gone to the bad anyhow. He had always a shifty, sly
+sort of look. About four years after I came into the estates I was down
+in Lincolnshire at our place, when Truscott was taken ill, and I
+naturally went to see him.
+
+'"I don't think I shall be long here, Mr. Hawtrey," he said, "and you
+will have to look out for another steward. I used to hope that when my
+time came for giving up work my son would step into my shoes. He has
+plenty of brains, and as far as shrewdness goes he would make a better
+steward than I have ever done. For the last year, since I began to fail,
+he has been more at home and has done a good deal of my work, and I
+expect he reckons on getting my place, but, Mr. Hawtrey, you must not
+give it to him. It is a hard thing for a father to say, but you could
+not trust him."
+
+'I felt that myself, but I did not like to admit it to the old man, and
+I said:
+
+'"I know he has been a bit wild, Truscott, but he may have seen that he
+was behaving like a fool, and as you say he has been helping you more
+for the last year, he may have made up his mind to break altogether from
+the life he has been leading."
+
+'"It is not in him, sir," he said. "I could forgive his being a bit
+wild, but he is not honest. Don't ask me what he has done, but take my
+word for it. A man who will rob his own father will rob his employer. I
+have done my best for your father and you; no man can say that John
+Truscott has robbed him, and I should turn in my grave if our name were
+dishonoured down here. You must not think of it, sir; you would never
+keep him if you tried him; it would be a pain to me to think that one of
+my blood should wrong you, as I know, surely, Robert would do, and I
+implore you to make a complete change, and get some man who will do the
+estate justice."
+
+'Of course I assented; indeed, I had heard so much of the fellow's
+doings that I had quite made up my mind that when his father retired I
+would look for a steward elsewhere. At the same time I know that if the
+old man had asked me to try him for a time, I should have done so. A
+week later John Truscott died, and the day after his funeral, which I,
+of course, attended, his son came up to the house. Well, it was a very
+unpleasant business; he seemed to assume that, as a matter of course, he
+would succeed his father, and pointed out that for the last year he had,
+in fact, carried on the estate for him. I said that I did not doubt his
+ability, but that I had no idea of making a man who was a frequenter of
+racecourses, and who, I knew, bet so heavily that his father had had to
+aid him several times, manager of the estate.
+
+'He answered that he had had his fling, and would now settle down
+steadily. Of course, after what his father had said I was obliged to be
+firm. When he saw that there was no chance of altering my decision he
+came out in his true colours; broke out in the most violent language,
+and had I not been a good deal more powerful man than he was I believe
+he would have struck me. At last I had to ring the bell and order the
+footman to turn him out. He cooled down suddenly, and deliberately
+cursed me, swearing that he would some day be revenged upon me for my
+ingratitude to his father, and the insult I had passed upon him in thus
+refusing to appoint him after the thirty years' services the old man had
+rendered me. I have no doubt he thoroughly meant what he said, but
+naturally, I never troubled myself about the matter.
+
+'The threats of a disappointed man seldom come to anything, and as there
+was no conceivable way in which he could injure me his menaces really
+meant nothing. I have come across him four or five times since. I dare
+say that I should have met him oftener were I a regular attendant on
+racecourses, but it is years since I have been to one, and only did it
+to-day because Dorothy had set her heart on seeing the Oaks for the
+first time. However, whenever I have met him he has never failed to
+thrust himself upon me, and to show that his animosity is as bitter as
+it was on the day that I refused to appoint him steward. He left my
+neighbourhood at once, turned the stock into money, and as I know that
+he came into three or four thousand pounds at his father's death he had
+every chance of doing well. I believe that he did do well on the turf
+for a time, but the usual end came to that. When I met him last, some
+seven or eight years ago, I happened to be with a member of the Jockey
+Club who knew something of the fellow. He told me that he had been for a
+time a professional betting man, but had become involved in some
+extremely shady transactions, and had been warned off the turf, and was
+now only to be seen at open meetings, and had more than once had a
+narrow escape of being lynched by the crowd for welshing. From his
+appearance to-day it is evident that he is still a hanger-on of
+racecourses. I saw he had the name of Marvel on his hat. I should say
+that probably he appears with a fresh name each time. I think the chance
+of meeting him has had something to do with my giving up going to races
+altogether. It is not pleasant being insulted by a disreputable-looking
+scoundrel, in the midst of a crowd of people.'
+
+'He has never done you any harm, Mr. Hawtrey?' Captain Hamilton asked,
+'because certainly it seemed to me there was a ring of triumphant malice
+in his voice.'
+
+'Certainly not, to my knowledge,' Mr. Hawtrey replied. 'Once or twice
+there have been stacks burnt down on the estate, probably the work of
+some malicious fellow, but I have had no reason for suspecting Truscott,
+and indeed, as the damage fell on the tenant and not on me, it would
+have been at best a very small gratification of spite, and I can hardly
+fancy he would have gone to the trouble and expense of travelling down
+to Lincolnshire for so small a gratification of his ill-will to me.
+Besides, had he had a hand in it, it would have been the stables and the
+house itself that would have been endangered.'
+
+'The same idea struck me that occurred to Hampton,' Danvers said, 'but I
+suppose it was fancy. It sounded to me as if he had already paid, to
+some extent, the debt he spoke of, or as if he had no doubt whatever
+that he should do so in the future.'
+
+The subject dropped, but when, after leaving, Hampton went into the Club
+to which Danvers belonged, to smoke a cigar, he returned to it.
+
+'I can't help thinking about that fellow Truscott. It is evident, from
+what Hawtrey says, that he has never done him any serious harm, and I
+don't see how the rascal can possibly do so; but I am positive that the
+man himself believes that he either has done or shall be able to do so.'
+
+'That was the impression I had too, but there is never any telling with
+fellows of that class. The rogue, when he is found out, either cringes
+or threatens. He generally cringes so long as there is a chance of its
+doing him any good, then, when he sees that the game is altogether up,
+he threatens; it is only in one case in ten thousand that the threats
+ever come to anything, and as twenty years have gone by without any
+result in this case we may safely assume that it is not one of the
+exceptions.
+
+'Do you remember Mrs. Hawtrey?'
+
+'Yes, I remember her well. The first year or two after their marriage,
+Hawtrey had a place near town. I think she had a fancy that Lincolnshire
+was too cold for her. They came down when I was about eight years old.
+Dorothy was about a year old, I fancy. Mrs. Hawtrey and my mother became
+great friends. We could go from one house to the other without going
+outside the grounds, and as I was the youngest of a large family I used
+to walk across with her, and if Dorothy was in the garden she would come
+toddling to me and insist upon my carrying her upon my shoulder, or
+digging in her garden, or playing with her in some way or other. I don't
+know that I was fonder of children in general than most boys were, but I
+certainly took to her, and, as I said, we became great chums. She came
+to us two or three months after her mother died; her father went away on
+the Continent, and the poor little girl was heart-broken, as well she
+might be, having no brothers or sisters. She was a very desolate little
+maiden, so of course I did what I could to comfort her, and when my
+father and mother died, within three days of each other, three years
+later, I think that child's sympathy did me more good than anything.
+That is the only time I have seen her since I entered the army, and then
+I was only at home a few days, for the regiment was at Edinburgh, and it
+was a busy season. I suppose I could have got longer leave had I tried,
+but there was no object in staying at home. I had never got on
+particularly well with John, who was now master of the house; he was
+married, and had children, and after they arrived I thought the sooner I
+was off the better.'
+
+'What became of Tom? We were in the sixth together, you know; when you
+were my fag. You told me, didn't you, that he had gone out to China or
+something of that sort?'
+
+'Yes; there had been an idea that he would go into the Church, but he
+did not take to it; he tried one or two things here and would not stick
+to them, and my father got him into a tea firm, and he went out for them
+two years afterwards to Hong Kong; but that did not suit him either, so
+he threw it up and went to Australia, and knocked about there until he
+came into ten thousand at my father's death. He went in for
+sheep-farming then, and I have only heard once of him since, but he said
+that he was doing very well. I shall perhaps hear more about him when I
+see John. I must go down to Lincolnshire to-morrow, and I suppose I
+shall have to stay a week or so there; it is the proper thing to do, of
+course, but I wish that it was over. I have never been in the old place
+since that bad time. I don't at all care for my brother's wife. I have
+no doubt that she is a very good woman, but there is nothing sympathetic
+about her; she is one of those women with a metallic sort of voice that
+seems to jar upon one as if she were out of tune.'
+
+'And afterwards--have you any plans?'
+
+'None at all. I shall look out for a couple of rooms, somewhere about
+Jermyn Street, and stay in town to the end of the season. Then I shall
+hire a yacht for a couple of months, and knock about the coast or go
+across to Norway. I wish you would go with me; I did Switzerland and
+Italy the last year before I went away, and I don't care about going
+there when every place is filled with a crowd. I have only got a year,
+and I should like to have as pleasant remembrances to take back with me
+as possible. Do you think you will be able to come with me? Of course I
+shall not be able to afford a floating palace. I should say about a
+thirty-tonner that would carry four comfortably would be the sort of
+thing. I will try to get two fellows to go to make up the party; some of
+my old chums if I can come across them. Of course I can get any number
+of men home on leave like myself, but I don't want anyone from India,
+for in that case we should talk nothing but shop. You saw how we drifted
+into it at dinner. I should like not to hear India mentioned until I am
+on board a ship on my way out again.'
+
+'When would you think of going?'
+
+'Oh, I should say after Ascot--say the second week in July.'
+
+'I can hardly go with you as soon as that; I cannot get away as long as
+the courts are sitting, or until they have, at any rate, nearly finished
+work; but I might join you by the end of the month, unless I have the
+luck to get retained in some important case that would make my fortune,
+and I need scarcely say that is not likely.
+
+'But you are doing well, ain't you, Danvers? I see your name in the
+papers occasionally.'
+
+'I am doing quite as well as I have any right to expect; better, a good
+deal, than many men of my own standing, for I have only been called
+seven years, and ten is about the minimum most solicitors consider
+necessary before they can feel the slightest confidence in a man. Still,
+it does not do very much more than pay for one's chambers and clerk.'
+
+A week later Ned Hampton was established in lodgings in Jermyn Street.
+He had been down for three days into Lincolnshire, but had not cared
+much for the visit. He had never got on very well with his elder
+brother, and they had no tastes or opinions in common. Mrs. Hampton was
+a woman with but little to say on any subject, while her husband was at
+this time of year absorbed in his duties as a magistrate and landlord,
+although in the winter these occupied a secondary position to hunting
+and shooting. The only son was away at school, the two girls were all
+day with their governess; and, after three as dull days as he had ever
+spent in his life, Ned pleaded business that required his presence in
+London, and came back suddenly. He had been a good deal in society
+during his visits to London in the three years that intervened between
+his obtaining his commission and sailing for India. He had, therefore,
+many calls to make upon old acquaintances, and as at his military club
+he met numbers of men he knew, he soon had his hands full of
+engagements. He still managed, however, to spend a good deal of time at
+the Hawtreys', where he was always welcome. One morning, when he dropped
+in, Dorothy, after the first greeting, said, 'I have a piece of news to
+tell you. I should not like you to hear it from anyone else but me.'
+There was a heightened colour in her cheek, and he at once guessed the
+truth.
+
+'You have accepted Lord Halliburn? I guessed it would be so. I suppose I
+ought to congratulate you, Dorothy. At any rate, I hope you will be very
+happy with him.'
+
+'Why should you not congratulate me?'
+
+'Only because I do not know Lord Halliburn sufficiently well to be able
+to do so. Of course, I understand that he is a good match; but that, in
+my mind, is quite a secondary consideration. The real question is, is he
+the sort of man who will make you happy?'
+
+'I should not have accepted him unless I thought so,' she said gravely.
+'Mind,' she added with a laugh, 'I don't mean to say that I am
+insensible to the advantages of being a peeress, but in itself that
+would not have decided me. He is pleasant, and has the advantage of
+being very fond of me, and everyone speaks well of him.'
+
+'All very good reasons, Dorothy, if added to the best of all--that you
+love him.'
+
+The girl nodded.
+
+'Of course, Ned. I don't think that I have the sort of love one imagines
+as a young girl; not a wild, unreasoning sort of love; but you don't
+find that much in our days except in books. I like him very much, and,
+as I said before, he likes me. That does make such a wonderful
+difference, you see. When a man begins to show that he likes you, of
+course one thinks of him a good deal and in quite a different way from
+what you would otherwise do, and so one comes in time to like him in the
+same way he likes you. That seems to me the way with most girls I have
+known married. You don't see any harm in that?'
+
+'Oh no; I suppose it is the regular way in society; and, indeed, I don't
+see how people could get to care more than that for each other when they
+only meet at balls and flower shows and so on. Well, I think I may
+congratulate you. There is no doubt whatever about its being a good
+match, and I don't see why you should not be very happy, and no doubt
+your liking, as you call it, will grow into something more like the love
+you used to dream about by-and-by.'
+
+The girl pouted.
+
+'You are not half as glad as I expected you to be--and please don't
+think that I am marrying without love. I only admit that it is not the
+sort of love one reads of in novels, but I expect it is just as real.'
+
+'If it is good enough to wear well that is all that is necessary,'
+Captain Hampton said, more lightly than he had before spoken. 'You know,
+Dorothy, you have my very best wishes. You were my little sister for
+years, you know, and there is no one whose happiness would give me so
+much pleasure.'
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III
+
+
+Mr. Hawtrey and his daughter were sitting at breakfast a fortnight
+later, the only other person present being a cousin, Mrs. Daintree, who
+had come up to stay with them for the season to act as chaperon to
+Dorothy. She had been unwell and unable to form one of the party at
+Epsom. The servant brought in the letters just as they sat down,
+carrying them as usual to his master, as Dorothy was busy with the tea
+things. As Mr. Hawtrey looked through them his eye fell upon a letter.
+On the back was written in a bold handwriting, 'Unless the money is sent
+I shall use letters.--E. T.'
+
+He turned it over, it was directed to his daughter. He was about to
+speak, but as his eye fell on Mrs. Daintree he checked himself, placed
+the missive among his own letters, and passed those for his daughter and
+cousin across to them. He was very silent during breakfast. Dorothy
+detected by his voice that something was wrong with him, and asked
+anxiously if he was not feeling well. When the meal was over he said to
+her:
+
+'Before you go out, Dorothy, look in upon me in the library.'
+
+Ten minutes later she came into the room.
+
+'Dorothy,' he said, 'are you in any trouble?'
+
+'Trouble, father?' she repeated, in surprise. 'No; what sort of trouble
+do you mean?'
+
+'Well, dear,' he said kindly, 'girls do sometimes get into scrapes. I
+did not think you were the sort of girl to do so, but these things are
+more often the result of thoughtlessness than of anything more serious,
+and the trouble is that instead of going frankly to their friends and
+making a clean breast of it, girls will try and set matters right
+themselves, and so, in order to avoid a little unpleasantness, may ruin
+their whole lives.'
+
+Dorothy's eyes opened more and more widely as her father went on.
+
+'Yes, father, I have heard of such things, but I don't know why you are
+saying so to me. I have never got into any scrape that I know of.'
+
+'What does this mean then?' he said, handing her the envelope.
+
+She read it with an air of bewilderment, looked at the address, and
+re-read the words.
+
+'I have not the faintest idea, father.'
+
+'Open the envelope,' he said sternly. She broke the seal, but there was
+no enclosure whatever. 'You do not know who this E. T. is? You have not
+written any letters that you would not care to have read aloud? You have
+had no demand for money for their delivery? Wait a moment before you
+speak, child; I don't mean for a moment that there could be anything
+wrong in any letter that you have written. It can only be that in some
+country house where you have been staying, you have got into some
+foolish flirtation with some one, and have been silly enough to
+correspond with him. I will not suppose that a man to whom you would
+write would be blackguard enough to trade upon your weakness, but the
+letters may have fallen into some one else's hands; his valet, perhaps,
+who, seeing your engagement to Lord Halliburn, now seeks to extort money
+from you by threatening to send your letters to him. If so, my dear
+child, speak frankly to me. I will get the letters back, at whatever
+cost, and will hand them to you to burn, without looking at them, and
+will never mention the subject again.'
+
+'There is nothing of the sort, father. How could you think that I could
+do anything so foolish and wrong? Surely you must know me better than
+that.'
+
+'I thought I did, Dorothy; but girls do foolish things, especially when
+they are quite young and perhaps not out of the schoolroom, and know
+nothing whatever of the world. They fancy themselves in love, and are
+foolish enough sometimes to allow themselves to be entrapped into
+correspondence with men of whose real character they know nothing; it is
+a folly, but not one to deal hardly with.'
+
+'At any rate, father, I have not done so. If I had I would say so at
+once. I have not the remotest idea what that letter means, or who wrote
+it. If it were not that it had my name and address on the other side, I
+should not have had an idea that it was meant for me. Except trifling
+notes of invitation and that sort of thing I do not think that I had
+ever written to any man until I was engaged to Algernon.'
+
+'Well, that is a relief,' Mr. Hawtrey said, more cheerfully than he had
+before spoken. 'It was a pain to me to think even for a moment that you
+could have been so foolish. It never entered my head to think that you
+could have done anything absolutely wrong. However, we must now look at
+this rascally letter from another point of view. Here is a man writing
+to demand a sum of money for letters. Now, it is one of two things.
+Either he has forged letters in his possession, for which he hopes to
+extort money, or he has no letters of any kind, and his only intention
+in writing in this manner on an envelope is in some way to cause you
+pain and annoyance. We may assume that the initials are fictitious;
+whoever wrote the letter would certainly avoid giving any clue to his
+identity. Sit down, Dorothy. We must talk the matter over quietly and
+see what had best be done.'
+
+'But this is dreadful, father!' Dorothy said, as she seated herself in
+an arm-chair.
+
+'Not dreadful, dear, though I admit that it is unpleasant, very
+unpleasant; and we must, if possible, trace it to the bottom, for now
+that this annoyance has begun there is no saying how much farther it may
+be pushed. Is there anyone you can think of who would be likely to have
+a spite against you? I do not say any of the four or five gentlemen
+whose proposals you have declined in the course of the past year; all
+were gentlemen and beyond suspicion. Any woman servant you may have
+dismissed; any man whose request for money for one purpose or another
+you may have refused; anyone, in short, to whom you may have given
+offence?'
+
+'Not that I know of, father. You know my last maid left to get married,
+and I had nothing to do with hiring or discharging the other servants;
+they are all under the housekeeper. I really do not know of anyone who
+has cause for ill-feeling against me.'
+
+'I shall write at once to the Postmaster General and request him to give
+orders that no more letters of the kind shall be openly delivered.
+Peters can hardly have helped reading it; it has evidently been written
+in a large, bold handwriting, so that it can be read at a glance. Of
+course, I shall speak to him, but he will probably have chatted about it
+downstairs already. I shall go down to Scotland Yard and inform them of
+the annoyance, and ask their advice there, though I don't see that they
+can do anything until we can furnish them with some sort of clue. We may
+find one later on; this envelope certainly gives us nothing to go on,
+but we may be sure others will follow.'
+
+'It is dreadful, father,' Dorothy repeated, as she rose, 'to think that
+such malicious letters as this can be sent, and that they may be talked
+about among the servants.'
+
+'Well, I do not think there will be any more coming here, dear. I should
+imagine the Post Office authorities will have no objection to retain
+them. If there should be any difficulty about it, I will have a lock put
+on the letter-box and keep the key myself, so that, at least, the
+servants here will know nothing about it. Are you going out with your
+cousin this morning?'
+
+'I was going, but I shall make some excuse now; I could not be
+chattering about all sorts of things with her.'
+
+'That is just what you must do, Dorothy. It has taken the colour out of
+your cheeks, child, though I suppose cold water and a rub with a hard
+towel will bring it back again, but, at any rate, do not go about as if
+you had something on your mind. You may be sure that the servants will
+be looking at you curiously, whatever I may say to Peters; if they see
+you are in no way disturbed or annoyed, the matter will soon pass out of
+their minds, but, on the other hand, if they notice any change, they
+will be saying to themselves there must be something in it.'
+
+As soon as his daughter had left the room Mr. Hawtrey touched the bell.
+
+'I am going out, Peters; if anyone calls to see me you can say that I
+shall not be in till lunch-time. I may be detained at Scotland Yard. I
+am going there to set the police on the track of the fellow who sent
+that letter to Miss Hawtrey this morning. I suppose you noticed it?'
+
+'Yes, sir,' the man replied, in a hesitating tone; 'as I took the
+letters out of the box and laid them on the hall table, the envelope was
+back upwards, and I could not help seeing what was on it.'
+
+'I can quite understand that, Peters, and am not blaming you. The words
+were evidently written with the intention that they should be read by
+everyone through whose hands it passed. It is evidently the work of some
+malicious scoundrel, though we have not, of course, the slightest clue
+as to whom it may be, but I have no doubt the police will be able to get
+on his track. If you have mentioned it to any of the other servants,
+tell them that on no account is the matter to be spoken of outside the
+house. Our only chance of catching the scoundrel is that he should be
+kept entirely in the dark. Probably the fellow is in communication with
+some one either in the house or acquainted with one of the servants. If
+he hears nothing about it, he may suppose the letter has not attracted
+notice, as he intended it should do, and we shall have some more of
+them, and this will increase our chance of finding him.'
+
+'I have not mentioned anything about it, sir.'
+
+'All the better, Peters. Should another come do not bring it in with the
+other letters, but hand it in to me privately. Miss Hawtrey is naturally
+greatly pained and annoyed, and I should not wish her to know if any
+more letters come.'
+
+'It is hardly a matter that we can take up,' an inspector at Scotland
+Yard said when Mr. Hawtrey showed him the envelope and explained the
+matter. 'I suppose at bottom it is an attempt to extort money, though
+one does not see how the writer intends to go about it. If there should
+be any offer to drop the annoyance on the receipt of a sum of money sent
+to a post-office or shop, to be called for, we would take it up, watch
+the place, and arrest whoever comes for the letter. At present there is
+nothing to go upon, and I don't see that we can do anything in the
+matter. If you think it worth while you might put it into private hands,
+but it would cost you a good deal of money, and I don't see that anyone
+could help you much.'
+
+'I do not care what it costs,' Mr. Hawtrey said hotly. 'Can you
+recommend any of these private detectives?'
+
+The inspector shook his head.
+
+'There are some trustworthy men among them, sir, and some thorough
+rogues, but we make a point of never recommending anyone. No doubt your
+own solicitor would be able to tell you of some good man to go to.'
+
+Mr. Hawtrey hailed a cab when he went out and told the man to drive to
+Essex Street. Just as he turned down from the Strand he saw Danvers turn
+out from the approach to the Middle Temple. He stopped the cab and
+jumped out.
+
+'I was just going to my lawyer,' he said, 'but I dare say, Danvers, you
+can save me the loss of time. It generally means at least half an hour's
+waiting before he is disengaged. Can you tell me of a shrewd fellow who
+can be trusted to undertake a difficult piece of business?'
