ce and seated me
in a pew, which I was happy to see commanded a fine view of the chancel.

I was early, but then I always am early, and having ample opportunity
for observation, I noted every fine detail of ornamentation with
approval, Miss Althorpe's taste being of that fine order which always
falls short of ostentation. Her friends are in very many instances my
friends, and it was no small part of my pleasure to note their
well-known faces among the crowd of those that were strange to me. That
the scene was brilliant, and that silks, satins, and diamonds abounded,
goes without saying.

At last the church was full, and the hush which usually precedes the
coming of the bride was settling over the whole assemblage, when I
suddenly observed, in the person of a respectable-looking gentleman
seated in a side pew, the form and features of Mr. Gryce, the detective.
This was a shock to me, yet what was there in his presence there to
alarm me? Might not Miss Althorpe have accorded him this pleasure out of
the pure goodness of her heart? I did not look at anybody else, however,
after once my eyes fell upon him, but continued to watch his expression,
which was non-commital, though a little anxious for one engaged in a
purely social function.

The entrance of the clergyman and the sudden peal of the organ in the
well-known wedding march recalled my attention to the occasion itself,
and as at that moment the bridegroom stepped from the vestry to await
his bride at the altar, I was absorbed by his fine appearance and the
air of mingled pride and happiness with which he watched the stately
approach of the bridal procession.

But suddenly there was a stir through the whole glittering assemblage,
and the clergyman made a move and the bridegroom gave a start, and the
sound, slight as it was, of moving feet grew still, and I saw advancing
from the door on the opposite side of the altar a second bride, clad in
white and surrounded by a long veil which completely hid her face. A
second bride! and the first was half-way up the aisle, and only one
bridegroom stood ready!

The clergyman, who seemed to have as little command of his faculties as
the rest of us, tried to speak; but the approaching woman, upon whom
every regard was fixed, forestalled him by an authoritative gesture.

Advancing towards the chancel, she took her place on the spot reserved
for Miss Althorpe.

Silence had filled the church up to this moment; but at this audac