+
+'That is rather vague, Mr. Hawtrey,' Danvers laughed. 'I might reply
+that such a man stands before you.'
+
+'No, I mean a sort of detective business.'
+
+'There are plenty of shrewd fellows who call themselves private
+detectives, Mr. Hawtrey. A good many of them are too shrewd altogether.
+Of course, I have been in contact with several of them, and the majority
+are rogues of the first water. Still, there are honest men among them.
+If I knew a little more what sort of work you wanted done I should be
+better able to tell what kind of man you require for it.'
+
+'It is a deucedly unpleasant business, Danvers, but I will gladly tell
+you what it is, for I want the advice of some one like yourself,
+accustomed to deal with difficult cases. Can you spare ten minutes?'
+
+'With pleasure. I have no case on to-day. Will you come to my chambers?
+It is not half a minute's walk, and they are on the ground floor.'
+
+'What do you think of it, Danvers?' Mr. Hawtrey asked, after he had
+shown the envelope and related briefly his interview with his daughter.
+
+'I don't know what to think of it,' Danvers said after a pause. 'Knowing
+Miss Hawtrey as I have the pleasure of doing, I, of course, entertain no
+doubt whatever of the truth of her denial, and believe she is as
+completely in the dark as yourself as to what this thing means. I must
+own that it is not often that I should take a young lady's word so
+implicitly in such a matter. I have seen and still more heard from
+solicitors of so many astounding cases of the troubles girls have got
+into, sometimes from thoughtlessness only, sometimes, I am bound to
+confess, from what seems to me to be an entire absence of moral
+perception, that scarcely anything in that way would surprise me.
+
+'That Miss Hawtrey would do anything absolutely wrong is to me out of
+the question; though she might, from thoughtlessness, when a girl, as
+you put it to her, have got into some silly entanglement, for such
+things happen continually; but after the line you took up with her I can
+but dismiss this from my mind as altogether out of the question, and we
+must look at the matter entirely from the point of view that it is
+either an attempt to extort money, or is simply the outcome of sheer
+malice, an attempt to give pain, and to cause extreme annoyance. Miss
+Hawtrey is, you say, wholly unaware of having at any time given such
+offence to anyone as to convert him or her into an enemy. Of course,
+there are people who are just as bitter over an imaginary injury as over
+a real one, but I am more inclined to think that this letter is the
+result of malice than an attempt to extort money.'
+
+'I do not see how money could be extorted by such a letter as this, when
+there is no foundation for the threat.'
+
+'Quite so, Mr. Hawtrey. No one who wanted to blackmail a young lady
+would proceed in so clumsy a manner as this. He would write to her, to
+begin with, a letter full of vague hints and threats, in the hope that
+although he himself was ignorant of any occurrence in her life that
+would give him a hold upon her, her own conscience might bring to her
+remembrance some act of past folly or thoughtlessness which, with an
+engagement just made, she would certainly shrink from having raked up.
+For instance, she might have had some foolish flirtation, some
+sentimental correspondence, or stolen meeting--things foolish but in no
+way criminal--that at such a moment she would not wish to be brought to
+the ears of the man to whom she was engaged. A cleverly but vaguely
+worded letter might then cause her to believe that this affair was known
+to the writer, and she would endeavour to hush it up by paying any sum
+in her power.
+
+'Having written two or three letters of this kind without success, her
+persecutor might then send an envelope like this to show her that he was
+thoroughly resolved to carry out his threats unless she agreed to his
+terms. But as a first move it can mean nothing; and the person to whom
+it is addressed, knowing that it has already been seen by the postman,
+the servants, and perhaps by others, would in any case be driven to hand
+it over to her friends. Miss Hawtrey has received no preliminary
+letters, therefore it is clear to me that this is not an attempt to
+extort money. We have nothing, therefore, to fall back upon but the idea
+of sheer malice, and I have known so many cases of wanton and ingenious
+mischief-making, arising from such paltry and insufficient causes, that
+I can be surprised at nothing.'
+
+'Still, I don't see how anyone could do such an infamous and cruel thing
+as this, Danvers, without some real cause for malice. My daughter is
+altogether unconscious of having an enemy, there is nothing for us to go
+upon, and I do not see how the business of discovery is to be
+commenced.'
+
+'At present, certainly, we seem to have no clue to help us. The letter
+was posted, you see, in London, but that is of no use whatever; were it
+from a small country town or rural district the matter would be
+comparatively easy, but London is hopeless. I have no doubt some more
+letters of this kind will come, and I should say that although the
+post-marks may afford you no information, the postal authorities might
+be able to help you. I do not know whether the stamps at all the
+district post offices are identical, but it is possible that there may
+be some private mark on them, some little peculiarity, by which the
+post-office people would be able to tell you the office at which it was
+posted.
+
+'But even this would help us but little, as the letters are collected
+and sent to the central district office, and are there, I believe,
+stamped. At any rate, I see no use in your employing a man now, Mr.
+Hawtrey. If you get a clue, even the smallest, I have a fellow in my
+mind's eye who would, I think, suit you. He was at one time a clerk with
+Buller and Sons. They gave up the criminal part of their business when
+the eldest son, who had charge of that branch, died, and this man,
+Slippen, was no longer wanted. He then set up on his own account, as a
+sort of private detective. He has been employed in two or three delicate
+cases in which I have held briefs, and is certainly a very shrewd
+fellow.'
+
+'It would be a relief to me to be doing something,' Mr. Hawtrey said. 'I
+think I should like to see the man.'
+
+Danvers was silent for a minute.
+
+'I think, Mr. Hawtrey,' he said at last, 'it would be better if you were
+to entrust the matter to me. I will see him, and without mentioning
+names state the facts, and say that he may be asked to undertake the
+case later on. The fewer people know of the affair the better. Whispers
+will get about, and whispers would be more unpleasant than if the whole
+story were told openly in court. If you like I will send my clerk over
+to his place at once and make an appointment for him to come round here
+this afternoon. If you are going to be at home this evening I will look
+in and tell you what his opinion of the matter is, and whether he has
+any suggestions to offer. If that will not suit you I will meet you
+to-morrow at any time you may appoint.'
+
+'This evening will do very well, Danvers. Dorothy is going with her
+cousin and a party to the theatre, so if you will come round any time
+after eight o'clock you will find me alone, and we can have our chat
+over a glass of port and a cigar.'
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+'Well, have you seen your man?' he asked, as Danvers came into his study
+that evening. 'But do not answer until you have made yourself
+comfortable, and poured yourself out a glass of port; do not light your
+cigar for a few minutes, the wine is too good to be spoilt.'
+
+'Yes, I have seen him,' Danvers replied, as he followed his instructions
+deliberately.
+
+'And what does he say?'
+
+'Well, you see, Mr. Hawtrey, he has not the advantage we have of knowing
+the lady. He naturally has seen a good deal of the seamy side of life,
+and upon my stating the case to him, he said, without a moment's
+hesitation, "Of course the thing is as plain as a pikestaff, Mr.
+Danvers. The man has got hold of some secret, or is holding some
+compromising letters, and has tried to get her to come to terms. She
+hangs back and he shows his teeth, and writes her this open message,
+which, if it had not happened to fall into her father's hands, would no
+doubt have brought her to her knees at once."
+
+'My assurance that it was absolutely certain that the lady in question
+was in entire ignorance of the whole affair, and was as much in the dark
+as we were as to the author of the letter, was received by him with
+incredulity. "I have been concerned in cases like this, or at least a
+good deal like it, a dozen--or, I might say, a score--of times. In every
+case the lady maintained stoutly that she knew nothing about it, that
+she had never written a letter to any man whatever, and had received
+none previous to the one that happened to fall into the wrong hands. In
+three or four instances I was deceived myself, but there is no telling
+with women. When a man tells a lie, he either hesitates or stumbles, or
+he says it off as if it were a lesson he had got by heart, or else he is
+sulky over it, and you have to get it out of him bit by bit, just as if,
+though he had made up his mind to lie, he did not wish to tell more lies
+than necessary. With a woman it is altogether different. When she makes
+up her mind to tell a lie, she does it thoroughly. Sometimes she is
+indignant, sometimes she is plaintive; but, anyhow, she is so natural
+that she would deceive Old Nick himself. Most of them are born
+actresses, sir, and when they take up a part they do it with the
+determination of carrying it through thoroughly." Of course, I told him
+that, whatever it might be generally, this case was altogether an
+exception; that it was a moral and absolute certainty that the lady had
+nothing to do with it, and that the investigation, when it was once
+undertaken, would have to proceed, say, on the line that the author of
+these communications was a man or a woman having a personal enmity
+against a lady, and instigated by a desire to annoy and pain her.
+
+'"Well, sir," he said, "of course, if you employ me in this matter it
+will be my business to carry it out according to instructions; but I am
+afraid that it is not likely anything will come of my search."
+
+'"But," I said, "there is nothing impossible or improbable in the fact
+that someone should have a grudge against her; she has just become
+engaged to be married."
+
+'"That alters the case altogether," he said quickly; "there may be some
+other woman who wants to marry the man, or there may be some one who may
+consider that she will be left in the lurch if this marriage comes off;
+and either of these might endeavour to make a scandal, or to get up a
+quarrel that might cause the engagement to be broken off. If you had
+mentioned about the engagement before, that is the first idea that would
+have occurred to me. There are very few things a jealous woman will
+stick at. The case looks more hopeful now, and when I come to know the
+man's name, I ought very soon to be able to put my finger on the writer
+of the letter, if it is a woman. At any rate, if there is no other clue,
+that is the one I should take up first."
+
+'That brought our interview to an end. I paid him a couple of guineas
+for his advice, and he fully understood that he might, or might not, be
+called in on some future occasion.'
+
+'It is a confounded nuisance,' Mr. Hawtrey said thoughtfully; 'is the
+fellow really trustworthy, Danvers?'
+
+'He can be trusted to keep the matter to himself,' the barrister said;
+'these men are engaged constantly in delicate business, such as getting
+up divorce suits, and it would ruin their business altogether were they
+to allow a word to escape them as to the matter in hand. At any rate, I
+know enough about Slippen to be able to answer for his discretion.
+However, I hope that there will be no occasion to move in the matter at
+all. Of course you will not do so unless there is a repetition of the
+annoyance?'
+
+'I have little hope there will not be, Danvers,' Mr. Hawtrey groaned;
+'whoever wrote that letter is certain to follow it up. Whatever effect
+it was intended to produce he could hardly count on its being effected
+by a single attack.'
+
+'I own that I am afraid so, too,' Danvers agreed. 'You will, I hope, let
+me know if it is so.'
+
+'That you may be sure. I am afraid that now you have taken the trouble
+to aid me in the matter, you will have to go through with it altogether.
+This is utterly out of my line; anything connected with poaching or
+stealing fruit, or drunken assaults, my experience as a county
+magistrate enables me to treat with something like confidence, but here
+I am altogether at sea and your experience as a barrister is of the
+greatest benefit to me. What time do you get to your chambers in the
+morning?'
+
+'I am almost always there by half-past nine, and between that hour and
+half past ten you are almost certain to find me; but if you come later
+my clerk will be able to find me in the courts, and unless I am engaged
+in a case being tried I can always come out to you.'
+
+'I have been wanting to see you, father,' Miss Hawtrey said, as soon as
+the latter returned home, 'I expect Lord Halliburn will be here soon
+after lunch, and cousin Mary and I are going with him to the Botanical.
+Had I better tell him about this or not?'
+
+'That is a difficult question to answer, Dorothy, and I should be sorry
+to offer any advice about it. You know Lord Halliburn a good deal better
+than I do, and can best judge how he will take a matter like this; he
+must certainly be told sooner or later, for even if there is no
+repetition of this before your marriage there may be afterwards. Many
+men would laugh at the whole thing, and never give it a moment's
+thought, while others, although they would not doubt the assertion of
+the woman they were engaged to, would still fret and worry over it
+amazingly.'
+
+'I am sure he would not doubt me for a moment, father, but I should
+think that he really might worry over it.'
+
+'That is rather my opinion too, Dorothy; still, it is clear that he must
+be told either by you or me. However, there is no occasion to tell him
+to-day. A flower show is not the place you would choose for the purpose,
+even if you had not Mary Daintree with you. We shall see if another
+letter comes or not; if it does he must be told at once.'
+
+Dorothy looked a little relieved at the necessity for telling Lord
+Halliburn being postponed for the day.
+
+'It is of no use worrying over it, my dear,' her father said kindly. 'It
+is an annoyance, there is no denying, but it is nothing to fret over,
+and as the insinuations are a pack of lies the cloud will blow away
+before long.'
+
+The next morning, as soon as breakfast was over, Mr. Hawtrey drove to
+the central post office, where the postal authorities had promised the
+day before that they would retain any communications of the kind he
+described. He had been introduced to the official in charge of the
+department where complaints of stolen letters were investigated and
+followed up.
+
+'I have an envelope for you, Mr. Hawtrey,' that gentleman said, when he
+entered, 'and have been more fortunate than I expected, for I can tell
+you where it was posted; it was dropped into the letter-box at No. 35
+Claymore Street, Chelsea. It is a grocer's shop. In tying up the bundles
+the man's eye fell on this; it struck him at once as being an attempt to
+annoy or extort money, and he had the good sense to put it into an
+envelope and send it on here with a line of explanation, so as to leave
+us the option of detaining it if we thought fit.'
+
+'I am very pleased to hear it,' Mr. Hawtrey said. 'It is a great thing
+to know there is at least one point from which we can make a start.'
+
+'It is not much, but it may assist you. You must remember, however, that
+it is scarcely likely that the next letter will be posted at the same
+office; fellows of this kind are generally pretty cautious, and the next
+letter may come from another part of London altogether. I have sent a
+note to the man at this post office, telling him that he did right in
+stopping the letter, and that he is to similarly detain any others of
+the same kind that may be posted there. I will send them on to you. The
+men on your round have been already ordered not to deliver any letters
+of the kind, but to send them back here. I sincerely hope, Mr. Hawtrey,
+that you may succeed in getting hold of the fellow, but if you do I am
+afraid it will not be through our department; the chances against
+detecting a man posting a thing of this kind are almost infinite.'
+
+It was just half past ten when Mr. Hawtrey reached Danvers' chambers. He
+found that the occupier had not yet gone to the Court.
+
+'There is another of them,' Mr. Hawtrey said, throwing the letter down
+before him. 'I got it at the central office.' It was in the same
+handwriting as that on the previous day: 'Unless you agree to my terms
+your letters will be sent to Lord H----.' 'The post-office people have
+discovered that this letter was posted at a receiving office at Claymore
+Street, Chelsea.'
+
+'That would be valuable, Mr. Hawtrey, if there were any probability of
+the next being posted at the same place. I could make an arrangement to
+have a boy placed inside by the box so that he could see each letter as
+it fell in. Then he would only have to run out and follow whoever had
+posted it. I should probably require some special order from the
+Postmaster-General for this, but I dare say I could get that. At any
+rate, we can wait a day or two. If the next letter is posted there we
+will try that plan; if it is posted elsewhere it will, of course, be
+useless.'
+
+Mr. Hawtrey next drove to Lord Halliburn's, in Park Lane.
+
+'I have come on very unpleasant business, Halliburn,' he said. 'Dorothy
+would have told you herself about it yesterday, but I thought it better
+to let it stand over for a day, especially as she would not have an
+opportunity of discussing it with you,' and he then laid the two letters
+before him, and told him the steps he had taken and the conjectures that
+he and Danvers had formed on the subject of the sender.
+
+Lord Halliburn was a young man of about nine-and-twenty. He somewhat
+prided himself on his self-possession, and, although generally liked,
+was regarded, as Danvers had told his friend, as somewhat of a prig. His
+face expressed some annoyance as he heard the story.
+
+'It is certainly unpleasant,' he said. 'I am, of course, perfectly sure
+that Dorothy is in no way to blame in the matter. This can be only a
+malicious attempt to annoy her. Still, I admit it is annoying. Things of
+this sort are sure to get about somehow. I am certain that everyone who
+knows Dorothy will see the matter in the same light as we do, but those
+who do not will conclude that there is something in it. Probably enough
+ere long there will be a mysterious paragraph in one of those society
+papers. Altogether it is certainly extremely annoying. The great thing
+is to find out who sent them. I quite agree with you it cannot be an
+attempt to extort money; had it been so, the demands would have been
+sent under seal and not in this manner. I suppose you have no idea of
+anyone having any special enmity against either you or her?'
+
+'Not the slightest. The man who, as I told you, Danvers consulted
+without mentioning any names, was of opinion that it might be the work
+of some woman, and was intended to cause unpleasantness between you and
+Dorothy. Of course, in that case you might be more able to form an idea
+as to the writer than I can be.'
+
+'No, indeed, there is no woman in my case,' Lord Halliburn said. 'I have
+always been perfectly free from entanglements of that kind; nor have I
+ever had anything like a serious flirtation before I met Miss Hawtrey;
+indeed, as you know, I have been travelling abroad almost constantly
+since I left college. I can assure you, on my honour, that I cannot
+think of anyone who could have a motive, however slight, for making
+mischief between us. Of course, it would be out of the question that
+mischief could be made out of such things as these; they are too
+contemptible for notice, beyond the fact that they are naturally
+annoying. I shall see Dorothy this afternoon, and shall tell her not to
+give the matter a thought, but at the same time I shall be extremely
+glad if you can put your hand on the sender of these things.'
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV
+
+
+Mr. Hawtrey's hope that a clue had been obtained was speedily
+dissipated, for the next letter was posted in the south of London, and
+the one after it at Brompton. It was clear that the man who sent them
+did not confine himself to one particular office, and that it would be
+useless to set a watch on that in Claymore Street, Chelsea. Edward
+Hampton coming in that afternoon, he relieved his mind by telling what
+had happened.
+
+'It is a comfort to talk it over with some one, Ned. You were a
+police-officer for some time out in India, I think, and may be able to
+see your way through this business. Danvers has been very kind about it,
+but so far nothing has come of his suggestions.'
+
+'My Indian police experience is not much to the point. I had a police
+district for a year, but my duties consisted principally in hunting down
+criminals. Have you told Lord Halliburn?'
+
+'Yes; as soon as the second letter came I went to him; it was only right
+that he should know.'
+
+'Certainly. How did he take it, Mr. Hawtrey? if I may ask.'
+
+'He was naturally annoyed at it; though, of course, he agreed with me
+that it was simply a piece of malice. A detective, to whom Danvers had
+spoken, without mentioning any name, suggested that it might be the work
+of some woman who had a grudge against him, or felt herself aggrieved at
+his engagement. I mentioned this to him, and he assured me that, so far
+as he knew, there was no one who had any complaint against him, and that
+he had never had any entanglement of any kind.'
+
+'It is a horribly annoying thing, Mr. Hawtrey, and I am sure Miss
+Hawtrey must feel it very much. I thought she was not looking quite
+herself when I met her at dinner the night before last. Still, there
+must be some way of getting to the bottom of it. If it is not the work
+of an enemy, either of Lord Halliburn or of your daughter, it may be the
+work of one who has an enmity against yourself--one who is striking at
+you through yours.'
+
+'That is just possible, Ned; but beyond men I have sentenced on the
+bench I don't know of anyone who would put himself out of his way to
+annoy me. Assuredly this cannot be the work of any Lincolnshire rustic.'
+
+'But you have certainly one enemy who is just the sort of man to
+conceive and carry out such a blackguard business as this--I mean that
+man who was impertinent to you on the racecourse, and whose history you
+told us that evening.'
+
+'I had not thought of him. Yes, that suggestion is certainly a probable
+one. He is evidently deeply impressed with the sense of injury, though,
+Heaven knows, I did not have the slightest ill-feeling against him, but
+was driven to do what I did by his own courses, and especially by his
+father's earnest request that he should not succeed him. There is no
+doubt as to his malice, and there can be as little as to his
+unscrupulousness.'
+
+'Danvers and I were both of opinion, Mr. Hawtrey, that by his tone and
+manner when he spoke to you about payment of debts, that he had already
+done you some injury or had some distinct plan in his head. At that time
+your daughter was not engaged to Lord Halliburn, and his ideas may have
+been vague ones until the public notice of the engagement met his eye,
+when he may have said to himself, "This is my opportunity for taking my
+revenge, by annoying both father and daughter."'
+
+'It is possible, Ned. I can hardly bring myself to think that the son of
+my old friend would be capable of such a dastardly action, but I admit
+that there is at least a motive in his case, and that I can see none in
+that of anyone else.'
+
+'At any rate, Mr. Hawtrey, here is a clue worth following, and as I have
+nothing whatever to do, and my own time hangs rather heavily on my
+hands, I will, if you will allow me, undertake to follow it up.'
+
+'But with no evidence against him, not a particle, what can you do,
+Ned?'
+
+'My business will be to get evidence. The first thing is to find out
+where the fellow lives, and to have him watched and followed, and if
+possible, caught in the act of posting one of these letters.'
+
+'Remember, Ned, I would above all things avoid publicity, for Dorothy's
+sake. Nothing is more hateful than for a girl to be talked about, and it
+is only as a last resource that I would bring a charge against him at
+the Police Court.'
+
+'I can quite understand that, and will certainly call in no police to my
+aid until I have previously consulted you and received your sanction to
+do so. It will be easy enough to find him, for I should know him in an
+instant, and shall probably meet him at the first racecourse I go to. It
+is not as if I knew nothing of his habits.'
+
+For the next week Captain Hampton frequented every racecourse within a
+short distance of London, but without meeting the man he was looking
+for. Men of the same class were there in scores--some boisterous, some
+oily-mouthed, some unmitigated ruffians, others crafty rogues.
+
+Several times he accosted one of these men, and inquired if he had seen
+a betting man having the name of Marvel on his hat; each time the
+response was the same.
+
+'I have not seen him here to-day. I know who you mean well enough, but
+he is not here. I can lay you the odds if you like. You would be safe
+with me.'
+
+Further inquiry elicited the conjecture that 'he might have gone up
+North, or to some other distant races.'
+
+'There are two meetings pretty well every day,' one said, 'sometimes
+three, and a man cannot be at them all. What do you want him for? If it
+is to get money out of him, you won't find the job a very easy one,
+unless he has happened to strike on a vein of luck. You had much better
+take the odds from me.'
+
+Captain Hampton explained that his business was a private one, and
+altogether unconnected with betting.
+
+'Well, if you will give me your name I will let him know that you want
+to see him, if I happen to run up against him. I should say that he will
+be at Reading next week.'
+
+But Captain Hampton said his name would be unknown to Marvel, and the
+bookmaker, after looking him over suspiciously, concluded that it was of
+no use wasting further time, and turning away set up a stentorian shout
+of 'Six to one, bar one.'
+
+Captain Hampton tried Reading, but was as unsuccessful here as in his
+previous attempts.
+
+'Want Marvel?' one man he asked repeated. 'Well, I have not seen him
+here, and I haven't seen him for the last ten days; so I expect he has
+either gone down on a country tour, or he is ill, or he is so short of
+the dibs that he can't pay his fare down. He would be here if he could;
+for he would manage to make enough money to pay his expenses, anyhow. It
+is hard when a man cannot do that.'
+
+Captain Hampton was not to be baffled, and after examining a sporting
+paper took a ticket early next morning for the North. He was away a
+week, and returned home disheartened. He had not seen the man nor did
+any of those he had questioned know the name of Marvel. 'It is like
+enough I may know the man,' one said confidentially, 'but I don't know
+the name; names don't go for much in the outside ring. A man is Marvel
+one day, and if when the racing is over he cannot pay his bets and has
+to go off quiet, he alters the cut of his hair next time and puts a
+fresh name on his hat, and is ready to take his davy, if questioned,
+that he was not near the course, and never heard the name of Marvel; and
+as he is sure to have some one with him to back him up and swear that he
+was with him at the other side of England on that day, the chap as wants
+his money concludes that he may as well drop it.'
+
+The day after his return Ned Hampton went to Epsom and there recognised
+with a start of satisfaction the man of whom he was in search. He had no
+name in his hat, and was talking to two or three men of his own class,
+one of whom he recognised as the man who had offered to tell Marvel that
+he wished to see him. He moved up in the crowd, and placed himself close
+to the men, but with his back towards them. Marvel was speaking.
+
+'But what sort of fellow was he?'
+
+'A military-looking swell.'
+
+'And he said I should not know his name? I should know it sharp enough
+if it was down in my book without a pencil mark through the bet. There
+are people, you know, who, quite accidentally of course, I haven't
+settled up with.'
+
+There was a laugh among the group. 'A good many I should fancy, Jacob,
+but I don't think this chap could have been one of them. A man who has
+been left in the lurch generally takes it out in strong language. If
+this chap had wanted you for a tenner and you had not forked over, he
+would probably have spoken of you as a swindling scoundrel and said that
+if he met you he would take it out of you in another way if he could not
+get the money. Now he didn't seem put out at all; he wanted to see you
+about something or other, but I don't think it was anything to do with
+money. I can always tell when there is anything wrong about that. A man
+may put it as mild as he likes, but there is something in it that says
+he is nasty.'
+
+'Well, I don't want to see him whoever he is,' Marvel said, 'so if he
+comes across any of you again tell him you hear I've retired, or that I
+have drowned myself, or anything else you like, but that anyhow I ain't
+likely to be on any of the courses again this season. And mind, you
+don't know anything about where I live or where he is likely to get any
+news of me.'
+
+'But where have you been the last fortnight, Jacob?'
+
+'I have been on another job altogether, and if it turns out well you
+ain't likely to see much more of me here. I have had about enough of
+it.'
+
+As he found that he was not likely to hear more, Hampton moved away in
+the crowd, but continued to keep Marvel in sight. In two or three
+minutes the man separated from his companions, moved off the course, and
+stood for a minute or two with his hands in his pockets, meditating.
+Then his mind was made up. He pushed his way through the crowd, crossed
+the course, and walked quickly towards one of the entrances. Captain
+Hampton followed him closely, and was by no means surprised to see him
+walk to the station.
+
+'He is evidently nervous about what they have told him,' he said to
+himself, 'and although he cannot tell what my business with him may be,
+he is determined to avoid me. All the better; I should have had great
+difficulty in keeping my eye on him in the crowd later on, and now I
+won't lose sight of him again.'
+
+Entering the station, the man waited until a train came up and then took
+his place in a third class carriage. Hampton entered the next
+compartment, but, to his great annoyance, found on arriving at Waterloo
+that Marvel was not in the carriage.
+
+'Confound it,' he muttered angrily, 'he must have slipped out at one of
+the other stations without my noticing him. It must have been at
+Vauxhall, just as those four men were pushing past me to get out. I am a
+nice sort of fellow to take up the amateur detective business. To hunt
+for a man for nearly three weeks and then when I have found him to lose
+him again like this. I will go across and see Danvers. Of course he will
+have the laugh against me. Well, I can't help that; I will take his
+advice about it. I am evidently not fit to manage by myself.'
+
+Danvers had just returned from the Courts when Captain Hampton reached
+the chambers.
+
+'Hullo, Hampton, where do you spring from? Everyone has missed you from
+your accustomed haunts. Some said you had eloped with an heiress; others
+that you are wanted for forgery. I met the Hawtreys last night at
+dinner. They both asked me after you. The young lady quite seemed to
+take your disappearance to heart. The more so, I think, because she had
+sent down a servant with a note to your lodgings, and the girl had
+learnt from your landlady that you had been away for a week. Of course,
+I could not enlighten her. Her father took me apart and asked me quite
+seriously about you. He seemed to think that you had been trying to
+ferret out something about this confounded letter business. He told me
+he had talked it over with you, regarding you as almost one of the
+family.'
+
+'That is just what I have been about, Danvers, and I have made an
+amazing ass of myself.'
+
+'You don't mean to say that!' Danvers exclaimed in affected surprise.
+'Well, I know you used to do it at school sometimes, but I hoped that
+you had got out of the habit.'
+
+'Bosh!' Hampton laughed. 'But I own I have done it this time. You
+remember that fellow on the racecourse?'
+
+'You mean at the Oaks. Of course I remember him.'
+
+'Well, it struck me that he might be the man who had sent the letters.
+He had, as Hawtrey told us in the evening, a bitter grudge against him,
+and such a dirty trick as this was just the sort of thing that a
+disreputable broken-down knave like him might concoct to gratify his
+malice.'
+
+'You are right there; I wonder the idea did not occur to me. Well, I
+retract what I said just now; so far you have told me nothing to justify
+the epithet you bestowed on yourself.'
+
+'My first idea,' Hampton went on, without noticing the interruption,
+'was that as I had nothing particular to do I would go down to some of
+the races near town where I felt certain I should find him, follow the
+fellow back, and track him to his home. Then I had intended to come to
+you and ask your advice as to the next step to be taken.'
+
+'There you showed your sagacity again, Hampton. Well, what came of it?'
+
+'I went for a fortnight to every racecourse near town and asked after
+Marvel from bookmakers of his stamp. They all seemed rather surprised at
+his absence, and suggested that perhaps having failed to pay up here he
+had gone to one of the country meetings up in the North. I was up in
+Yorkshire for a week but with no better result. I came up last night and
+went to Epsom this morning and there spotted my man.' He then related
+the conversation he had overheard and the manner in which he had allowed
+the man to slip through his fingers. Danvers could not help laughing,
+though he, too, was vexed.
+
+'I can quite understand your missing him at Vauxhall, Hampton. Of course
+it is easy to be wise after the event. It would not have done for you to
+have got in the same compartment with him at Epsom. You don't look like
+a third-class passenger, and the idea that you were the military swell
+who had been enquiring after him would probably have occurred to him;
+but if you had got out at a station or two further on, and then taken
+your place in his carriage, that idea would hardly have entered his
+mind.'
+
+'Well, the result is I have thrown away three weeks of my leave in
+taking a lot of trouble and we are no nearer than we were before.'
+
+'Not much, except that we have learnt that the man is engaged on a
+different matter, in which he intends to make money, and also that there
+is but little probability of his being met with again for some time on a
+racecourse. Of course, this business may be altogether unconnected with
+that of the Hawtreys, but on the other hand it may be. I am afraid there
+is little clue left for us to follow up. Getting out at Vauxhall might
+mean that he lived in that neighbourhood, or at Camberwell, or Peckham,
+or Kennington, or anywhere about there; or he might have crossed the
+river, and there is all the region between Chelsea and Westminster to
+choose from. If we knew that he went under the name of Marvel something
+might be done, but it is a hundred to one against that being the name he
+goes by in his domestic circle. If you have come to me for advice I can
+give you none; I can see nothing whatever to do but to wait for new
+developments. Have you seen the "Liar" this week?'
+
+'No; I never look at it.'
+
+'Well, you see there is a nasty paragraph there that unmistakably
+alludes to the affair. I have no doubt it is Halliburn's doing; he got
+so annoyed at these letters keeping on coming--and indeed it seems that
+some have been sent to him with 'Look before you leap,' 'Be sure that
+all is right before it is too late,' and things of that sort--that he
+went off to Scotland Yard, kicked up a row there, showed the envelopes
+he had received to the authorities, and gave them the whole history
+about the others. Of course, they promised that they would do what they
+could, and equally of course they will be able to do nothing. Well, I
+suppose some understrapper there got to hear of it, and probably sold
+the thing to one of the men who gather up garbage for the "Liar." I have
+got the paper. There, that is the paragraph: "There is a possibility
+that a marriage that has been arranged in high life may not come off
+after all. The noble lord who was to figure as bridegroom has received
+the unpleasant information that the young lady has been pestered with
+demands for money in exchange for compromising letters, and has himself
+received missives calculated to make one in his position extremely
+uncomfortable. Further developments may be looked for."'
+
+'It is scandalous,' Captain Hampton exclaimed passionately, 'that a
+blackguard rag like this is allowed to exist!'
+
+'Quite so, Hampton; I agree with you most heartily. Still, there it is,
+and others like it, and we have got to put up with it. If it had not
+been for that fool, Halliburn, taking things into his hands this notice
+would never have got in. One of Hawtrey's servants came round in a cab
+to fetch me this morning. I found him foaming with rage, talking about
+horsewhipping and all sorts of things. It is curious how that sort of
+thing still lingers in the minds of country squires. I told him, of
+course, that would make it ten times worse. Then he talked of an action,
+and I said, "Now, my dear Mr. Hawtrey, you are getting altogether beyond
+my province. As a friend I am very glad to give you my advice as long as
+it is merely a question of endeavouring to find out the authors of these
+libels. Now it has assumed an altogether different phase, and you must
+go to your lawyer for advice. I am sure that he will tell you that you
+can do nothing, especially as in point of fact the statements are
+perfectly true. Still, there is no saying how far the thing will go, and
+whether it may not be necessary eventually to take legal steps;
+therefore it is only fair to your solicitor that you should put him in
+possession of the whole circumstances as far as they have gone."
+
+'"Very well," he said, "I will go down at once to Harper and Hawes, and
+take their advice about it."'
+
+'There is one comfort,' Captain Hampton said; 'there are not many people
+who will understand to whom this paragraph relates. I suppose there have
+been a dozen lords of one sort and another who have become engaged
+during the season, so that, except for us who are behind the scenes,
+there is nothing to point distinctly to the identity of the parties.'
+
+'You need not count on that,' Danvers said shortly. 'This paragraph is
+merely intended to whet the curiosity of the public. You will see that
+next week there will be another, saying that they are now able to state,
+beyond fear of contradiction, that the nobleman and young lady who have
+been persecuted by anonymous letters are Lord Halliburn and Miss
+Hawtrey.'
+
+'This sort of thing makes one regret that duelling has gone out of
+fashion,' Captain Hampton said savagely. 'There is nothing would give me
+greater pleasure than to parade the editor of that blackguard paper at
+six o'clock to-morrow morning on Wimbledon Common!'
+
+'It would no doubt be a pleasure to you, my dear Hampton,' Danvers said
+tranquilly, 'and the result might be a matter of unmingled satisfaction
+to all decent people; but, you see, it cannot be done. If it could have
+been he would have been shot years ago, noxious beast that he is. It
+being impossible, let us change the subject. What are you going to do
+this evening?'
+
+'I am going to have dinner first.'
+
+'It is only six o'clock, my dear fellow.'
+
+'All the better. I want to get it over, so as to go round and catch the
+Hawtreys before they go out--that is to say, if they are going to a ball
+or anything of that sort, and not to a dinner; Mr. Hawtrey knows I have
+been doing what I could to find out this betting fellow, but has not
+mentioned it to his daughter, for the same reason, probably, that I have
+taken pains to avoid meeting them since I began the search. At any rate,
+I should not like her to think that I have been away for this three
+weeks on my own pleasure, in perfect indifference to the unpleasant
+position in which she is placed, so I shall go to report progress--or,
+rather, want of progress--and to assure them that I will continue the
+search until I have run this fellow to earth.'
+
+Danvers looked at his friend through his half-closed eyes with a gleam
+of quiet amusement.
+
+'The Indian sun does not seem to have cooled the enthusiasm of your
+youth, Hampton. You used to throw yourself then like a young demon into
+the middle of a football scrimmage, and rowed stroke in that four of
+yours till you rowed your crew to a standstill, and then tugged away all
+to yourself, till they got their wind again. To us, jaded men----'
+
+'Shut up, man!' Hampton said hotly, 'this is no joking matter. Here is
+the honour and happiness of a girl who, when she was a little child, was
+very dear to me'--Danvers' eyes twinkled momentarily--'and I should be a
+brute if I did not do everything I could to put the matter straight; and
+I am quite sure,' he went on more quietly, 'that although, of course,
+they are not such friends of yours as they are of mine, you would spare
+no trouble yourself if you only saw any way in which you could be of
+real assistance.'
+
+'Perhaps so, old man, perhaps so; but I should not get into fever heat
+about it. You see, the matter at present principally concerns Halliburn.
+It is his business and privilege to stand first in the line of defence
+of the character of the young lady to whom he is engaged.'
+
+'And a nice mess he has made of his first move,' Captain Hampton agreed,
+pointing to the copy of the 'Liar.' 'Well, I won't wait any longer; they
+dine at seven o'clock when they are alone, and I will go round at eight
+on the chance of finding them in.'
+
+Danvers sat looking at the empty grate for some minutes after he had
+left. 'It is about even betting, I should say,' he muttered to himself,
+'and I think, if anything, the odds are slightly on Hampton, though he
+has not the slightest idea at present that he has entered for the race.
+The other one has got the start, but Hampton always had no end of last,
+and he will take every fence well, and it seems to me there are likely
+to be some awkward ones. Besides, I am not half sure that the other
+fellow will run straight when the pinch comes.'
+
+When Captain Hampton presented himself at the house in Chester Square,
+he found, to his satisfaction, that Mr. Hawtrey and his daughter were at
+home.
+
+'They have just finished dinner, sir,' the servant said; 'dessert is on
+the table.'
+
+'Then I will go in,' Captain Hampton said, and, opening the dining-room
+door, walked in.
+
+'I am presuming on my old footing to enter unceremoniously, Mr.
+Hawtrey,' he said.
+
+'I am glad to see you. You are heartily welcome, Ned. This reminds one
+of old times indeed.'
+
+Dorothy's welcome was sensibly cooler, while Mrs. Daintree, who had from
+the first set herself strongly against his intimacy at the house, was
+absolutely frigid.
+
+Ned saw that Dorothy's colour had perceptibly paled since he last saw
+her, and that she looked harassed and anxious.
+
+'It is three weeks since I saw you,' he said.
+
+'Is it?' she asked with an air of indifference. He laughed outright.
+
+'That was really very well done, Dorothy, and I quite understand what it
+means. You think I have been neglecting you altogether, and amusing
+myself while you were in trouble; and were that the case I should
+deserve all the snubbing, and more, that you could give me. I believe
+that your father has not told you what I have been doing, and I do not
+wish to enter into details now,' and he glanced towards Mrs. Daintree,
+'but I feel that I must, in justice to myself, assure you that the whole
+of my time has been occupied in the matter, and that although I have no
+success to boast of, I have, at least, tried my very best to deserve
+it.'
+
+'That is good of you, Ned,' the girl said brightly. 'I have been feeling
+a little hurt at your desertion, and thought it did not seem like you to
+leave me in trouble. I always used to rely upon you when I got into a
+scrape. I don't want to know what you have been doing, though father can
+tell me if he likes, but I am quite content to take your word for it.
+Now I must go; it is time for us to dress. I wish I could stay at home
+and have a quiet evening, but you see I am no longer quite my own
+mistress.'
+
+'Well, Hampton, what have you been doing, and why have you not been to
+see me before? I heard you were in town--at least, I heard so ten days
+ago.'
+
+'I should have come, sir, before, had I had anything to tell you. I have
+nothing much now, and in fact have to-day bungled matters considerably;
+still, I shall start on a fresh search to-morrow, and hope to be luckier
+than I have been so far.' He then gave a detailed account of his visits
+to racecourses, of his meeting with Truscott that morning, of the
+conversation he had overheard, and of the manner in which the man had
+eluded him.
+
+'Well, Ned, you certainly have deserved success, and I am indeed obliged
+to you for the immense trouble you have taken over the matter. It is too
+bad your spending your time over this annoying affair, when you are only
+home on a year's leave. What you have learned is, of course, no direct
+proof that Truscott has a hand in this affair; at the same time, what he
+said confirms to some extent your suspicions of him. Would it not be as
+well to put the search for him into the hands of a detective, now that
+there is some one definite to search for? One of these men might be
+useful, and I really would vastly rather employ one than know that you
+are spending day after day searching for him yourself. These men are
+accustomed to the work; they know exactly the persons to whom to apply;
+they have agents under them, who know infinitely better the sort of
+place where such a fellow would be likely to take up his quarters than
+you can do.'
+
+'No doubt that is so,' Captain Hampton admitted reluctantly. 'I should
+have liked to have run him down myself, now that I have hunted him so
+long. Still, that is a matter of no importance, the great thing is to
+lose no time. I will get Danvers to give me a note to the man he spoke
+to first.'
+
+'On my behalf, remember, Ned; he must be engaged on my behalf.'
+
+'Very well, sir, if you wish it so; but I would rather that you and I
+arrange with him direct, and that it is not done by your solicitors.
+Danvers told me that you were going to them this morning about that
+infamous paragraph in the "Liar."'
+
+'Certainly they shall have nothing to do with it,' Mr. Hawtrey said
+hotly; 'I was a fool to go to them at all; I might as well have gone to
+two old women. They have been lawyers to our family for I don't know how
+many years, and are no doubt excellent men in their capacity of family
+lawyers, but this matter is altogether out of their line. They looked at
+each other like two helpless fools when I told them the story, and said
+at once that they would not undertake to advise me, but that I had
+better go to Levine, or one of the other men who are always engaged in
+these what they call delicate cases, that is to say, hideous scandals.
+However, I have made up my mind to keep clear of them all as far as I
+can; but, of course, I must be guided to some extent by Halliburn's
+opinion, or rather his wishes. As to his opinion, I have no confidence
+in it one way or the other. I'm glad you did not say anything about what
+you had been doing before my cousin; she is worrying herself almost into
+a fever about it, the more so because there is no one to whom she can
+talk about it. She means well, but were it not that just at present it
+is absolutely necessary that Dorothy should show herself everywhere with
+a perfectly unconcerned air, I would make some excuse to send Mrs.
+Daintree down to the country again; as it is, I must keep her as a
+chaperon, but she is very trying I assure you, and I believe would come
+into my study to cry over the affair half-a-dozen times a day, if I
+would but let her. Now, Ned, you must excuse me, the carriage will be
+round in a few minutes, and as, with one thing and another, I got back
+too late to dress for dinner, I have not another minute to spare. Shall
+I give you a note authorising you to arrange with the detective?'
+
+'There is no occasion for that; I shall speak in your name, and as he
+will want to have an interview with you before long, you can then
+confirm any arrangement I have made as to his remuneration.'
+
+Hampton called in on Danvers in the morning for the address of the
+detective, Slippen, and a card of introduction. The address was in
+Clifford's Inn, and on finding the number Hampton saw the name over a
+door on the ground floor. A sharp looking boy was sitting on a high
+stool swinging his legs. He evidently thought that amusement somewhat
+monotonous and was glad of a change, for he jumped down with alacrity.
+
+'The governor is in, sir, but he has got a party in with him. I will
+take your card in. I expect he will be glad to get rid of her, for she
+has been sobbing and crying in there awful.'
+
+'I am in no particular hurry,' Captain Hampton said, amused at the boy's
+confidential manner.
+
+'Divorce, I expect,' the lad went on, as Captain Hampton took a seat on
+the only chair in the dark little office. 'I allus notice that the first
+time they comes they usually goes on like that. After a time or two they
+takes it more business-like. They comes in brisk, and says, "Is Mr.
+Slippen in?" just the same as if they was asking for a cup of tea. When
+they goes out sometimes they look sour, and I knows then that he,' and
+he jerked his thumb towards the inner office, 'hasn't any news to tell
+'em; sometimes they goes out looking red in the face and in a regular
+paddy, and you can see by the way they grips their umbrellas they would
+like to give it to some one.'
+
+'You must find it dull sitting here all day. I suppose you haven't much
+writing to do?'
+
+'I doesn't sit here much. I am mostly about. There ain't many as comes
+here of a day, and he can hear the knocker. Those as does come calls
+mostly in the morning, from ten to eleven. There, she is a-moving.'
+
+The inner door opened, and a stout woman came out looking flushed and
+angry; the boy slid off his stool and opened the door for her, and then
+took Captain Hampton's card in. A moment later Mr. Slippen himself
+appeared at the door.
+
+'Will you walk in, Captain Hampton? I am sorry to have kept you waiting.
+I rather expected,' he said, as he closed the door behind him, 'that I
+should have a call, either from Mr. Danvers or some one from him, when I
+saw that paragraph in the "Liar." I made sure it was the case he was
+speaking to me about, and I said to myself, "They are safe to be doing
+something now."'
+
+'Yes, it is that case that I come about. I am here on the part of Mr.
+Hawtrey, the father of the young lady. I am an intimate friend of the
+family. Mr. Danvers gave you the heads of the matter.'
+
+The detective nodded; he was a rather short, slightly-built man, with
+hair cut very short and standing up aggressively; his eyes were widely
+opened, with a sharp, quick movement as they glanced from one point to
+another, but the general expression of the face was pleasant and
+good-tempered.
+
+'He told you my opinion so far as I could form it from the very slight
+data he gave me?'
+
+'Yes, you thought at first that the writer of the threats really had
+possession of compromising letters; but upon hearing that she was
+engaged you thought it likely that the letters might be the work of some
+aggrieved or disappointed woman.'
+
+'That is it, sir.'
+
+'So far as we can see,' Captain Hampton went on, 'neither view was
+correct; certainly the first was not. We have, as we think, laid our
+fingers on the writer, who is a man who believes himself to have a
+personal grievance against Mr. Hawtrey himself.' He then related the
+whole story.
+
+'He may be the man,' Mr. Slippen said, when he had finished. 'At any
+rate there is something to go on, which there was not before. There will
+be no great difficulty in laying one's hand on him, but at present we
+have not a shred of real evidence--nothing that a magistrate would
+listen to.'
+
+'We quite see that. Still, it will be something to find him; then we can
+have him watched, and, if possible, caught in the act of posting the
+letters.'
+
+'You will find that difficult--I do not mean the watching him nor seeing
+him post his letters, but bringing it home to him. I would rather have
+to deal with anything than with a matter where you have got the Post
+Office people to get round. Once a letter is in a box it is their
+property until it is handed over to the person it is directed to. Still,
+we may get over that, somehow. The first thing, I take it, is to find
+the man. You say his betting name is Marvel?'
+
+'That is the name he had on his hat at Epsom on the Oaks day, but he may
+have a dozen others.'
+
+'Ah, that is true enough. Still, no doubt he has used it often enough
+for others to know him by it; and now for his description.
+
+'Thank you, that will be sufficient. I think I will send a man down to
+Windsor at once; the races are on again to-day. He will get his address
+out of one or other of his pals. It will cost a five-pound note at the
+outside. If you will give me your address, I shall most likely be able
+to let you have it this evening.'
+
+'I wish to goodness I had come to you before,' Captain Hampton said.
+'Here I have been wasting three weeks trying to find the man, and
+spending fifty or sixty pounds in railway fares, stand tickets and
+expenses, and you are able to undertake it at once.'
+
+'It is a very simple matter, Captain Hampton. I have been engaged in two
+or three turf cases, and one of my men knows a lot of the hangers-on at
+racecourses. Watches and other valuables are constantly stolen there,
+and as often enough these things are gifts, and are valued beyond their
+mere cost in money, their owners come to us to try if we can get them
+back for them, which we are able to do three times out of four. Whoever
+may steal the things, they are likely to get into one of four or five
+hands, and as soon as we let it be known that we are ready to pay a fair
+price for their return and no questions asked, it is not long before
+they are brought here. I don't say I may be able to find out this man's
+exact address, but I can find out the public-house or other place where
+he is generally to be met with. I don't suppose the actual address of
+one in ten of these fellows is known to others. They are to be heard of
+in certain public-houses, but even their closest pals often don't know
+where they live. Sometimes, no doubt, it is in some miserable den where
+they would be ashamed to meet anyone. Sometimes there may be a wife and
+family in the case, and they don't want men coming there. Sometimes it
+may be just another way. Many of these fellows at home are quiet,
+respectable sort of chaps, living at some little place where none of
+their neighbours, and perhaps not even their wives, know that they have
+anything to do with racing, but take them for clerks or warehousemen, or
+something in the city. So I don't promise to find out the fellow's home,
+only the place where a letter will find him, or where he goes to meet
+his pals, and perhaps do a little quiet betting in the landlord's back
+parlour.'
+
+'That will be enough for us, to begin with at any rate.'
+
+'Of course, the private address is only a matter of a day or two
+longer,' Mr. Slippen went on. 'I have only to send that boy of mine up
+to the place, and the first time the fellow goes there he will follow
+him, if it is all over London, till he traces him to the place where he
+lives. If, as he said, he is going to give up attending the races for
+the present, he may not go there for a day or two. But he is sure to do
+so sooner or later for letters.'
+
+'Thank you. It would be as well to know where he lives, but at any rate
+when we have what we may call his business address we shall have time to
+talk over our next move.'
+
+'Yes, that is where the real difficulty will begin, Captain Hampton. I
+expect you have got to deal with a deep one, and I own that at present I
+do not see my way at all clear before me.'
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V
+
+
+That evening Mr. Slippen's boy presented himself at Captain Hampton's
+lodgings with a note. It contained only the words 'Dear sir,--Our man
+uses the "White Horse," Frogmore Street, Islington. I await your
+instructions before moving further in the matter.'
+
+'Well, youngster, what is your name?' Captain Hampton asked, as he put
+the note on the table beside him.
+
+'Jacob Wrigley,' the lad replied promptly.
+
+'Here is half-a-crown for yourself, Jacob.'
+
+'Thank you, sir,' the boy said, as he took it up with a duck of the head
+and slipped it into his pocket.
+
+'Your office hours seem to be long, Jacob; that is, if you have been
+there since I saw you this morning.'
+
+'No, sir, I ain't a-been there since one o'clock, not till an hour ago.
+I have been down at Greenwich, keeping my eye on a party there. I got
+done there at six o'clock, and as the governor had said "Come round and
+tell me what you have found out, I shall be in up to nine o'clock,"
+round I went in course. The governor and me don't have no regular hours.
+Some chaps wouldn't like that, but it doesn't matter to me, 'cause I
+sleeps there.'
+
+'Sleep where, Jacob?'
+
+'In where you see me. The things is stowed away in that cupboard in the
+corner, and I get on first-rate. It is a good place, especially in
+winter. I lays the blankits down in front of the fire, and keeps it
+going all night sometimes.'
+
+'But haven't you got any place of your own to go to, Jacob?'
+
+The boy shook his head. 'I was brought up in a wan, I was,' the boy
+said. 'I hooked it one day, two years ago, 'cause they knocked me about
+so. I pretty nigh starved at first, but one day I saw a chap prigging an
+old gent's ticker. The old one shouted just as he got off; I was on the
+look-out and as the chap came along I chucked myself down in front of
+him and down he came. I grabbed him, and afore he could shake me off a
+lot of chaps got hold of him and held him till a peeler came up. They
+did not find the watch on him, but I had seen him as he ran pass
+something to a chap he ran close to and pretty nigh knocked down. I gave
+my evidence at the police court. The governor happened to be there, and
+arter it was over and the chaps had got six months, and the beak had
+said I gave my evidence very well, and gave me five bob out of the poor
+box, he came up to me and said, "You are a smart young fellow. Do you
+want a job?" I said I just did, and so he took me on; that is how it
+came about, you see. The only thing I don't like is, he makes me go to a
+night school. He says I shan't never do no good unless I can get to read
+and write; so I does it, but I hates it bitter.'
+
+'He is quite right, Jacob. You stick to it; it will come easier as you
+get on.'
+
+'Yes, I know I wants it, for letters and that sort of thing, but it is
+bitter hard. I would rather stand opposite a house all day in winter
+than I would sit for an hour trying to make my pen go where I wants it
+to. It allus will go the other way, and the drops of ink will come out
+awful. Good night, sir.'
+
+'Good night, lad. Tell Mr. Slippen when you see him that I shall
+probably be round to-morrow or next day.'
+
+On the following morning Captain Hampton called early at Chester Square.
+Mr. Hawtrey and Dorothy had just finished breakfast. Mrs. Daintree, as
+was her custom after being out late the night before, had taken hers in
+bed.
+
+'I have good news so far. I have discovered, or rather Slippen has,
+where Truscott is to be found. He frequents a public-house called the
+White Horse, Frogmore Street, Islington.'
+
+'That is good news indeed, Ned,' Mr. Hawtrey said warmly, as he shook
+hands with him. As he turned to Dorothy, he saw with surprise that she
+had turned suddenly pale, and that her hands shook as she put down the
+cup.
+
+'You are pleased, are you not, Dorothy?' he asked in surprise.
+
+The girl hesitated. 'Yes,' she said, 'of course, I am pleased in one
+way, but not in another. It frightens me to think that the man may be
+brought up, and that I may have to give evidence; it is horrid being
+talked about, but it would be much worse to stand up to be stared at,
+and to have it all put in the papers.'
+
+'Pooh, pooh, my dear, your evidence will be very simple,' her father
+said. 'You will only have to tell that you received the first of these
+letters, that you know nothing of the man, and that his assertion that
+he has letters of yours is utterly false.'
+
+'Yes, father, but I have noticed that in all trials of this sort they
+ask such numberless questions, and that they always manage somehow to
+put the witnesses into a false light. They will say, "How do you know
+that he has no letters of yours? Do you mean to tell this court that you
+have never written any letters?" And when I have said I have never
+written any letters that I should object to having read out in court
+they will insinuate that I am telling a lie, and that I have done all
+sorts of dreadful things; and though they will not be able to prove a
+word of it, I shall know, as I go out, that half the people will believe
+that I have. I shall hate it, and I am sure that Algernon will hate it
+even more.'
+
+'Well, Algernon has no one but himself to thank for its having come to
+this pass,' Mr. Hawtrey said sharply. 'It was his interference, and his
+going down to Scotland Yard, that caused that paragraph to appear in the
+paper. If he had left the matter alone nothing whatever would have been
+heard about it outside our circle. I like Halliburn, but I must say that
+at present nothing would give me more satisfaction than to hear that he
+had gone for a month upon the Continent, for he comes round here every
+afternoon, and worries and fusses over the matter until he upsets you
+and fills me with an almost irresistible desire to seize him by the
+shoulders and turn him out of the room.'
+
+'He is a little trying, father,' Dorothy admitted, 'but of course he
+does not like it.'
+
+'Nor do any of us. It is a hundred times worse for you than it is for
+him, and yet--But there, let us change the subject. What is it you were
+saying, Ned? Oh yes, you have heard where Truscott lives.'
+
+'Not exactly where he lives, but the public-house where he is to be met
+with, and in his case it comes to pretty well the same thing. I had
+nothing to do with finding it out. The man Slippen took it in hand, and
+in a few hours did more than I had done in three weeks. He sent a fellow
+down to Windsor, to some betting men he knew, and sent me word in the
+evening. It was rather mortifying, I must confess, and I feel as if I
+had been taken down several pegs in my own estimation.'
+
+'And what is to be done next, father?' Dorothy asked anxiously.
+
+'Ah, that is the point we shall have to talk over, my dear. At present
+we have not a thread of evidence to connect him with the affair. We
+must, in the first place, bring it home to him. Afterwards, we will see
+whether we must have him arrested and charged in court, or whether we
+can frighten him into making a confession. I am very much afraid that,
+after all that has been said about it, there will be nothing for it but
+a public prosecution; however, there will be time to think of that
+afterwards.' Captain Hampton saw Dorothy go pale again, and mentally
+resolved that he would do all in his power to save her from the ordeal
+from which she evidently shrank. He was a little surprised at her
+nervousness, for as a child she had been absolutely fearless, but he
+supposed that the worry, and perhaps the fidgeting of Halliburn had
+shaken her somewhat, as, indeed, was natural enough. 'You are going
+round to see this detective, I suppose?' Mr. Hawtrey asked.
+
+'Yes, I came in on my way for instructions. Slippen will no doubt
+propose that a sharp watch shall be kept over his movements, and I
+suppose that there can be no doubt that is the right thing to be done.'
+
+'I should say so, certainly.'
+
+'That, at least, Miss Hawtrey, will commit us to nothing afterwards, and
+I trust even yet we may find some way of avoiding the unpleasantness you
+feared.'
+
+'I may as well go with you, Ned,' Mr. Hawtrey said; 'I have nothing
+particular to do this morning; a walk will do me good. I am getting
+bilious and out of sorts with all this worry, and would give a good
+round sum to be quietly down in Lincolnshire again. Dorothy evidently
+feels it a good deal more than I should have thought she would,' he went
+on as they left the house.
+
+'It is a horribly annoying sort of thing to happen to anyone, Mr.
+Hawtrey; because it is so desperately difficult to meet anonymous
+slander of this sort, and of course her engagement makes it so much the
+worse for her.'
+
+'Yes, that is the rub, Ned. I am not at all pleased with the fellow; he
+seems to think of nothing but the manner in which it affects himself. I
+have had, once or twice, as much as I could do not to let out at him. I
+had it on the tip of my tongue to say, "Confound it, sir! What the deuce
+do I care for you or your family? The ancestors through whom you got
+your title were doubtless respectable enough, and as far as I know, may,
+two or three generations back, have been washer-women, when our people
+had already held their estates hundreds of years." Of course, Dorothy
+takes his part, but my own belief is that it is he who is worrying her,
+quite as much as the scandal itself.
+
+'Dorothy is not marrying for a title; she refused a higher one than his
+last autumn. I don't say that his being a lord might not have influenced
+her to some extent; I suppose all girls have vanity enough to like to
+carry off a man whom scores of others will envy her for, but I don't
+think that went very far with her. I believe that, as far as she knew of
+him, she liked him for himself; not, I suppose, in any desperate sort of
+way, but as a pleasant, gentlemanly sort of fellow of whom everyone
+spoke well, and whom she esteemed and thought she could be very happy
+with. She has no occasion to marry for money; of course my estate is, as
+I dare say you know, entailed, and will go to my cousin, Jack Hawtrey,
+who is a sporting parson down in Somersetshire--a good fellow, with a
+large family; but there will be plenty for her from her mother, besides
+my unentailed property.
+
+'I cannot help thinking that Halliburn's worrying, and the very evident
+fact that he thinks more of the scandal as affecting his future wife
+than of her feelings in the matter, may have shown her that she had
+over-estimated him, and that although he may be a very respectable and
+well-behaved young nobleman, he is a selfish and shallow-minded fellow
+after all. Dorothy may say nothing now, but she is not the sort of girl
+to forgive that sort of thing, and I don't mind saying it to you, as an
+old friend, Ned, that I should not be at all surprised if, when once
+this affair is thoroughly cleared up, she throws Halliburn over
+altogether.'
+
+Captain Hampton made no reply, but had his companion turned to look at
+him he could hardly have avoided noticing that the expression on his
+face expressed anything but sympathy with the tone of irritation in
+which he had himself spoken.
+
+Mr. Slippen was in when they arrived at Clifford's Inn. The door was
+opened by him when they knocked, a proof that the boy was not at his
+post.
+
+'Come in, Captain Hampton; I fancied that you would be down here.'
+
+'This is Mr. Hawtrey, Mr. Slippen,' said Ned, as they followed him into
+his room; 'he thought he would like to talk over with you the plan of
+campaign.'
+
+'I am glad you have come, sir; it is always more satisfactory to meet
+one's principal in matters of this kind; there is less chance of any
+mistake being made. It is surprising sometimes to find, after one is
+half through one's work, that one has been proceeding under an entirely
+false impression. One may think, for example, that one's client is bent
+upon carrying a matter out to the bitter end, and will not hear of
+anything of a compromise, and then one discovers that he is perfectly
+ready to condone everything, and to make every sacrifice to avoid
+publicity. Of course, if one had known that in the first place, it would
+have immensely facilitated matters.'
+
+'I should be very glad to avoid publicity myself,' Mr. Hawtrey said,
+'but unfortunately the matter has gone so far that I do not see how it
+can possibly be avoided.'
+
+Mr. Slippen shook his head.
+
+'I don't see, myself, at present,' he agreed, 'how the scandal is to be
+set at rest, except by the prosecution of its author--that is to say, if
+we can get evidence enough to prosecute him. Of course, if we had such
+evidence it would be easy enough to force him into making a complete
+retractation; but, if we did, such a retractation would hardly be
+satisfactory, as, supposing it were published, people would say, "How
+are we to know that this letter is written by the fellow who wrote the
+others? If it is the man, how is it that he is not prosecuted for it?"
+Certainly there would be a strong suspicion that he had been bought
+off.'
+
+'I see that myself,' Mr. Hawtrey agreed. 'I don't see any other way of
+clearing the matter up except by putting him in the dock, though I would
+give a great deal to avoid it. My daughter is extremely averse to the
+idea of the publicity attending such an affair, and especially to having
+to appear as a witness, which is not surprising when one knows the
+outrageous licence given to counsel in our days to cross-examine
+witnesses.'
+
+Captain Hampton noticed the sudden keen glance shot at his client from
+Mr. Slippen's eyes, followed by a series of almost imperceptible little
+nods, and was seized with a sudden and fierce desire to make a violent
+assault upon the unconscious detective.
+
+'At any rate,' Mr. Hawtrey continued, 'I see nothing at present but to
+let the matter go on, and for you to obtain, if possible, some decisive
+proof of the man's connection with these letters. So far we have really
+only the most shadowy grounds for our suspicion against him.'
+
+Again Mr. Slippen nodded, this time more openly and decisively.
+
+'Quite the most shadowy, Mr. Hawtrey. I am far from saying that he may
+not be the man, but beyond his having, as I understand, a grievance of
+very many years' duration against yourself there is really nothing
+whatever to connect him with the affair.'
+
+'Nothing, Mr. Slippen. It is, in fact, simply because there is no one
+else against whom we have even such slight grounds as this to go upon,
+that we suspect this fellow of being the author of these rascally
+communications.'
+
+'You will understand, Mr. Hawtrey, that being employed by you I consider
+it my duty to let you know exactly the light in which the matter strikes
+me. Of course, I do not know the man as you do, but from what I have
+learnt from Captain Hampton he seems to be an unprincipled blackguard; a
+man who has been concerned in various shady transactions on the turf,
+and who has come down to the rank of the lowest class of betting men; a
+fellow who pays his bets when he has made a winning book on a race and
+is a welsher when he loses.
+
+'Of course, it may be that such a man is of so vindictive a nature that
+he may have taken all this trouble simply to annoy you, but I cannot
+help thinking that if he had embarked upon it he would have played his
+hand so as not only to annoy but to extort money to cease that
+annoyance. Now the writer of these letters has certainly not done that.
+Had he had any idea of extorting money he would have sent some sort of
+private intimation to you, by means of a cautiously worded letter, to
+the effect that an arrangement could be made by which the thing could be
+put a stop to. You have received no such missive; therefore, if this man
+is the author he is simply a malicious scoundrel, and not, in this
+instance at any rate, a clever rogue, as I should certainly have
+expected to find him from his antecedents.'
+
+'That is to say, you do not think he is the man?'
+
+'Yes, I think it comes almost to that, Mr. Hawtrey. I do not know him,
+and, of course, he may be the man, but I own that I shall be a good deal
+surprised if I find that he is so. Still, in the absence of any other
+clue whatever, I propose to follow this up. It will be something at
+least to clear it out of the way and to have done with it. I shall
+detail my boy to watch the public-house till the man comes to it, and
+then to find out where he lives and what are his habits; to follow his
+footsteps and take note of every place where he posts a letter. We shall
+get, at any rate, negative evidence that way. If, for instance, a letter
+is posted in the south of London, and we know that on that day the man
+never went out of Islington, I think that it will be very strong proof
+that he has nothing to do with the matter. Of course the reverse would
+not be so convincing the other way; but if we had the coincidence, three
+or four times repeated, of the letter bearing the mark of a district in
+which he had dropped one into the post, we should feel that we were a
+long way towards proving his connection with the affair.'
+
+'Quite so,' Mr. Hawtrey agreed; 'that will, as you say, either go far to
+confirm our suspicions, or will altogether clear the ground so far as he
+is concerned, and we must then look for a clue in some other direction
+altogether.'
+
+That afternoon Captain Hampton, having nothing to do, made his way up to
+Islington. The lad was not to be put on the watch until the next
+morning, and he thought that he might see this man at the public-house
+he frequented, and perhaps glean something from any conversation he
+might have with the men he met there. After some inquiry as to the
+direction of Frogmore Street, he turned up the Liverpool Road, and had
+gone but a few hundred yards when his eye fell on a couple engaged in
+earnest conversation on the raised walk, on the opposite side of the
+street. He paused abruptly in his stride. One was unquestionably the man
+for whom he was seeking. He was better dressed than when he had seen him
+before, and had more the air of a gentleman, but there could be no
+question as to his identity. The other was as unmistakably Dorothy
+Hawtrey.
+
+There was no question of an accidental likeness; it was the girl
+herself, and he recognised the dress as one he had seen her wear.
+Turning sharply on his heel he turned down a bye street, and came out
+into Upper Street. There were too many people here for him to think; he
+passed on, walking in the road at the edge of the pavement, to the
+Angel, and then turned down the comparatively quiet pavement of
+Pentonville Hill.
+
+What could it mean? He could see but one solution, and yet he refused to
+accept it. To believe it was to believe Dorothy Hawtrey to be guilty of
+deception and lying. Was it possible that, after all, this man could
+have possessed letters of hers, and that she had been driven at last to
+meet him and redeem them? He remembered her pallor when she had heard
+that morning that this fellow's whereabouts had been discovered, and how
+she had urged that no steps should be taken against him. It had all
+seemed natural then; it seemed equally natural now under this new
+light--and yet he refused to believe it. So he told himself over and
+over again. That he had seen her in conversation with Truscott was
+undeniable; of that, at least, he was certain, but equally certain was
+it to him that there must be some other explanation of the meeting than
+that which had at first struck him. What could that explanation be? No
+answer occurred to him; he could hit upon no hypothesis consistent with
+her denial of any knowledge whatever of the writer of these letters.
+
+He was at the bottom of the hill now; disregarding the hails of various
+cabmen, he crossed the road and made his way down through the squares.
+It was better to be walking than sitting still. He scarcely noticed
+where he was going, and was almost surprised when he found himself in
+Jermyn Street. He went upstairs, lighted a cigar, and sat down.
+
+'What is coming to me?' he said to himself. 'I am generally pretty good
+at guessing riddles, and there must be some explanation of this mystery,
+if I can but hit upon it.'
+
+But after thinking for another hour, the only alternative to the first
+idea that had occurred to him was that Dorothy, in her horror of the
+idea of a public trial and of being forced to appear in the witness box,
+had taken the desperate resolution to find this man herself, at the
+address he had mentioned to her and her father, to bribe him to desist
+from his persecution of her, and to warn him that unless he moved away
+at once the police would be on his track.
+
+It was all so unlike the high-spirited child he had known, and the girl
+as he had believed her still to be, that it was difficult to credit that
+she would allow herself to be driven to take such a step as this, in
+order to escape what seemed to him a minor unpleasantness.
+
+Still, as he told himself, there were men of tried bravery in many
+respects who were moral cowards, and it might well be that, though
+generally fearless, Dorothy might have a nervous shrinking from the
+thought of standing up in a crowded court, exposed to an inquisition
+that in many cases was almost a martyrdom. It was an awful mistake to
+have made. If the scoundrel had been bribed into silence now, he would
+be all the more certain to recommence his persecution later on, and
+after having once met with and paid him for his silence how could she
+refuse to do so when another demand was made?
+
+One thing seemed to Ned Hampton unquestionable. He must maintain an
+absolute silence as to what he had seen--the harm was done now and could
+not be undone. He was certain that she had not noticed him, and could
+never suspect that he had her secret. As for himself there was nothing
+for him now but to stand aside altogether. Filled as he was with the
+deepest pity for Dorothy, he was powerless to help her. When the next
+trouble came it was her husband who would have to stand beside her, and
+to whom, sooner or later, she would have to own the false step she had
+taken.
+
+He felt that at any rate it was out of the question that he should see
+her again at present. It was fortunate that he had retired from the
+investigation in favour of Mr. Slippen, and could therefore run away for
+a bit without seeming to have deserted Mr. Hawtrey. He had thought about
+hiring a yacht, and this would serve as a pretext for him to run down to
+Ryde. He could easily put away a fortnight between that town, Cowes,
+Southampton, and Portsmouth. As to the yacht he had no real intention
+now of looking for one. He must wait for a while and see what happened
+next. He was sure to meet men he knew at Southsea, and anything was
+better than staying in London.
+
+He accordingly at once wrote a note to Mr. Hawtrey, saying that it would
+be some time before Slippen obtained such evidence against Truscott as
+would put them in a position to bring it home to him, and that as he
+could not be of any use for a time he had resolved to run down for a
+week to Southsea, and look round the various yards in search of a yacht
+of about the size he wanted, for a cruise of six weeks or two months,
+with the option of taking her up the Mediterranean through the winter.
+Then he wrote several letters of excuse to houses where he had
+engagements, and started the next morning by the first train for
+Portsmouth. He was a fortnight absent, and on his return called on Mr.
+Hawtrey at an hour when he knew that he was not likely to meet Dorothy.
+
+'So you are back again, Ned? Your note took me quite by surprise, for
+you had said nothing as to your going away when I met you early in the
+day.'
+
+'No, sir, it was a sort of sudden inspiration. I was sick of London, and
+had had a very dull time of it going about to races for three weeks
+before; so I thought that I would have a complete change, made up my
+mind at once, packed my portmanteau, and was off. Have you had any news
+from Slippen?'
+
+'None. He has written to me two or three times; his last note came this
+morning, saying that his boy has been watching the public-house ever
+since, and that the man has certainly not been there. The boy is a sharp
+fellow and found that the fellow had called in there on the very day
+before he began his watch, and he also discovered by bribing a postman
+where he had lodged, but upon going there found he had given up his room
+on the same day he had last been at the public-house, and had left no
+address, nor had the people of the house the slightest idea where he had
+gone. I suppose the fellow took fright at the publicity there had been
+about the affair; at any rate, no more of those letters have come since.
+That is certainly a comfort, but it looks as if we were never going to
+get to the bottom of the mystery. Of course, it is extremely annoying,
+but I suppose we shall live it down. Halliburn offered a reward of a
+hundred pounds for the discovery of Truscott's, or as he calls him
+Marvel's, address. That was a week ago, and he has received no answer as
+yet, which is certainly a fresh proof that the fellow was the author of
+the letters. If not, he himself would have turned up and claimed the
+reward.'
+
+'That is not quite certain, Mr. Hawtrey. He has doubtless been concerned
+in many other shady transactions, and may think he is wanted for some
+other affair altogether.'
+
+'You are right, that may be so; I did not think of that. Still, it is
+strange the offer of a reward has brought no news of him. He must be
+well known to numbers of men who would sell their own father for a
+hundred pounds.'
+
+'If he is really alarmed he may have changed his name, and gone to some
+part of the country where he is altogether unknown, or he may have
+crossed the Channel to some of the French or Belgian ports. There is a
+lot of betting carried on from that side, and he may manage to live
+there as he has lived here--by fleecing fools.'
+
+Two days later, Hampton met the Hawtreys at a dinner-party. Dorothy was
+looking pale and languid, but at times she roused herself and talked
+with almost feverish gaiety. Lord Halliburn was there; he was sitting
+next to Dorothy, and seemed silent and preoccupied, and looked, Hampton
+thought, vexed when she had one of her fits of talking. When they had
+rejoined the ladies after dinner Hampton was chatting with the lady he
+had taken down, and who was an old friend of his family.
+
+'Is it not awfully sad, this affair of Miss Hawtrey's?' she said. 'It is
+evidently preying on her health. I never saw anybody more changed in the
+course of a few weeks. Of course, everyone who knows her is quite
+certain that there is no foundation whatever for these wicked libels
+about her. Still, naturally, people who don't know her think that there
+must be something in it, and she must know, wherever she goes, that
+people are talking about it. It is terrible! I do not know what I should
+do were she a daughter of mine.'
+
+'Yes, it is a most painful position; there does not seem any method by
+which these anonymous libels can be met and answered. The most
+scandalous part of the business is that any notice of a thing of this
+sort should get into the papers. The form in which it was noticed
+rendered it impossible to obtain redress of any kind; the statements
+contained as to the annoyance caused by these letters, and as to the
+nature of their contents, were accurate, and Mr. Hawtrey is therefore
+unable to take any steps against them. I have known Miss Hawtrey from
+the time that she was a little child; as you are aware they are my
+greatest friends, and I assure you that one's powerlessness in these
+days to take any step to right a wrong of this sort, makes me wish I had
+lived at any time save in the middle of the nineteenth century. A
+hundred years ago one would have called out the editor or proprietor, or
+whatever he calls himself, of a paper that published this thing, and
+shot him like a dog; four hundred years ago one would have sent him a
+formal challenge to do battle in the lists; if one had lived in Italy a
+couple of centuries back, and had adopted the customs of the country,
+one would have had him removed by a stab in the back by a bravo--not a
+manner that commends itself to me I own, but which, as against a man
+whose journal exists by attacking reputations is, I should consider,
+perfectly legitimate.'
+
+'But he is not the chief offender in the case, Captain Hampton.'
+
+'I don't know. The anonymous libeller could really have done no harm had
+it not been that there were organs that were ready to inform the world
+of his attacks upon this lady; the letters could have been burnt and
+none been any the wiser, and in time the annoyance would have ceased.'
+
+'Do you think the author of these things will ever be found out?'
+
+'I should hardly think so. It is clearly the outcome of malice on the
+part of some man or woman who has either a grudge against Mr. Hawtrey,
+his daughter, or Lord Halliburn, or of some one interested in breaking
+off Miss Hawtrey's engagement.'
+
+'I don't think Lord Halliburn has behaved nicely in the matter,' Mrs.
+Dean said. 'If he had shown himself perfectly indifferent to the affair
+from the first, people would never have talked so much. It is his
+palpable annoyance that has more than confirmed these gossiping
+rumours.'
+
+'Between ourselves, Mrs. Dean, although I should not at all mind his
+knowing it, my opinion is, that Halliburn is a cad.'
+
+Mrs. Dean laughed. 'It is next door to blasphemy to speak in society of
+a peer as a cad, Captain Hampton; still, I am not at all sure that you
+are wrong. But I must be going; my husband has been making signs to me
+for the last ten minutes.'
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI
+
+
+Captain Hampton had spoken harshly of Lord Halliburn, but then he was
+scarcely able to appreciate the difficulties of the young nobleman. Lord
+Halliburn was in many respects a model peer. His talents were more than
+respectable, his life was irreproachable, he was wealthy and yet not a
+spendthrift. The title was of recent creation, his father being the
+first holder of the earldom, having been raised to that rank for his
+political services to the Whig party, just as his grandfather, a wealthy
+manufacturer, had been rewarded for the bestowal of a park, a public
+library, and other benefactions to his native town, by a baronetcy. And
+yet Lord Halliburn supported his position as worthily as if the earldom
+had come down in an unbroken line from the days of the Henrys, and was
+held up as an example to less tranquil and studious spirits.
+
+He had scarcely been popular at Eton, for he avoided both the river and
+the playing fields, and was one of a set who kept aloof from the rest,
+talked together upon politics, philosophy, and poetry, held mildly
+democratic opinions as to the improvement of the existing state of
+things, were particular about their dress, and subdued in their talk.
+That they were looked upon with something like contempt by those who
+regarded a place in the eight or the eleven as conferring the proudest
+distinction that could be aimed at, they regarded not only with
+complacency, but almost with pride, and privately considered themselves
+to belong to a far higher order than these rough athletes. At college,
+his mode of life was but little altered. He belonged to a small coterie
+who lived apart from the rest, held academic discussions in each others'
+rooms upon many abstruse subjects, were familiar with Kant, regarded the
+German thinkers with respectful admiration, quoted John Stuart Mill and
+Spencer as the masters of English thought, were mildly enthusiastic over
+Carlyle and Ruskin, and had leanings towards Comte and Swedenborg.
+
+It was only at the Union that Lord Everington, as he then was, came in
+contact with those outside his own set, and here he quite held his own,
+for he was a neat and polished speaker, never diverging into flights of
+fancy, but precise as to his facts and close in his reasoning. His
+speeches were always listened to with attention, and though far from
+being one of the most popular, he was regarded as being one of the
+cleverest and most promising debaters at the Union. Just as he was
+leaving college a terrible blow fell upon him, for at the sudden death
+of his father, he succeeded to the title. To some men the loss would not
+have been without its consolations. To him it meant the destruction of
+the scheme on which he had laid out his life. He had intended to enter
+Parliament as soon as possible, and had sufficient confidence in himself
+to feel sure that he should succeed in political life, and would ere
+many years become an Under-Secretary, and in due course of time a member
+of the Cabinet.
+
+Now all this prospect seemed shattered. In the Peers he would have but
+slight opportunity of distinguishing himself, and would simply be the
+Earl of Halliburn, and nothing more. It was, however, to his credit that
+even in the dull atmosphere of the Gilded Chamber he had, to some
+extent, made his mark. He studied diligently every question that came
+up, and, while clever enough not to bore the House by long speeches, he
+came, ere long, to be considered a very well-informed and useful young
+member of it, and had now the honour of being Under-Secretary for the
+Colonies. It was a recognition of his work that he enjoyed keenly,
+although he felt bitterly how few were his opportunities in comparison
+to what they would have been had his chief been in the Peers and he in
+the Commons.
+
+As it was, his fellow peers evinced no curiosity whatever in regard to
+colonial matters, and it was of rare occurrence that any question was
+asked upon the affairs of which he had charge. Nevertheless, it was a
+great step. It brought him within the official circle, and more than
+once the mastery of the subject shown in his answers had won for him a
+few words of warm commendation from the Leader of the House.
+
+Then came, as he now thought it, the unfortunate idea of marriage. It
+would add to his weight, he had considered. As a bachelor his house in
+Park Lane, his place in the country, and his wealth, were but of slight
+advantage to him, but, as his chief one day hinted to him, he would be
+able to be of far more use to his party were he in a position to
+entertain largely.
+
+'We are rather behindhand in that respect, Halliburn. Four-fifths of the
+good houses are Tory. These things count for a good deal. You may say
+that it is absurd that it should be so, but that does not alter the fact
+that it gratifies the wives and daughters of the country members to have
+such houses open to them. You have plenty of money, and you don't throw
+it away, so that you can afford to do things well. If I were you, I
+should certainly look out for a wife.
+
+'She need not be a politician. She need not even belong to one of our
+families. Whatever her people's politics she will naturally, as your
+wife, come in time to take your views; and besides, there is no harm,
+rather the reverse, in keeping up a connection with that side. You must
+see as well as I do that the time is fast coming when there will be a
+considerable change in politics. Even now we are far nearer, upon all
+important points, to the Tories than we are to these Radical fellows who
+at present vote with us, but who in time will want to control us. The
+Tories have come much nearer to us, and we to them. Already we are
+scarcely in a majority on our own side of the house, and it will not be
+many years before we shall have to concede the demand to give a large
+share of ministerial appointments to Radicals. We shall then perceive
+that we must choose between becoming the followers of men whose ways and
+politics we hate, or the allies of men of our own stamp, whose way of
+looking at things differs but very little from our own. Therefore, I
+should say it would be just as well for you to choose a wife from their
+ranks as from your own.'
+
+Lord Halliburn had, as was his custom, thought the matter over coolly
+and carefully, and had come to the conclusion that it would be well for
+him to marry. He was by no means blind to the fact that there would be
+no great difficulty in his doing so. He was not unobservant of the
+frequency of invitations to houses where there were daughters of
+marriageable age, and had often smiled quietly at the innocent
+manoeuvres upon the part both of mothers and daughters. He had,
+however, never seriously given the matter a thought, being rather of
+opinion that a wife would interfere with his work, would compel him to
+take a more prominent part in society, and would expect him to devote a
+considerable proportion of his time to her. Now that the matter was
+placed before him in another light, he saw that there was a good deal to
+be said on the other side. The fact that the suggestion came from his
+chief was not without weight, and he decided accordingly to marry.
+
+He proceeded about the matter in the same methodical manner in which he
+carried out the other work of his life, and was not very long in
+deciding in favour of Miss Hawtrey. She was one of the belles of the
+season, and, as was no secret, had refused two or three excellent
+offers. There would, therefore, be a certain _eclat_ in carrying her
+off. She belonged to an old county family. Her father, although a
+Conservative, had taken no prominent part in politics, and his daughter
+would no doubt soon prove amenable to his own opinions and wishes. Above
+all, she would make a charming hostess. Having once made up his mind, he
+set to work seriously, and soon became interested in it to a degree that
+surprised him.
+
+To his rank and his position in the Ministry he speedily found that she
+was absolutely indifferent, and was as ready to dance and laugh with an
+impecunious younger son as with himself. This indifference stimulated
+his efforts, and as a man, as well as a peer and politician, he was
+gratified when he received an affirmative reply to his proposal. His
+chief himself congratulated him upon his engagement, and he knew that he
+was an object of envy to many, for in addition to being a belle, Miss
+Hawtrey was also an heiress, and for a short time he was highly
+gratified at the course of events. It was thus he felt cruelly hard
+when, within a fortnight of his engagement, this unpleasant affair took
+place.
+
+It seemed intolerable to him that the lady whom he had chosen should be
+the subject of these libellous attacks. He did not for an instant doubt
+that she was, as she said, wholly ignorant of the author of these
+letters, and that there was nothing whatever on which these demands for
+money could be based. Still, the business was none the less annoying,
+and in his irritation he had taken the step that had unfortunately
+resulted in the matter becoming public. He was angry with himself;
+angry, although he could have given no reason for the feeling, with
+Dorothy; very angry with society in general, for entertaining the
+slightest suspicion of the lady whom he had selected to be his wife.
+That such suspicion should, even in the vaguest manner, exist, was in
+itself wholly at variance with his object in entering upon matrimony.
+The wife of the Earl of Halliburn should not be spoken of except in
+terms of admiration; that the finger of suspicion should be pointed at
+her was intolerable.
+
+His house might even be shunned, instead of the entry there being so
+exclusive as to be eagerly sought for. Of course, it was not her fault,
+and it should make no difference as to his course. Still, the affair
+was, he freely owned, annoying in the extreme. He had had but few
+troubles, and bore this badly. The belief that the clerks in his office
+were talking of his affairs kept him in a state of constant irritation,
+and he fancied that even the impassive door-keeper smiled furtively as
+he passed him on his way in and out. Being in the habit of attaching a
+good deal of importance to his personality he believed that anything
+that affected him was a matter of much interest to the world at large,
+and that it occupied the thoughts of other people almost as much as it
+did his own. For the first time he felt that there were some advantages
+in a seat in the Upper House. In that grave, and for the most part
+scanty, gathering of men, generally much older than himself, he could
+feel that his troubles elicited but little more than a passing remark,
+and, indeed, the only sign of their knowledge of them that even his
+irritated self-love could detect was a slightly added warmth and
+kindness on the part of two or three of his leaders.
+
+With the younger men it was different. 'I never thought much of that
+fellow Halliburn,' said Frank Delancey, who had been in his form at
+Eton, and was now, like himself, an under secretary, but in the Commons.
+'I never believe in fellows who moon their time away instead of going in
+for the water or fields, and Halliburn is showing now that he is not of
+good stuff. He has not got the cotton out of his veins yet. Of course,
+it is not pleasant for a girl you are engaged to, to be talked about;
+but a man with any pluck and honour would not show it as he does.
+Instead of going about looking bright and pleasant, as if such a paltry
+accusation was too contemptible to give him a moment's thought, he gives
+himself the airs of Hamlet when he begins to suspect his uncle, and
+walks about looking as irritable as a bear with a sore head. He hasn't
+even the decency to behave like a gentleman when he is with her, I hear.
+Young Vaux, of the Foreign Office, told me yesterday that he met them
+both at dinner the day before, and the fellow looked downright cross,
+instead of being, as he ought to have been, more courteous and devoted
+than usual. I fancy that you will hear that it is broken off before
+long. I don't think Dorothy Hawtrey is the sort of girl to stand any
+nonsense.'
+
+'No, I quite agree with you, Delancey,' his companion--Fitzhurst, member
+for an Irish constituency--said. 'Still, I should say it would last
+until this blows over. As long as the engagement goes on it is in itself
+a sort of proof that everything is all right, and that these reports are
+but a parcel of lies. The girl would feel that if she broke it off fresh
+stories would get about, and that half the people would say that it was
+his doing and that the stories were true, after all.'
+
+'I will bet you a fiver that it does not come off, Tom.'
+
+'No, I would not take that, but I would not mind betting evens that it
+lasts three months.'
+
+'Well, I will go five pounds even with you, and I will take five to one,
+if you like, that it does not last another month.'
+
+'No, I will take the even bet, but not the other. There is no saying
+what developments may turn up.'
+
+But Dorothy had even before this offered to release Lord Halliburn from
+the engagement; he had refused the offer with vehemence, declaring
+himself absolutely unaffected by the story, and, indeed, taking an
+injured tone and accusing her of doubting his love for her.
+
+'I am not doubting your love, Algernon,' she replied, 'but it is
+impossible for me to avoid seeing that the matter is a great annoyance
+to you, and that it is troubling you very much. You have several times
+spoken quite crossly to me, and I am not in the habit of being spoken
+crossly to. My father is naturally quite as annoyed as you are, but as
+he believes, as you do, that the accusations are entirely false, he is
+not in any way vexed with me.'
+
+'Nor am I, Dorothy; not in the slightest degree, though I own that the
+knowledge that people are talking about us does irritate me; but
+certainly I did not mean to speak crossly to you, and am very sorry if I
+did so.'
+
+And so the matter had dropped, but Dorothy had none the less felt that
+at a time when Halliburn ought to have been kinder than usual, and to
+have helped her to show a brave front in the face of these rumours, he
+had added to instead of lightening her troubles.
+
+One morning at breakfast Dorothy gave an exclamation of surprise upon
+opening one of her letters.
+
+'What is it, my dear?'
+
+'I don't understand it, father. Here is a letter from Gilliat, saying he
+would be obliged if I will hand over to an assistant who will call for
+it to-day, whichever of the two diamond tiaras I may have decided not to
+retain, as he expects a customer this afternoon whom it might suit. I
+don't know what he means. Of course I have not been choosing any jewels.
+I should not think of such a thing without consulting you, even if I had
+had money enough in my pocket to indulge in such adornments.'
+
+She handed the letter to her father.
+
+'It must be some mistake,' he said, after glancing it through; 'the
+letter must have been meant for some one else. It must be some stupid
+blunder on the part of a clerk. We will go round there together after
+breakfast. I have not bought you anything of the sort yet, dear, and was
+not intending to do so until the time came nearer; indeed, I had
+intended to get your mother's diamonds re-set for you. Of course, I
+should have gone to Gilliat's, as we have always dealt with his firm.'
+
+After breakfast they drove to Bond Street.
+
+'I want to see Mr. Gilliat himself, if he is in,' Mr. Hawtrey said.
+
+Mr. Gilliat was in.
+
+'My daughter has received a letter which is evidently meant for some one
+else, Mr. Gilliat. It is about two diamond tiaras, which, it seems,
+somebody has taken in order to choose one of them. Of course it was not
+intended for her.'
+
+Gilliat took the letter, glanced at it, and then at Dorothy. 'I do not
+quite understand,' he said doubtfully.
+
+'Not understand?' Mr. Hawtrey repeated with some irritation. 'Do you
+mean to say that Miss Hawtrey has been supplied with two diamond
+tiaras?'
+
+'Would you mind stepping into my room behind, Mr. Hawtrey?' the jeweller
+replied, leading the way into an inner room. As he closed the door his
+eye met Dorothy's with a look of inquiry, as if asking for instructions.
+Hers expressed nothing but surprise. 'Am I to understand, Mr. Hawtrey,'
+he asked gravely, after a pause, 'that Miss Hawtrey denies having
+received the tiaras?'
+
+'Certainly you are,' Mr. Hawtrey said hotly, 'she knows nothing whatever
+about them.'
+
+The jeweller pressed his lips tightly together, thought for a moment,
+and then touched a bell on the table. An assistant entered. 'Ask Mr.
+Williams to step here for a moment.'
+
+The principal assistant entered: 'Mr. Williams, do you remember on what
+day it was that Miss Hawtrey selected the two tiaras?'
+
+'It was about three weeks ago, sir; I cannot tell you the exact day
+without consulting the sales book.'
+
+'Do so at once, if you please.'
+
+Mr. Williams went out and returned in a moment with the book.
+
+'It was the 15th of last month, sir--July.'
+
+'You served her yourself, I think, Mr. Williams, or, rather, perhaps you
+assisted me in doing so?'
+
+'Certainly, sir.'
+
+'What was the value of the tiaras, Mr. Williams?'
+
+'One was twelve hundred, the other was twelve hundred and fifty, sir.'
+
+'She took them away herself?'
+
+'Certainly, sir; I offered to place them in the carriage for her, but
+she said it was a few doors up the street, and she would take them
+herself.'
+
+'You have not a shadow of doubt about the facts, Mr. Williams?'
+
+'None whatever, sir,' the assistant said, in some surprise.
+
+'You know Miss Hawtrey well by sight?'
+
+'Certainly, sir; she has been here many times, both by herself, for
+repairs or alterations to her watch or jewellery, and with other
+ladies.'
+
+'Thank you, Mr. Williams, that will do at present.'
+
+The door closed and the jeweller turned to his customers.
+
+Mr. Hawtrey looked confounded, his daughter bewildered.
+
+'I do not understand it,' she said. 'I have not been here, Mr. Gilliat,
+since the beginning of May, when I came to you about replacing a pearl
+that had become discoloured in my necklace.'
+
+'I remember that visit perfectly, Miss Hawtrey,' the jeweller said
+gravely, 'but I must confirm what my assistant has said. Allow me to
+recall to you that, in the first place, you told me that in view of an
+approaching event you required a tiara of diamonds, and of course,
+having heard of your engagement to Lord Halliburn, I understood your
+allusion, and came in here with you, and had the honour of showing you
+five or six tiaras. Of these you selected two, and said that you should
+like to show them to Mr. Hawtrey before choosing. I offered to send an
+assistant with them, but you said that your carriage was standing a few
+doors off and that you would rather take them yourself. Our firm having
+had the honour of serving Mr. Hawtrey and his family for several
+generations, and knowing you perfectly, I had, of course, no hesitation
+in complying with your request. I may say, as an evidence of the
+exactness of my memory, that Miss Hawtrey was dressed exactly as she is
+at present. I had, of course, an opportunity of noticing her dress as
+she was examining the goods. She had on that blue walking dress with
+small red spots, and the bonnet with blue feathers with red tips.'
+
+'Will you give me the hour as well as the day at which you say my
+daughter called here?' Mr. Hawtrey said sternly.
+
+'My own impression is that it was about three o'clock,' the jeweller
+said, after a moment's thought.
+
+'Will you call your assistant and ask him?'
+
+Mr. Williams being summoned said that he had no distinct recollection as
+to the precise time, but that it was certainly somewhat early in the
+afternoon. He had returned from lunch about two, and it was not for some
+little time after that that Miss Hawtrey called; he should say it was
+between three and half past three.
+
+'That will be near enough,' Mr. Hawtrey said. 'You shall hear from me
+again shortly, Mr. Gilliat; I know that I can rely upon you to say
+nothing in the meantime to anyone on the subject.'
+
+'Certainly, Mr. Hawtrey.'
+
+'Now, Dorothy, let us be going.'
+
+Dorothy at the moment was unable to follow her father; she had sunk down
+in a chair, pale and trembling; her look of intense surprise had given
+way to one of alarm and horror, and it was not until she had drunk some
+water that the jeweller brought her, that she recovered sufficiently to
+take her father's arm and walk through the shop to the carriage.
+
+'Well, Dorothy,' Mr. Hawtrey said, as they drove off, 'what does all
+this mean?'
+
+'I have not the least idea, father; I am utterly bewildered.'
+
+'You still say that you did not go to the shop--that you did not examine
+those tiaras and choose two of them?'
+
+'Of course I say so, father. I have never been in the shop since I went
+about that pearl. Surely, father, you cannot suspect me of having stolen
+those things.'
+
+'I am the last man in the world to suspect you of anything
+dishonourable, Dorothy, but this evidence is staggering. Here are two
+men ready to swear to the whole particulars of the incident. They are
+both sufficiently acquainted with your appearance to be able to
+recognise you readily. They can even swear to your dress. That you
+should do such a thing seems to be incredible and impossible, but what
+am I to think? You could not have done such a thing in your senses; it
+would be the act of a madwoman, especially to go to a shop where you are
+so well known.'
+
+'But why should I have done it, father? I could not have worn them
+without being detected at once.'
+
+'You could not have worn them,' her father agreed, 'but they might have
+been turned into money had you great occasion for it.'
+
+Dorothy started.
+
+'Do you mean, father--oh, surely, you never can mean that I could have
+stolen those things to turn them into money in order to satisfy the man
+who has been writing those letters?'
+
+'No, my dear. I don't mean that myself, but that is certainly what
+anyone who did not know you would say. There, don't cry so, child,' for
+Dorothy was sobbing hysterically now; 'do not let us talk any more until
+we get home. We have got the day and hour at which you were supposed to
+have been at Gilliat's. Perhaps we may be able to prove that you were
+engaged somewhere else, and that it was impossible you could have been
+at Gilliat's about that time.'
+
+Nothing more was said until they reached home.
+
+'You had better come into my study, Dorothy; we shall not be disturbed
+there. Now, dear,' he said, 'let us have the matter out. I can only say
+this, that if you again give me your assurance that you are absolutely
+ignorant of all this, and that you never went to Gilliat's on the day
+they say you did, I shall accept your assurance as implicitly as I did
+before; but before you speak, remember, dear, what that entails. These
+people are prepared to swear to you, and will, of course, take steps to
+obtain payment for these things. If such steps are taken the whole
+matter will be gone into to the bottom. Remember everything depends on
+your frankness. It will be terribly painful for you to acknowledge that,
+after all, you had got into some entanglement, and that you did in a
+moment of madness take these things in order to free yourself from it.
+It would be terribly painful for me to hear this, but upon hearing it I
+should of course take steps to raise this twenty-five hundred pounds,
+for at present I do not happen to have so much at my bankers, and to
+settle Gilliat's claim. But even painful as this would be it would be a
+thousand times better than to have all this gone into in public. On the
+other hand, if you still assure me that you know nothing of it I must
+refuse to pay the money, both because to do so would be to admit that
+you took the things, and because, in the second place, whoever has taken
+these tiaras--for that some one has done so we cannot doubt--may again
+personate you and involve us in fresh trouble and difficulties.'
+
+'I did not do it, father; indeed I did not do it. I have had no
+entanglement; I was in no need of money; I have never been near
+Gilliat's shop, unless, indeed, I was altogether out of my mind and did
+it in a state of unconsciousness, which I cannot think for a moment. I
+have worried over this until I hardly knew what I was doing, but I never
+could have gone to that shop and done as they say without having a
+remembrance of it. Why, the last place I should choose if I had ever
+thought of stealing would be a place where I was perfectly known.
+Indeed, father, I am altogether innocent. I cannot account for it, not
+in the least, but I am sure that I had nothing to do with it.'
+
+'Then, my dear, I will not doubt you for another moment,' Mr. Hawtrey
+said, kissing her tenderly. 'Now we just stand in the same position as
+we did in regard to the other affair; we have got to find out all about
+it. In the first place, get your book of engagements, and let us see
+what you were doing on the afternoon of the 15th.'
+
+Dorothy went out of the room and soon returned with a pocket book.
+
+'Not satisfactory, I can see,' Mr. Hawtrey said, as he glanced at her
+face.
+
+'No, father; here it is, you see--"Lunch with Mrs. Milford;" nothing
+else. I remember about that afternoon now. I drove in the carriage to
+Mrs. Milford's, and had lunch at half-past one; there was one other lady
+there. Mrs. Milford had tickets for a concert, at St. James's Hall I
+think it was, but I am not sure about that. I had a headache, and would
+not go with them; and, besides, I had some shopping to do. I got out of
+her brougham in Hanover Square. I went into Bond Street certainly, and I
+got some gloves and scent; then I went into Cocks' and looked through
+the new music and chose one or two pieces, then I went into the French
+Gallery. Mrs. Milford had been talking about it at lunch, so I thought I
+would drop in. There were very few people there, so I sauntered round
+and sat down and looked at those I liked best. It was quiet and
+pleasant. I must have been in there a long time. When I came out I took
+a cab and drove straight home. It was six o'clock when I got back, and I
+remember I went straight up to my room and had a cup of tea there, then
+I took off my gown and my maid combed my hair, as it was time for me to
+dress for dinner. My head was aching a good deal and it did me good. We
+dined at the Livingstones' that evening.'
+
+'It is unfortunate, certainly, Dorothy. I had hoped we might have been
+able to have fixed you somewhere that would have proved conclusively
+that you could not possibly have been at Gilliat's that afternoon. As it
+is, your recollections do not help us at all, for your time from
+somewhere about three till six is practically unaccounted for. The
+people you bought the gloves and scent from could prove that you were
+there, but you probably would not have been many minutes in their shop.
+Cocks' may remember that you were there a quarter of an hour or so.'
+
+'I think I was there half-an-hour, father.'
+
+'Well, say half-an-hour; the rest of the time you were really in the
+picture gallery, but it is scarcely likely that, even if the man who
+took your money at the door or the attendant inside noticed you
+sufficiently to swear to your face, they would be able to fix the day,
+still less have noticed how long you stayed. At any rate it is clear
+that it would be possible for you to have done all you say you did that
+afternoon and still to have spared time for that visit to Gilliat's.'
+
+'I see that it is all terrible, father, but what can it all mean?'
+
+'That is more than I can understand, Dorothy. At present we are face to
+face with what seems to me two impossibilities. I mean looking at them
+from an outsider's point of view. The one is that these shopmen should
+have taken any one else for you when they are so well acquainted with
+your face, and are able to swear even to the dress. No less difficult is
+it to believe that did you require money so urgently that you were ready
+to commit a crime to obtain it, you would go to the people to whom you
+were perfectly well known, and so destroy every hope and even every
+possibility of the crime passing undetected. One theory is as difficult
+to believe as the other. Those letters were a mystery, but this affair
+is infinitely more puzzling. I really do not know what to do. I must
+take advice in the matter, of course. I would rather pay the money five
+times over than permit it to become public, but who is to know what form
+this strange persecution is to take next?'
+
+'Do you think there is any connection between this and the other,
+father?'
+
+Mr. Hawtrey shook his head. 'I do not see the most remote connection
+between the two things. But there may be; who can say?'
+
+'I would rather face it out,' Dorothy said, passionately. 'I would
+rather be imprisoned as a thief than go on as I have been doing for the
+last six weeks; anything would be better. Even if you were to pay the
+money the story might get about somehow, just as the other did. Then the
+fact that you paid it would be looked upon as a proof that I had taken
+the diamonds. Who will you consult, father?'
+
+'My lawyers would be the proper people to consult, undoubtedly; but they
+were quite useless before, and this is wholly out of their line, I
+think. I will take a hansom and go across to Jermyn Street, and see if I
+can find Ned Hampton in. I have great faith in his judgment, and no one
+could be kinder than he has been in the matter. You don't mind my
+speaking to him?'
+
+'Oh, no, father. I would rather that you should speak to him than to any
+one.'
+
+Captain Hampton was in and listened in silent consternation to Mr.
+Hawtrey's story, and for a long time made no answer to the question.
+
+'I can make neither head nor tail of it, Ned. What do you think?'
+
+At first sight it seemed to him that this story explained the meeting he
+had seen opposite the Agricultural Hall. She had either turned the
+diamonds into money or had handed them over to this man to buy his
+silence. Then his faith in Dorothy rose again. It was absolutely absurd
+to suppose for a moment that she should have thus committed a crime
+which must be certainly brought home to her, and which would ruin her
+far more than any revelations this man might make could do.
+
+'It is an extraordinary story, Mr. Hawtrey,' he said, at last; 'even
+putting our knowledge of your daughter's character out of the question,
+is it possible to believe that any young lady possessed of ordinary
+shrewdness would go to a place where she was well known, and, have acted
+in the way that she is reported to have done?'
+
+'It would certainly seem incredible, Ned, but here are two or three
+people prepared to swear that she did do so, and that they identified
+her by her dress as well as by herself.'
+
+'We must look at the matter in every light, Mr. Hawtrey; however
+confident you may feel of her innocence, we must look at it from the
+light in which other people will regard it. They will say, of course,
+that Miss Hawtrey had urgent need of money for some purpose or other,
+and will naturally suppose that reason to be her desire to silence the
+author of those letters. They will say, that although she would of
+course know that the bill would be sent in to her father, she would be
+sure that he would rather pay the money than betray her sin to the
+world.'
+
+'I quite see that,' Mr. Hawtrey agreed, 'but if she had been driven to
+desperation by this fellow, why did she not come direct to me in the
+first place, instead of committing a theft to drive me to pay, when she
+might be pretty sure in some way or other the facts would leak out, and
+do her infinitely more harm with the world than any indiscretion
+committed years ago could do? Besides, had she done it for this purpose,
+would she not have carried through that course of action, and when the
+bill came in have implored me to pay it without question, and so save
+her from disgrace and ruin?'
+
+'That certainly is so,' Captain Hampton said, as his face brightened
+visibly; 'the more one thinks of it the more mysterious the affair
+seems. I should like to think it all over quietly. I suppose you will
+not go out this evening?'
+
+'Certainly not. There will be no more going out until this mystery has
+been cleared up. It has been hard enough for Dorothy to bear up over her
+last trouble, but it would be out of the question for her to go into
+society with this terrible thing hanging over her.'
+
+'Then I will come round about nine o'clock. I shall have had time to
+think it over before that.'
+
+Captain Hampton's cogitations came to nothing. He walked up and down his
+little room until the lodger in the parlour below went out in despair to
+his club. He tried the effect of an hour's stroll in the least
+frequented part of Kensington Gardens. He drove to Mr. Slippen's to
+inquire if any clue had been obtained as to Truscott's movements. He ate
+a solitary dinner at his lodgings and smoked an enormous quantity of
+tobacco, but could see no clue whatever to the mystery. The meeting he
+had witnessed was to him a piece of evidence far more damning than that
+of the jeweller and his assistants. If she could explain that, the other
+matter might be got over, though he could not see how. If she could not
+explain it, it was evident that he had nothing to do but to advise her
+father to settle the business at any cost.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII
+
+
+At nine o'clock Captain Hampton called at Chester Square and was shown
+into the drawing-room, from which, as previously arranged, Mr. Hawtrey
+had dismissed Mrs. Daintree, telling her that he had some private
+matters to discuss with Ned Hampton.
+
+Mrs. Daintree had retired tearfully, saying that for her part she
+preferred hearing nothing about this painful matter--meaning that of the
+letters, for she was ignorant of the later development.
+
+Dorothy looked flushed and feverish. Her eyes were large and brilliant,
+and there was a restlessness in her manner as she shook hands with her
+old friend.
+
+'Well, Ned,' she asked, with an attempt at playfulness, 'what is your
+verdict--guilty or not guilty?'
+
+'You need not ask me, Dorothy. Even the evidence of my own eyes would
+scarcely avail to convince me against your word.' Then he turned to her
+father. 'I have done nothing but think the matter over since you left
+me, and I can see but one solution--an utterly improbable one, I
+admit--but I will not tell you what it is until I have spoken to Miss
+Hawtrey. Would you mind my putting a question or two to her alone?'
+
+'Certainly not, Ned,' said Mr. Hawtrey, rising.
+
+But Dorothy exclaimed: 'No, no, father, I will not have it so. I don't
+know what Captain Hampton is going to ask me, but nothing that he can
+ask me nor my answers could I wish you not to hear. Please sit down
+again. There shall be no mysteries between us, at any rate.'
+
+'Perhaps it is best so,' Captain Hampton agreed, though he felt the ring
+of pain in the girl's voice at what she believed to be a sign that he
+doubted her. 'I am willing, as I said just now, to disbelieve the
+evidence of my own eyes on your word. I am determined to believe you
+innocent. It is impossible for me to do otherwise. But there is one
+matter I want cleared up. On the fifteenth of last month--that is the
+day on which these things were missed--I saw a lady so exactly like you
+in face and in dress that I should under any other circumstances be
+prepared to swear to her, speaking to the man Truscott, in the Liverpool
+Road, Islington. This was at about half-past four in the afternoon.'
+
+A look of blank wonderment passed across Dorothy's face as he spoke, and
+then changed into one of indignation.
+
+'I was never in Islington in my life, Captain Hampton; I never heard the
+name of Liverpool Road that I know of. I have never seen this man,
+Truscott, since that day at Epsom. And you have believed this? You
+believe that I would meet this man alone, for the purpose, I suppose, of
+bribing him to silence? I have been mistaken in you altogether, Captain
+Hampton. I thought you were a friend.'
+
+'Stop, Dorothy,' her father said, authoritatively, as with her head
+erect she walked towards the door, 'you must listen to this; it is
+altogether too important to be treated in this way. We must hear what
+Captain Hampton really saw, and he will tell us why he did not mention
+the fact to me before. Sit down, my dear. Now, Captain Hampton, please
+tell it to us again.'
+
+Ned Hampton repeated his story, and then went on,
+
+'You know I went suddenly out of town, Mr. Hawtrey. That I had been
+mistaken never once occurred to me. Up to that time I had never for an
+instant doubted your daughter's assertions that she knew nothing as to
+any letters in the possession of Truscott. That morning, as you may
+remember, I mentioned before you the name of the place where he was to
+be found, and when, as I thought, I saw her with him, it certainly
+appeared to me possible that after the dread Miss Hawtrey expressed of
+appearing in a public court to prosecute him, she might, in a moment of
+weakness, have gone off to see the man, to warn him of the consequences
+that would ensue if he continued to persecute her, and to tell him that
+unless he moved he would in a few hours be in custody. I thought such an
+action altogether foreign to her nature, but I own that it never for a
+moment occurred to me to doubt the evidence of my own eyes, especially
+as the person was dressed exactly as your daughter had been when I saw
+her that morning. That the person I saw was not her I am now quite ready
+to admit. In that case it is morally certain that the person who took
+away those jewels was also not her; and this strengthens the idea I had
+before conceived, and which seemed, as I told you, a most improbable
+one, namely, that there is another person who so closely resembles your
+daughter that she might be mistaken for her, and, if so, this person is
+acting with the man Truscott. Should this conjecture be the true one it
+explains what has hitherto been so mysterious. The letters were designed
+to injure your daughter in public estimation, and to prepare the way for
+this extraordinary robbery, which would enrich Truscott as well as
+gratify his revenge. What do you think, Mr. Hawtrey?'
+
+'The idea is too new for me to grasp it altogether, Ned. Until now there
+seemed no possible explanation of the mystery. This, certainly, strange
+and improbable as it is, does afford a solution.'
+
+'Well, father, I will leave you to talk it over,' Dorothy said, rising
+again, 'unless Captain Hampton has seen me anywhere else and wishes to
+question me about that also. And I think, father, that it will be much
+better in future to put the matter altogether into the hands of a
+lawyer; it would be his business to do his best for me whether he
+thought me innocent or guilty. At any rate, it is more pleasant to be
+suspected by people you know nothing about, than by those you thought
+were your friends.' Then without waiting for an answer she swept from
+the room.
+
+'No use stopping her now,' her father said, shrugging his shoulders; 'it
+is not often that I have known Dorothy fairly out of temper from the
+time she was a child, but when she is it is better to let her cool down
+and come round of herself.'
+
+'It will be a long time before she comes round as far as I am
+concerned,' Captain Hampton said. 'I am not surprised that she should be
+indignant that I should have suspected her for a moment, but I don't see
+how I could have helped it. I saw her, or someone as much like her as if
+it was herself in a looking-glass, talking to this man Truscott, the
+very day when we had for the first time found out where we were likely
+to lay hands on him. What could anyone suppose? I did not think for a
+moment that she had done anything really wrong, or even, after what she
+had said, that he could hold letters of any importance; but she had
+evidently so great a dread of publicity that, as I say, it did strike me
+she had gone to meet him in order to warn him, and perhaps to get back
+any trumpery letters he might have had, stolen from her or from some one
+else. I did think this up to the time when you told me of this affair at
+the jeweller's. That seemed so utterly and wholly impossible that I
+became convinced there must be some entirely different solution, if we
+could but hit upon it, and the only idea that occurred to me was that of
+there being some one else exactly like her, and that this person,
+whoever she is, has been used by Truscott both to injure your daughter
+and to obtain plunder.'
+
+'I don't see how you could have helped suspecting as you did, when you
+saw Truscott speaking with some one whom you did not doubt being
+Dorothy. Had I been in your place and witnessed that meeting, it seems
+to me that I must have doubted her myself. Though I am her father, I own
+that I did doubt her for a moment this morning when I heard the story at
+Gilliat's; but let us leave that alone for a moment, Ned; the pressing
+question is, what am I to do?'
+
+'I will give no opinion,' Captain Hampton said firmly; 'that must be a
+question for you and Miss Hawtrey to decide. If my conjecture is right,
+and this man, Truscott, and some woman closely resembling your daughter
+are working to obtain plunder on the strength of that likeness, you may
+be sure that this successful _coup_ they have made will only be the
+first of a series. On the other hand, you have not a shadow of evidence
+to adduce against Gilliat's claim; there is simply her assertion against
+that of two or three other people, and if he sues you, as, of course, he
+will if you do not pay, it seems to me certain that a jury would give
+the verdict against you--unless, of course, we can put this other woman
+and Truscott into the dock. Should such a verdict be given, although
+some might have their doubts as to this extraordinary story, the public
+in general would conclude that Miss Hawtrey was a thief and a liar.
+There is no doubt that your daughter's advice is the one to be followed,
+and if I were you I would go to Charles Levine, the first thing in the
+morning, lay the whole case before him, and put yourself in his hands.'
+
+'I will do so, Ned. Should I mention to him that you saw her, as you
+thought, with Truscott?'
+
+'That must be as you think fit, sir. I don't think I should do so unless
+it were absolutely necessary. He does not know your daughter as we do,
+and would infallibly put the worst construction upon it. I should
+confine myself to the story of the letters and the jewels, stating that
+you believe there is a connection between them, and that, as you
+implicitly believe Miss Hawtrey's word, the only conclusion you can
+possibly come to is that the person who visited Gilliat's was some
+adventuress bearing a strong resemblance to her, and trading on that
+resemblance.'
+
+'But how about the dress, Ned?'
+
+'If it was, as I take it, a preconceived plot, carefully prepared, one
+can readily conceive that Miss Hawtrey's movements had been watched and
+that a dress and bonnet closely resembling hers had been got in
+readiness.'
+
+'It is an ugly business, Ned,' Mr. Hawtrey said, irritably. 'You and I
+believe Dorothy to be innocent, but the more one looks at it the more
+one sees how difficult it will be to persuade other people that she is
+so. However, I will see Levine in the morning. He has had more difficult
+cases in his hands than any man living.'
+
+'That is the best thing you can do, sir. Now I will say good-night. You
+know where I am to be found, and I must ask you to write to me there and
+make an appointment for me to meet you if you want to see me. I shall
+still do what I can in the matter, and shall spare no efforts to
+endeavour to trace this man Truscott, and if I can find him it is
+probable that I shall be able to find the woman; but please do not let
+Miss Hawtrey know that I am taking any further part in the matter. She
+is deeply offended with me, and from her point of view this is perfectly
+natural. She thinks I ought to have trusted her and believed in her in
+spite of any evidence whatever, even that of my own eyes, and she is
+naturally extremely sore that one whom she regarded as a close friend
+should not have done so. I regret it deeply myself, but seeing what I
+saw----'
+
+'You could not help doing so, Ned,' Mr. Hawtrey broke in warmly; 'as I
+told you I should have doubted her myself. Do not worry yourself about
+that. When she thinks it over she will see that you were in no way to
+blame.'
+
+'That will be a long time first,' Captain Hampton said, gravely;
+'situated as she is, and harassed as she has been, it is very difficult
+to forgive a want of trust on the part of those in whose faith and
+support you had implicit confidence. I shall be very glad if you will
+let me know what Levine advises.'
+
+'That I will certainly do. I will write to you after I have seen him and
+had a talk with Dorothy. There is the affair with Halliburn, which
+complicates the whole question confoundedly. I wish to goodness he would
+start for a trip to China and not come back until it is all over. It is
+lucky that that they have got a serious debate on to-night in the Upper
+House, and that he was, as he told us when he called this afternoon,
+unable to go to the Alberys; if it hadn't been so he would have been
+here by this time, to inquire what had occurred to make us send our
+excuses at the last moment. He will be round here the first thing after
+breakfast. Well, good night, Ned, if you must be going.'
+
+On reaching his lodgings Captain Hampton found a boy sitting on the
+doorstep.
+
+'Halloa,' he said, 'who are you? Out of luck, and want something to get
+supper with, I suppose?'
+
+'I wanted to speak to you, Captain,' the boy said, standing up.
+
+'Why, you are the boy from Slippen's; have you got any news for me?'
+
+'No, Captain, I ain't come on his account, I have come on my own. I have
+left Slippen for good.'
+
+'Well, come up stairs; we can't talk at the door. Now what is it?' he
+asked, as he sat down.
+
+'Well, sir, it is just this: I have left Slippen. You see, it was this
+way: I was a-watching a female party and she wur a good sort. I got up
+as a crossing sweeper, and she never went across without giving me a
+penny and speaking kind like, and one day she sent me out a plate of
+victuals; so I didn't much like the job, and when Slippen wanted me to
+say I had seen a bit more than I had, I up and told him as I wasn't
+going to. Then he gave me a cuff on the head and I gave him some cheek,
+and he told me to take myself out of it and never let him see my face
+again, so you see here I am.'
+
+'I see you are. But why are you here?'
+
+'Well, you see, Captain, you allus spoke nice to me over there, and I
+says to myself, "If I was ever to leave the governor, that is just the
+sort of gent as I should like to work for." I can clean boots with any
+one, and I could run errands, and do all sorts of odd jobs, and if you
+still want to find that chap I was after I would hunt him up for you all
+over London.'
+
+'You are quite sure, Jacob, that you have done with Mr. Slippen? I
+should not like him to think that I had taken you away from him.'
+
+'I ain't a-going back to him no ways,' the boy said, positively, 'not
+even if he would have me; and after what I said to him he would not do
+that. He called me a blooming young vaggerbond, and I says to him,
+"Vaggerbond yourself, ain't you wanting to make up false evidence agin a
+female? You are worse nor a vaggerbond," says I. "You are just the worst
+kind of a spy," says I, "and a liar at that." Then I had to make a bolt
+for it, and he arter me, and he run nigh fifty yards before he stopped;
+that is enough to show how mad he wor over it. First of all I thinks as
+I would go to the Garden, and take to odd jobs and sleeping under the
+waggons, as I used to do afore I took up with him. Then I says to
+myself, "There is that Captain Hampton; he is a nice sort of gent. I
+could get along first-rate with him if he would have me."'
+
+'But those clothes you have got on, Jacob; I suppose Slippen gave you
+those?'
+
+'Not he; Slippen ain't that sort; he got the clothes for me, and says
+he, "These 'ere clothes cost twenty-two bob. I intend to give you
+half-a-crown a week, and," says he, "I shall stop a bob a week for your
+clothes." I have been with him about half a year, so we are square as to
+the things.'
+
+'But how did you live on eighteenpence a week?'
+
+'I got a bob now and then from people who came to Slippen. When they
+knew as I was doing the watching for them they would tip me, so as to
+give me a h'interest in the case, as they said. I used to reckon on
+making two bob a week that way, so with Slippen's eighteenpence, I had
+sixpence a day for grub. I have got my old things wrapped up in the
+cupboard. I used to use them mostly when I went out watching. I can get
+them any time; I have got the key. I used to have to let myself in and
+out, so I have only got to watch till I see him go out, and then go in
+and get my things, and I can leave the key on the table when I come
+out.'
+
+Captain Hampton looked at the boy for some time in silence; it really
+seemed a stroke of good luck that had thrown him in his way. There was
+no doubt of his shrewdness; he was honest so far as his ideas of honesty
+went. He wished to serve him, and would probably be faithful. He himself
+felt altogether at sea as to how to set about the quest for this man and
+the unknown woman who must be his associate. Even if the boy could be of
+no material assistance, he would have him to talk to, and there was no
+one else to whom he could say anything on the subject.
+
+'Well, Jacob,' he said at last, 'I am disposed to give you a trial.'
+
+'Thank you, Captain,' the lad said gratefully. 'I will do my best for
+you, sir, whatever you tell me. I knows as I ain't much good to a gent
+like you, but I will try hard, sir, I will indeed.'
+
+'And now what am I to do with you?' Captain Hampton went on. 'I am sure
+my landlady would not like to have you down in the kitchen, so for the
+present you had better get your meals outside.'
+
+'That is all right, Captain. I can take my grub anywhere.'
+
+'Very well, then, I will give you two shillings a day for food; that
+will be sixpence for breakfast and tea and a shilling for dinner. I
+suppose you could manage on that.'
+
+'Why, it would be just a-robbing of you,' the boy said, indignantly. 'I
+can get a breakfast of a big cup of tea and a whopping piece of cake for
+twopence at a coffee-stall, and the same at night, that is fourpence,
+and for fourpence more I can get a regular blow out: threeha'porth of
+bread and two saveloys for dinner. I could do first-rate on eightpence.'
+
+'That is all nonsense, Jacob. If you are coming to be my servant you
+must live decently. I daresay if you had a place where you could see to
+your own food you might do it cheaper, but having to pay for things at a
+coffee-shop, two shillings a day would be a fair sum. As I don't want
+you to do anything for me in the house at present I do not see that it
+will be of any use getting you livery, so we won't talk about that now.
+You will most likely want another suit of clothes of some sort while
+going about to look for this man, whom I still want to find. As for your
+lodgings, I will see if there is a room vacant upstairs; if not, you
+must get a bed out.'
+
+He rang the bell, and his landlord, who acted as valet to his lodgers,
+appeared.
+
+'Richardson, I have engaged this boy to run errands for me. I do not
+want him to interfere in the house, and have arranged about his board,
+as no doubt you would find him in the way downstairs; but if you have an
+attic empty I should like to arrange for his sleeping here.'
+
+'I could arrange that, sir. I have a small room at the top of the house
+empty; I would let it at four shillings a week.'
+
+'Very well then. He will sleep here to-night.'
+
+'Perhaps he will step up with me and I will show it to him, sir.'
+
+Hampton nodded, and the boy followed the man out of the room. He
+returned in a couple of minutes.
+
+'That will do, I suppose, Jacob?'
+
+'It just will do,' the boy said; 'it is too good for a chap like me. The
+bed is too clean to sleep in: I would a sight rather lie down on the mat
+there, sir.'
+
+'That won't do at all, Jacob. You must get into clean and tidy ways if
+you are to be with me. To-morrow morning I will give you some money, and
+you must go out and get yourself a stock of underlinen--shirts, and
+drawers, and stockings, and that sort of thing, and another pair or two
+of shoes. And now it is getting late and you had better go off to bed.
+Give yourself a thorough good wash all over before you turn in, and
+again in the morning. Here are two shillings for your food to-morrow. Be
+here at nine o'clock and then we will talk things over. Here is another
+half-crown to get yourself a comb and brush.'
+
+The next morning the boy presented himself looking clean and tidy.
+
+'In the first place here is a list, Jacob, of the things you must get,
+or rather that I will get for you, for I will go out with you and buy
+them. And now about your work. I still want to find this man. Did you
+discover what name he was known by at his lodging?'
+
+'He was known there as Cooper, Captain, I got that out of the servant
+girl, but lord bless you a name don't go for anything with these chaps.
+No, he may call hisself something else at the next place he goes to.'
+
+'You learnt he went away in a cab?'
+
+The lad nodded.
+
+'The first thing to do is to find that cab. It may have been taken from
+a stand near; it may have been one he hailed passing along the road. How
+would you set about that?'
+
+'Offer a reward,' the boy replied promptly. 'Get a thing printed and I
+will leave it at all the stands in that part.'
+
+'Yes, that will be a good way.' Captain Hampton wrote a line or two on a
+piece of paper. It was headed--A Reward.--The cabman who took a man with
+several boxes from----'What is the address, Jacob, where the man
+lodged?'
+
+'Twelve, Hawthorn Street.'
+
+'From Hawthorn Street, Islington, on the evening of the 15th July, can
+earn one pound by calling upon Captain Hampton, 150 Jermyn Street.'
+
+'That will do it,' the boy said, as the advertisement was read out.
+
+'Well, I will get a hundred of these struck off at once, then you can
+set to work.'
+
+Having gone to a printer's and ordered the handbills, which were to be
+ready in an hour, Captain Hampton went with the boy and bought his
+clothes.
+
+'Now, Jacob, you will go back to the printer's in an hour's time and
+wait until you get the handbills. Here are five shillings to pay for
+them; then take a 'bus at the Circus for Islington and distribute the
+handbills at all the cab stands in the neighbourhood. I shan't want you
+any more to-day, but if I am at home when you come in you can let me
+know how you have got on. Be in by half-past nine always. You had better
+go on at your night school; you have nothing to do after dark and there
+is nowhere for you to sit here. There is no reason why you should not go
+on working there as usual.'
+
+'All right, Captain; if you says so in course I will go, but I hates it
+worse nor poison.'
+
+On his return Captain Hampton read the paper and wrote some letters, and
+was just starting to go out to lunch when Mr. Hawtrey was shown in.
+
+'I am very glad I have caught you, Ned; I meant to tell you I would come
+round after seeing Levine. This business will worry me into my grave.
+This morning Dorothy declared that the thing must be fought out. Her
+objection to going into court has quite vanished. She says that it is
+the only chance there is of getting to the bottom of things, and that if
+that is not done we must go away to China or Siberia, or some
+out-of-the-way place where no one will know her. Then I went to Levine.
+Danvers called for me and took me there. I wrote to him last night and
+asked him to do so. Nothing could have been more polite than Levine's
+manner--I should say he would be a charming fellow at a dinner table. I
+went into the whole thing with him, he took notes while I was talking,
+and asked a question now and then; of course, I told him our last
+notion, that there must be somebody about exactly like Dorothy in face
+and figure. "And dress, too?" he asked, with a little sort of emphasis.
+"Yes, and dress too," I said. When I had done he simply said that it was
+a singular case, which I could have told him well enough, and that he
+should like to take a little time to think it over. His present idea was
+that I had best pay the money. I told him that I did not care a rap
+about the money, but that if this thing got about, the fact that I had
+compromised it would be altogether ruinous to my daughter. He said, "I
+think you can rely upon it that Gilliat will preserve an absolute
+silence. I can assure you that jewellers get to know a great many
+curious family histories, and it is part of their business to be
+discreet." "Yes," I said, "but don't you see if, as I believe, this
+fellow Truscott got up the first persecution purely to revenge what he
+believes is a grievance against me--if that is so, and if he has any
+connection with this second business, you may be sure that somehow or
+other he will get something nasty about it put in one of these gutter
+journals." That silenced him, and he again said he would think it over.
+When I got up to go he asked Danvers to wait a few minutes, as he took
+it that if the matter went into court he would, as a matter of course,
+be retained on our side. So I came away by myself and drove here. The
+worst of it is, I believe that the man thinks that Dorothy did it. Of
+course, as he does not know her he is not altogether to be blamed, but
+it is deucedly annoying to have to do with a man who evidently thinks
+your daughter is a thief.'
+
+'Did he say anything as to our idea that some one else must have
+represented her?'
+
+'Not a single word; he listened attentively while I told him, but he
+made no remarks whatever about it.'
+
+After the doors of Mr. Levine's office had closed behind Mr. Hawtrey,
+the solicitor leant back in his chair and looked at Danvers with raised
+eyebrows.
+
+'You have heard the story before, I suppose?' he asked.
+
+'I heard about the first business, but not about this matter of the
+jewels; except that he gave me a slight outline as we drove here this
+morning. It is a curious business.'
+
+'It is a very unpleasant business, but scarcely a curious one,' the
+lawyer said, with a grave smile. 'I have heard so many bits of queer
+family history, that I scarcely look at anything that way now as
+curious. You would be astonished, simply astonished, did you know how
+often things of this kind occur.'
+
+'Then you think that Miss Hawtrey took the jewels?'
+
+Mr. Levine's eyebrows went up again in surprise at the question. 'My
+impression so far is,' he said, 'as between solicitor and counsel, that
+there is not the slightest doubt in the world about it. The girl had got
+into some bad sort of scrape; some blackguard had got her under his
+thumb. She had a good marriage on hand; it was absolutely necessary to
+shut the fellow's mouth. A largish sum was wanted, and she dared not ask
+her father, so she played a bold stroke--a wonderfully bold stroke I
+must say--relying upon brazening it out and getting her father to
+believe--as she evidently has succeeded in doing--that there is a double
+of herself somewhere about, who represented her. All the first part of
+the case is a comparatively ordinary one. This is curious, even to
+me--in its daring audacity, it is really magnificent. Of course, her
+father must pay the money; to defend it would be to ruin her utterly. Do
+you mean to say you don't agree with me?'
+
+'I hardly know what to think,' Danvers said, doubtfully. 'I know Miss
+Hawtrey intimately, and have done so for some years, and in spite of the
+apparent impossibility of her innocence, I own that I cannot bring
+myself to believe in her guilt. She is one of the brightest, frankest,
+and most natural girls I know.'
+
+The lawyer looked at him with a smile of almost pity.
+
+'You surprise me, sir. My experience is that in the majority of cases of
+this kind it is just the very last girl one would suspect who goes
+wrong. Why, my dear sir, if we were to set up such a ridiculous defence
+as this in an action to recover the price of the jewels, we should
+simply be laughed out of court.'
+
+'Mr. Hawtrey tells me that his daughter is most anxious that he should
+defend the case.'
+
+Again the eyebrows went up.
+
+'Of course she would say so. She must know well enough that, whether her
+father put himself into my hands or any one else's, the advice would be
+the same: Pay the money; you have no shadow of a chance of getting a
+verdict, and to bring it into court would utterly ruin your daughter's
+prospects. Of course, it is her cue to appear anxious for a trial,
+knowing perfectly well that such a thing is out of the question.'
+
+'I think you might alter your opinion if you saw her.'
+
+'I certainly should be glad to see her,' Charles Levine said. 'I admire
+talent, and she must be amazingly clever. I have a great respect for
+audacity, and I never heard in all my experience of a more brilliant
+piece of boldness than this. She must be a great actress, too; of the
+highest order. Altogether I should be very glad to see her. She deserves
+to succeed, and as there is no doubt that you and I will be able to
+persuade her father that there is nothing for it but to pay the money. I
+think her success is pretty well assured.'
+
+'I agree with you that this money must be paid, but I am not prepared to
+go further yet.'
+
+'My dear sir,' the lawyer said, 'you confirm the opinion I have always
+held, that the judgment of no man under fifty is worth a penny where a
+young and pretty woman is concerned. Mind, there are many men, perhaps
+the majority, who cannot be trusted in such a matter up to any time of
+life, but up to fifty the rule is almost universal.'
+
+'I am glad to hear it,' Danvers said, 'for in that case your own
+judgment cannot be accepted as final.'
+
+'I rather expected that, Mr. Danvers, but you must remember that in
+matters of this kind I have had more experience than a dozen ordinary
+men of the age of eighty. Now, I really cannot spare any more time. I
+have given your client a good two hours, and my waiting-room must be
+full of angry men. I shall write to Mr. Hawtrey to-morrow to say that
+upon thinking the matter well over my first impressions are more than
+confirmed, and that I am of opinion that no jury in the world would give
+him a verdict, and that it would be nothing short of insanity to go into
+Court. I shall mention, of course, that I am much struck with his theory
+of the affair, which indeed appears to me to furnish the only complete
+explanation of the matter, but that in the absence of a single
+confirmatory piece of evidence it would be hopeless for the most
+eloquent counsel to attempt to persuade twelve British jurymen to
+entertain the theory. I think it would be as well if you were to call on
+him this evening or to-morrow morning and shew him that your view agrees
+with mine. That much you can honestly say, can you not?'
+
+'Certainly. However difficult I may find it to persuade myself that Miss
+Hawtrey is in any way the woman you picture her, I am as convinced as
+you are that it is absolutely necessary that the money should be paid.'
+
+On Mr. Hawtrey reaching his home he found Mrs. Daintree upon the sofa in
+tears, while Dorothy, with a book in her hand, was sitting with an
+unconcerned expression a short distance from her.
+
+'What is the matter now?' he asked testily. 'Upon my word I believe my
+annoyances would have upset Job.'
+
+'Would you believe it? Cousin Dorothy has just declared to me her
+intention of writing to Lord Halliburn to break off the match.'
+
+Mr. Hawtrey did not explode as his cousin had expected that he would do.
+
+'It is not a step to be taken hastily,' he said, gravely, 'but it is one
+upon which Dorothy herself is the best judge. You have not written yet,
+child?'
+
+'No, father. I should not think of doing so without telling you first. I
+have, of course, been thinking a good deal about it, and it certainly
+seems to me that it would be best.'
+
+'Well, a few hours will make no difference. The idea is at present new
+to me: I will think it over quietly this afternoon, and this evening we
+will talk it over together.'
+
+'It would be nothing short of madness for her to do so,' Mrs. Daintree
+said, roused to a state of real anger by Mr. Hawtrey's defection, when
+she had implicitly relied upon his authority being exerted to prevent
+Dorothy from carrying out her intention. 'It would be madness to break
+off so excellent a match. It would make her the talk of the whole town,
+and would seem to confirm all the wicked rumours that have been going
+about.'
+
+'As to the match, cousin, there are as good fish in the sea as ever came
+out of it. As to the public talk, it is better to be talked about for a
+week or two than to have a life's unhappiness. That is the sole point
+with which I concern myself.'
+
+Dorothy, with a softened face now, got up and kissed her father.
+
+'That is right dear,' he said. 'Now let us put the matter aside for the
+present. I have been busy all the morning and want my lunch badly; so
+even if you are not hungry yourself, come down and keep me company.
+Come, cousin, dry your eyes, and put your cap straight, and come down to
+lunch.'
+
+'Food would choke me,' Mrs. Daintree said; 'I have a dreadful headache,
+and shall go and lie down.'
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII
+
+
+'Mr. Danvers is in the library, sir,' a servant announced at nine
+o'clock that evening.
+
+'Will you come down, Dorothy?'
+
+'No, father, I do not want to hear what is said. No doubt he will
+suppose I took the diamonds.'
+
+'No, no, my dear, you should not say that.'
+
+'But I do say that, father. When even Captain Hampton was willing enough
+to believe me guilty, what can I expect from others?'
+
+'You are too hard on Ned altogether, Dorothy, a great deal too hard. He
+spent a month of his leave entirely in your service, and now because he
+could not disbelieve the evidence of his own eyes you turn against him.'
+
+'I am obliged to him for the trouble he has taken, father, but that is
+not what I want at present. I want trust; and I thought that if any one
+would have given it to me fully it would have been Ned Hampton, and
+nothing would have made me doubt him.'
+
+'Well, my dear,' her father said, dryly, 'you may think so now, but if
+you were to see him filling his pockets out of a bank till, I fancy for
+a moment your trust in him would waver. However, I will go down to
+Danvers.'
+
+He returned at the end of twenty minutes.
+
+'His advice is the same as that which, as I mentioned this afternoon,
+Levine gave when I told him of the circumstances, and which I have no
+doubt he will repeat when he has further thought the matter over,
+namely, that unless we can obtain some evidence to support your denial,
+we have no chance of obtaining a verdict if we go into court. Danvers
+says that, of course, to those who know you, the idea of your taking
+these diamonds is absolutely preposterous; still, as the jury will not
+know you, and the public who read the report will not know you, they can
+only go by the evidence. He says that trying to look at it as a
+stranger, his opinion would be that it was an extraordinary case, but
+that unless we believed thoroughly that you had not taken the things, we
+should never have taken so hopeless a case into court. Still, he thinks
+that the verdict of those who only look at the outside of things would
+be that the denial was almost worse than the act. Had it not been for
+the unfortunate rumours previously circulated, many people might be of
+opinion that it was a case of kleptomania, and that no woman in her
+senses would have thus openly carried the things away from a place where
+she was well known.'
+
+'I see all that, father; the more I have thought it over, the more I
+feel that it is certain that every one will be against me.'
+
+'Then in that case, Dorothy, why fight a battle we are certain to lose?
+From the money point of view alone, it would be better to pay this
+twenty-five hundred pounds than the twenty-five hundred pounds plus the
+costs on both sides, which we might put down roughly at another
+thousand. If we pay it now, the matter may never become public, for even
+if the scoundrel was malicious enough to try and get a rumour about it
+into one of these so-called society papers I should doubt whether he
+could do so. In the last case they got the report, no doubt, from some
+one in Scotland Yard, but no editor would be mad enough to risk an
+action for libel with tremendous damages merely on an anonymous report,
+or at best, a report given only on the authority of an impecunious
+hanger-on of the turf. It seems to me, therefore, that we should have
+everything to lose, and nothing to gain, by bringing the matter into
+court.'
+
+'But the same thing may be done again, father; if they have succeeded so
+well now they are sure to try and repeat it.'
+
+'We might take measures to prevent their doing that. The moment the
+thing is settled we will go down into the country, and when we return to
+town next season I will get a companion for you--some bright, sensible
+woman, who will not be half her time laid up with headaches, and who
+will always go with you whenever you go out; so that were such an
+attempt made again, you would be in a position to prove conclusively
+where you were at the time. Danvers suggested that if I pay the money to
+Gilliat I should do so with a written protest, to the effect that I was
+convinced that you had not been in his shop on the day in question, but
+that as I was not in a position to prove this I paid the money,
+reserving to myself the right to reclaim it, should I be at any time in
+a position to prove that you had not been at his shop on that day, or be
+able to produce the woman who represented you. Should the matter by any
+chance ever crop up again, a copy of this protest would be an
+advantage.'
+
+'At any rate, father, I could never marry Lord Halliburn unless this
+matter were entirely cleared up; it would be unfair to him in the
+extreme. He might receive an anonymous letter from these people, and if
+he asked me if it was true, what could I say? He has been greatly upset
+by the other business, what would he say did he know that I have been
+accused of theft? That brings us back to the subject of my engagement.
+You have been thinking it over since lunch, father?'
+
+'Yes, dear, I have been thinking it over as well as I could, and I again
+repeat that the only light in which I can regard it is that of your
+happiness. I quite see that your being engaged to a man in his position
+does add to the embarrassment and difficulty of the position. We have to
+consider not only ourselves but him. Still, that matters after all
+comparatively little. Supposing this matter were all cleared up
+satisfactorily, how would you stand then? You might then bitterly regret
+the step you now want to take.'
+
+'No, father; up to the time when this trouble first began I don't think
+that I thought very seriously about it. Lord Halliburn was very nice, I
+liked him as much as any man I have met. I suppose I was gratified by
+his attentions; every one spoke well of him; I own that I was rather
+proud of carrying him off, and it really seemed to me that I was likely
+to be very happy with him. Since then I have looked at it in a different
+way. I knew, of course, that husbands and wives are supposed to share
+each other's troubles, but it had never really seemed to me that there
+was a likelihood of troubles coming into my life. Well, troubles have
+come, and with them I have come to look at things differently. To begin
+with, I have learnt more of Lord Halliburn's character than I probably
+should have done in all my life if such troubles had not come.
+
+'I have been disappointed in him. I do not say that in the first matter
+he doubted me for an instant--it was not that; but I found out that he
+is altogether selfish. He has thought all through, not how this affected
+me, but how it would affect himself; he has been querulous, exacting,
+and impatient. Had he been the man I thought him he would have been
+kinder and more attentive than before; he would have tried to let every
+one see by his manner to me how wholly he trusted me; he would have
+striven to make things easier for me; but he has made them much harder.
+If I held in my hands now the proofs [missing text] against me, I would
+send them to him and at the same time a letter breaking off my
+engagement. When I think it over, I am sometimes inclined to be almost
+grateful to this trouble, because it has opened my eyes to the fact that
+I have been very nearly making a great mistake, and that, had I married
+Lord Halliburn, my life might have gone on smoothly enough, but that
+there would never have been any real community of feeling between us. He
+would have regarded me as a useful and, perhaps, an ornamental head to
+his house, but I should never have had a home in the true sense of the
+word, father; that is, a home like this.'
+
+'Then that is settled, my dear. Now that you have said as much as you
+have, we need not say another word on the matter. I must say, frankly,
+that I have of late come almost to dislike him, and it has several times
+cost me no inconsiderable effort to keep my temper when I saw how
+entirely he regarded the matter in a personal light, and how little
+thought he gave to the pain and trouble you were going through. I am in
+no hurry to lose you, my dear, and the thought that it might be a few
+months has given me many a heartache. And now, how will you do it?--Will
+you write to him or see him?'
+
+'I would rather tell him, father.'
+
+'You see, dear, both for his sake and your own it must be publicly known
+that the engagement is broken by you, and not by him. It would be very
+unfair on him for it to be supposed that he has taken advantage of these
+rumours to break off his engagement, and it would greatly injure you, as
+people would say that he must have become convinced of their truth.'
+
+Dorothy nodded. 'I will see him, father. I shall speak to him quite
+frankly; I shall tell him that this attack having been made on me it is
+possible that there may be at some future time other troubles from the
+same source, and that it would be unfair to him, in his position as a
+member of the Ministry, for his wife to be made the target of such
+attacks. I shall also tell him that quite apart from this, I feel that I
+acted too hastily and upon insufficient knowledge of him in accepting
+him; that I am convinced that our marriage would not bring to either of
+us that happiness that we have a right to expect. That is all I shall
+say, unless he presses me to go into details, and then I shall speak
+just as frankly as I have done to you.'
+
+'Well, dear, I can only say I am heartily glad,' Mr. Hawtrey said,
+kissing her, 'and am inclined to feel almost grateful to that fellow
+Truscott for giving me back my little girl again. Of course, I know it
+must come some day, but after having been so much to each other for so
+many years, it is a little trying at first to feel that one is no longer
+first in your affections.'
+
+'The idea of such a thing, father,' Dorothy said, indignantly, 'as if I
+ever for a moment put him before you.'
+
+'Well, if you have not, child, it shows very conclusively that you did
+not care for him as a girl should care for a man she is going to marry.
+I do not say that it is so in many marriages that are, as they term it,
+arranged in society, but where there is the real, honest love that there
+ought to be, and such as I hope you will some day feel for some one, he
+becomes, as he should become, first in everything.'
+
+'It seems to me quite impossible, father, that I could love any other
+man as I do you.'
+
+Mr. Hawtrey smiled.
+
+'I hope you will learn it is very possible, some day, Dorothy. Well, at
+any rate, this has done away with your chief reason for objecting to my
+paying for these diamonds. No doubt I shall hear from Levine some time
+to-morrow; at any rate, there is no reason to decide finally for another
+day or two. Gilliat can be in no hurry, and a month's delay may make
+some difference in the situation.'
+
+'Well, dear, is it over?' Mr. Hawtrey asked next day, when Dorothy came
+into his study. 'It was a relief to me when I saw his brougham drive
+off, for I knew that you must be having an unpleasant time of it.'
+
+'Yes; it has not been pleasant, father. He came in looking anxious, as
+he generally has done of late, thinking that my request for him to call
+this morning meant that there was news of some sort, pleasant or
+otherwise. I told him at once that I had been seriously thinking over
+the matter for some time, and that I had for several reasons come to the
+conclusion that it would be better that our engagement should terminate,
+and then gave him my first reason. He was very earnest, and protested
+that as he had never for a moment believed in these rumours he could not
+see that there was any reason whatever for breaking off the engagement.
+I said that I did him full justice in that respect, but that the matter
+had certainly been a great source of annoyance to him, and that I was
+convinced of the probability of further trouble of the same kind, and
+that as we had been powerless to detect the author of this we might be
+as powerless in the future. Then I frankly told him that I knew that his
+hopes were greatly centred in his political career, and that for him to
+have a wife who was the subject of a scandal would be a very serious
+drawback to him. He did not attempt to deny this, but then urged that a
+breach of the engagement at present would be taken to mean that he had
+been affected by the rumours. I said that full justice should be done to
+him in that respect; then, as he still protested--though I am convinced
+that at heart he felt relieved--I added that there were certain other
+reasons into which I need not go fully; that I thought that I had
+accepted him without sufficient consideration, and that I had gradually
+come to feel that we were not altogether suited to each other, and that
+a wife would always occupy but a secondary position in his thoughts,
+politics and public business occupying the first. I said that I had been
+brought up perhaps in an old-fashioned way and entertained the
+old-fashioned idea that a wife should hold the first place.
+
+'He was disposed to be angry, because, no doubt, he felt that it was
+perfectly true. However I said, "Do not be angry, Lord Halliburn. I
+shall be very, very sorry if we part other than good friends. I like and
+esteem you very much, and had it not been for these troubles I should
+never have thought of breaking my engagement to you. As it is, I am
+thinking as much of you as of myself. I am convinced I shall have
+further troubles, and perhaps more serious ones. I have already, in
+fact, had some sort of warning of them, and if they come it would make
+it much harder for me to bear them were our names associated together,
+for I feel that your prospects would be seriously injured as well as my
+own."
+
+'"You talk it over very calmly and coolly," he said, irritably.
+
+'I said that I had been thinking it over calmly for a month and more,
+and that I was sure that it was best for both of us. So at last we
+parted good friends. I have no doubt it is a relief to him as it is to
+me, but just at first, I suppose, it was natural that he should be
+upset. I don't think he had ever thought for a moment of breaking it off
+himself, but I am quite sure that if this other thing comes out he will
+congratulate himself most heartily. Well, there is an end of that,
+father.'
+
+'Yes, my dear; I am sorry, and at the same time I am glad. I don't
+think, dear, that you are the sort of girl who would ever have been very
+happy if you had married without any very real love in the matter. For
+my part I can see nothing enviable in the life of a woman who spends her
+whole life in what is called Society. Two or three months of gaiety in
+the year may be well enough, but to live always in it seems to me one of
+the most wretched ways of spending one's existence. And now, dear, let
+us change the subject altogether. I think for the next few days you had
+better go out again. I propose that we leave town at the end of the week
+and either go down home or, what would be better, go for a couple of
+months on the continent. That will give time for the gossip over the
+engagement being broken off to die out. You did not put off our
+engagement to dine at the Deans' to-day?'
+
+'No, father, I could not write and say two days beforehand that I was
+unwell and unable to come.'
+
+'Very well then, we will go. I always like their dinners, because she
+comes from our neighbourhood and one always meets three or four of our
+Lincolnshire friends.'
+
+'It is the Botanical this afternoon, father. Shall I go there with
+Cousin Mary?'
+
+'Do so by all means, dear.'
+
+As they drove that evening to the Deans', Mr. Hawtrey said, 'I had that
+letter from Levine as I was dressing, Dorothy. He goes over nearly the
+same ground as Danvers did, and is also of opinion that I should pay
+under protest, in order that if at any time we can lay our hands on the
+real offender, we can claim the return of the money. I shall go round in
+the morning and have a talk with Gilliat.'
+
+Dorothy was more herself than she had been for weeks. Her engagement
+had, since her trouble first began, been a greater burden to her than
+she had been willing to admit even to herself. Lord Halliburn had jarred
+upon her constantly, and she had come almost to dread their daily
+meetings.
+
+At an early stage of her troubles she had thought the matter out, and
+had come to the conclusion that she had made a mistake, and was not long
+in arriving at the determination that she would at the end of the season
+ask him to release her from her engagement. Before that she hoped that
+the rumours that had affected him would have died out completely, and
+would not necessarily be associated with the termination of the
+engagement. Had not this fresh trouble arisen, matters would have gone
+on on their old footing until late in the autumn, but this new trouble
+had forced her to act at once, and her first thought had been that it
+was only fair to him to release him at once. She was surprised now at
+the weight that had been lifted from her mind, at the buoyancy of
+spirits which she felt. She was almost indifferent as to the other
+matter.
+
+'You are more like yourself than you have been for weeks, Dorothy,' her
+father said, during the drive.
+
+'I feel like a bird that has got out of a cage, father. It was not a bad
+cage, it was very nicely gilt and in all ways a desirable one, still it
+was a cage, and I feel very happy indeed in feeling that I am out of
+it.'
+
+Dorothy enjoyed her dinner and laughed and talked merrily with the
+gentleman who had taken her down. Mrs. Dean remarked to her husband
+afterwards that the absence of Lord Halliburn, who sent a letter of
+regret that important business would prevent his fulfilling his
+engagement, did not seem to be any great disappointment to Dorothy
+Hawtrey.
+
+'I never saw her in better spirits, my dear; lately I have been feeling
+quite anxious about her; she was beginning to look quite worn from the
+trouble of those abominable stories.'
+
+'I expect she feels Halliburn's absence a positive relief,' he said.
+'You know you remarked, yourself, the last time we saw them out, how
+glum and sulky he looked, and you said that if you were in her place you
+would throw him over without hesitation.'
+
+'I know I said so, and do you know I wondered at dinner whether she had
+not come to the same conclusion.'
+
+'Dorothy has lots of spirit,' Mr. Dean said, 'and is quite capable of
+kicking over the traces. I should say there is no pluckier rider than
+that girl in all Lincolnshire, and I fancy that a woman who doesn't
+flinch from the stiffest jump would not hesitate for a moment in
+throwing over even the best match of the season if he offended her. She
+is a dear good girl, is Dorothy Hawtrey, and I don't think that she is a
+bit spoilt by her success this season. I always thought she made a
+mistake in accepting Halliburn; he is not half good enough for her. He
+may be an earl, and an Under-Secretary of State, but he is no more fit
+to run in harness with Dorothy Hawtrey than he is to fly.'
+
+When the gentlemen came up after dinner Dorothy made room on the sofa on
+which she was sitting for an old friend who walked across to her. Mr.
+Singleton was a near neighbour down in Lincolnshire; he was a bachelor,
+and Dorothy had always been a great pet of his.
+
+'Well, my dear,' he said, as he took a seat beside her, 'I am heartily
+glad to see you looking quite yourself again to-night, and to know that
+I have been able to help my little favourite out of a scrape.'
+
+Dorothy's eyes opened wide. 'To help me out of a scrape, Mr. Singleton!
+Why, what scrape have you helped me out of?'
+
+'I beg your pardon, my dear,' he said hastily. 'I told you we would
+never speak of the matter again, and here I am, like an old fool,
+bringing it up the very first time I meet you.'
+
+Dorothy's face paled.
+
+'Mr. Singleton,' she said, 'I seem to be surrounded by mysteries. Do I
+understand you to say that you have done me some kindness lately--helped
+me out of some scrape?'
+
+'Well, my dear, those were your own words,' he replied, looking
+surprised in turn; 'but please do not let us say anything more about
+it.'
+
+Dorothy sat quiet for a minute, then she made a sign to her father, who
+was standing at the other side of the room, to come across to her.
+'Father,' she said, 'will you ask Mr. Singleton to drive home with us; I
+am afraid there is some fresh trouble, and, at any rate, I must speak to
+him, and this is not the place for questions. Please let us go as soon
+as the carriage comes. Now, will you please go away, Mr. Singleton, and
+leave me to myself for a minute or two, for my head is in a whirl?'
+
+'But, my dear,' he began, but was stopped by an impatient wave of
+Dorothy's hand.
+
+'What is it, Singleton?' Mr. Hawtrey asked, as they went across the
+room.
+
+'I am completely puzzled,' he replied; 'what Dorothy means by asking me
+to come with you, and to answer questions, is a complete mystery to me.
+Please don't ask me any questions now. I have evidently put my foot into
+it somehow, though I have not the least idea how.'
+
+Ten minutes later the carriage was announced. As she took her place in
+it, Dorothy said, 'Don't ask any questions until we are at home.'
+
+The two men were far too puzzled to talk on any indifferent subject. Not
+a word was spoken until they arrived at Chester Square.
+
+'Has Mrs. Daintree gone to bed?' Dorothy asked the footman.
+
+'Yes, Miss Hawtrey; she went a quarter of an hour ago.'
+
+'Are the lights still burning in the drawing-room?'
+
+'Yes, miss.'
+
+They went upstairs.
+
+'Now, Dorothy, what does all this mean?' her father asked, impatiently.
+
+'That is what we have got to learn, father. Mr. Singleton congratulated
+me on having recovered my spirits, and took some credit to himself for
+having helped me out of a scrape. As I do not in the least know what he
+means, I want him to give you and me the particulars.'
+
+'But, my dear Dorothy,' Mr. Singleton said, 'why on earth do you ask me
+that question? Surely you cannot wish me to mention anything about that
+trifling affair.'
+
+'But I do, Mr. Singleton. You do not know the position in which I am
+placed at present. I am surrounded by mysteries, I am accused of things
+I never did. Now it seems as if there were a fresh one; possibly if you
+tell us the exact particulars of what you were speaking of it may help
+us to get to the bottom of it.'
+
+'I don't understand it in the least,' Mr. Singleton said, gravely. 'You
+are quite sure, Dorothy, that you wish me to repeat before your father
+the exact details of our interview?'
+
+'If you please, Mr. Singleton; every little minute particular.'
+
+'Of course I will do as you wish, my dear,' the old gentleman said,
+kindly, 'it seems to me madness, but if you really wish it I will do so.
+If I make any mistake correct me at once. Well, this is the story,
+Hawtrey. I need not tell you it would never have passed my lips, except
+at Dorothy's request. A short time since, a fortnight or three weeks, I
+cannot tell you the day exactly, my servant brought me up word that a
+lady wished to see me. She had given no name, but I supposed it was one
+of these charity collecting women, so I told her to show her in. To my
+surprise it was Miss Dorothy. After shaking hands she sat down, and to
+my astonishment burst into tears. It was some time before I could pacify
+her, and get her to tell me what was the matter; then she told me that
+she had got into a dreadful scrape, that she dared not tell you, that it
+would be ruin to her, and that she had come to me as one of her oldest
+friends, to ask me if I could help her to get out of it.
+
+'Of course, I said I would do anything, and at last, with great
+difficulty, and after another burst of crying, she told me that she must
+have a thousand pounds to save her. She said something about wanting to
+pawn some of her jewels, but this would not come to enough. Of course, I
+pooh-poohed this, and said that I was very sorry to hear that she had
+got into a scrape, but that a thousand pounds were a trifle to me in
+comparison to the happiness of the daughter of an old friend. She was
+very reluctant to receive it, and wanted, at least, to pawn her jewels
+for two or three hundred pounds, but I said that that was nonsense, and
+eventually I drew a cheque for a thousand pounds, which I made payable
+to Mary Brown or bearer, as I, naturally, did not wish her name to
+appear at all in the matter.
+
+'She was most grateful for it. I told her that, of course, I should
+never allude to the matter again, and that she was not to trouble about
+it in the slightest, for that I had put her down for five thousand
+pounds in my will and would change the figure to four, so that she would
+only be getting the money a little earlier than I had intended. This
+evening, unfortunately, I was stupid enough, in saying that I was
+pleased to see her looking more like her old self, to add that I was
+glad to know that I had been the means of helping my little favourite
+out of a scrape. It was stupid of me, I admit, to have even thus far
+broken my promise never to allude to the thing again, but why she should
+have insisted upon my telling a story--painful to both of us--to you, is
+altogether beyond my comprehension.'
+
+Mr. Hawtrey was too much astonished to ask any questions, but looked
+helplessly at Dorothy, who said quietly--
+
+'Thank you for telling the story, Mr. Singleton, and thank you still
+more for so generously coming, as you believed, to my assistance. You
+cannot remember exactly which day it was?'
+
+'No, my dear, but I could see the date on the counterfoil of my
+cheque-book.'
+
+'Was it the fifteenth of last month, Mr. Singleton?'
+
+'Fifteenth? Well, I cannot say exactly, but it would be somewhere about
+that time.'
+
+'And about what time of day?'
+
+'Some time in the afternoon, I know; somewhere between three and four, I
+should say. I know I had not been back long after lunching at the
+Travellers'. I generally leave there about three, and it is not more
+than five minutes' walk up to the Albany.'
+
+'Now, father, please tell Mr. Singleton about Gilliat's.'
+
+'But, Dorothy,' Mr. Singleton exclaimed, when he heard the story, 'it is
+absolutely impossible that you could have done such a thing.'
+
+'It seems to me impossible, Mr. Singleton, but here is the evidence of
+two people that I did do it; and now I have your evidence that on the
+same afternoon I came to you and obtained a thousand pounds from you.
+Either those two men were dreaming or out of their minds, and you were
+dreaming or out of your mind, or I am out of my mind and do things
+unconsciously. My own belief is that I can account for my whole
+afternoon,' and she repeated the details that she had given her father
+as to her movements. 'But even if I could have done these things without
+knowing it, where are the jewels and where is the cheque?'
+
+'The cheque was presented next day and paid. It came back with my bank
+book at the end of the month.'
+
+'It is not often I go out in the morning,' Dorothy said, 'and I should
+think I could prove that I did not do so on the morning of the 16th; but
+I cannot be sure if, in a state of somnambulism or in a sort of trance,
+I did not call at the jewellers and on you. I might, had I gone out,
+have changed that cheque in a similar state. That would have been a
+straightforward thing, but how could I get rid of the jewels? If I had
+them now and wanted to raise money on them I should not have the least
+idea how to do so, and I could hardly have carried out such a scheme in
+a state of unconsciousness. The jewellers say I was dressed in a blue
+dress with red spots, and I went out in a gown of that pattern on that
+day.'
+
+'I did not notice the dress particularly,' Mr. Singleton said, 'but it
+was certainly a blue of some sort. Of course it is quite out of the
+question that you could have done all these things unconsciously; but
+what does it all mean? I am absolutely bewildered.'
+
+'We have only one theory to account for it, Singleton. We believe, in
+fact we are positively convinced, that there is somewhere a girl so
+exactly resembling Dorothy that even those who know her well, like
+yourself, might take one for the other, and that she and perhaps an
+accomplice are taking advantage of this likeness to personate Dorothy.
+They have even gone the length of having a dress made exactly like hers.
+I will now tell you the real history of that affair that got into the
+papers. You will see that the party we believe to be at the bottom of it
+would know, or would have means of finding out, that Gilliat was our
+family jeweller, and that you were an intimate friend. Our theory is
+that revenge as well as plunder was the motive, and that the first part
+of the affair was simply an endeavour to injure Dorothy, and to suggest
+a motive for her need of money just at this time.'
+
+'It is an extraordinary story,' Mr. Singleton said, when he heard it
+all. 'I cannot doubt that it is as you suggest. That my little Dorothy
+should behave in this way is too ridiculous to be believed for a moment;
+though I own that I should have been ready, if obliged, to swear in
+court that it was she who came to me.'
+
+'Did she wear a veil?' Dorothy asked, suddenly. 'I forgot to ask Mr.
+Gilliat that.'
+
+'Yes, she had a veil on and kept it down all the time. It was a warm day
+and I rather wondered afterwards at your wearing it, for I do not think
+I ever saw you in a veil. But I supposed that you did not want to be
+seen coming up to me, and that perhaps you felt that you could tell your
+story more easily behind it.'
+
+'Was it a thick veil?'
+
+'No, it seemed to me the usual sort of thing ladies wear.'
+
+'Did you notice anything particular about the voice?'
+
+Mr. Singleton thought for a minute. 'I did not notice anything at the
+time. Of course it differed from your ordinary voice as I am accustomed
+to hear it. You see she was crying, with a handkerchief up to her face,
+and spoke low and hesitatingly. All of which changes the voice. I never
+doubted it was you, you see, and as I had never heard you speak in low,
+broken tones, sobbing and crying, any difference there may have been did
+not strike me.'
+
+'But altogether, Mr. Singleton, even now that I declare that I was not
+the person who called upon you, you can, thinking it over, see nothing
+that would lead you to doubt that it was myself.'
+
+Mr. Singleton shook his head. 'No, Dorothy, I am sorry to say that I
+cannot. Your word is quite sufficient for me, and I feel as certain that
+this woman was an impostor as if she herself came forward to own it. The
+likeness, however, in figure and in face was extraordinary, although I
+admit that the veil made an alteration in the face. It always does. I
+frequently pass ladies I know well, and if they have thick veils down do
+not recognise them until they bow and smile. There was just that
+difference between the face and yours as I usually see it. I can
+remember now that as you, or rather this woman came into the room, I did
+not for the first instant recognise her owing to the veil; it was but
+momentarily, just the same hesitation I have so often felt before,
+neither more nor less.'
+
+'However, it was possible, Mr. Singleton, that the resemblance may not
+have been absolutely perfect, and that had she not had a veil on you
+would have seen it at once.'
+
+'That is possible, quite possible,' Mr. Singleton assented.
+
+'And now, Singleton, as an old friend, tell me what is to be done.
+To-day we had all but settled that I should pay the value of those
+diamonds to Gilliat. Dorothy has been anxious that I should fight the
+case, but Levine, into whose hands I put myself, and Danvers, who would
+have been one of our counsel, were both so strongly of opinion that we
+had no chance whatever of getting a verdict, and that it would greatly
+damage Dorothy, that I persuaded her to let me pay. But, you see, this
+affair of yours changes the position of affairs altogether. As she has
+victimised you, so she may victimise others of my friends, as well as
+other tradesmen, and it seems to me that the only way to put a stop to
+that will be publicity.'
+
+'I think, Hawtrey, that the first person to be consulted in the matter
+is Lord Halliburn. You see this game may go on again in the future on
+even a larger scale, for the Countess of Halliburn's orders would be
+fulfilled without a moment's hesitation by any tradesman in London.'
+
+'There is no need to consult him, Singleton; Dorothy broke off the
+engagement with him this morning. You need not commiserate her,' he went
+on, as Mr. Singleton was about to express his deep regret. 'I may tell
+you, as an old friend, that there were perhaps other reasons besides
+these troubles, and that, for myself, I am heartily glad that the
+engagement is at an end.'
+
+'Well, if that is the case, I may say I am glad too, Hawtrey. Of course,
+the match was a good one, but I never altogether fancied it, and had
+always felt some disappointment that my little favourite should be, as I
+thought, making a match for position instead of for love. So it was
+that, young lady, and not, as I was fool enough to fancy, getting out of
+a money scrape, that made you so bright and like yourself at dinner this
+evening?'
+
+Dorothy smiled faintly.
+
+'It was getting out of a scrape, you see, Mr. Singleton, although not
+the one you thought of. I think you are a little hard on me. I certainly
+should not have accepted Lord Halliburn unless at the time I had thought
+I liked him very much; but I think that during the trouble I had I came
+to see that something more than liking is necessary, and that a man who
+may be a very pleasant member of society would not necessarily make so
+pleasant a partner in life.'
+
+'Well, now as to your advice, Singleton.'
+
+'I can give none, Hawtrey. The matter is too important and too much out
+of my line for my opinion to be worth a fig; but I will tell you what I
+will do. It is clear that you must see Levine and tell him about this
+affair; if you write and make an appointment with him to-morrow, say at
+twelve o'clock, I will call here at half-past eleven and go with you. If
+you will take my advice you will take Dorothy with you. Levine is pretty
+well accustomed to read faces, and I think he will be more likely to
+take our view of the matter when he has once seen her. You may as well
+sit down and write a note at once; I will post it as I drive back. I
+think, too, I would write to Danvers and ask him to be there; he is a
+clever young fellow, and his opinion may help us. While you are writing
+I will get Dorothy to tell your footman to whistle for a hansom for me.'
+
+
+END OF THE FIRST VOLUME
+
+
+
+
+NEW LIBRARY NOVELS.
+
+
+THE ONE TOO MANY. By E. Lynn Linton.
+
+IN DIREST PERIL. By David Christie Murray.
+
+THE TIGER LILY: a Tale of Two Passions. By G. Manville Fenn.
+
+THE RED-HOUSE MYSTERY. By Mrs. Hungerford.
+
+THE COMMON ANCESTOR. By John Hill.
+
+DOROTHY'S DOUBLE. By G. A. Henty.
+
+CHRISTINA CHARD. By Mrs. Campbell Praed.
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Dorothy's Double, by G. A. Henty
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