ffie"--as
that young person ran against them in the hall--"here I am, back again
to tease you, you see."

"Where's Uncle Renshaw, Mr Sellon?" said the child.

Maurice stared. The straight question--the straight look accompanying
it, disconcerted him for a moment.

"Renshaw! Oh, coming on," he answered quickly, "coming on. Be here
soon, I dare say."

He had made the same sort of reply to the same inquiry on the part of
his host. He thought he had done with the subject. It irritated him to
be called upon to repeat the same lie over and over again.

"By the way, Mr Sellon," began the latter, "did you get the letter I
sent you at Maraisdorp?"

"Mister Sellon!" Maurice started. Old Chris, was taking the thing
seriously indeed, he thought with an inward laugh.

"Not I," he answered. "Probably for the best of all possible reasons.
I didn't come through Maraisdorp, or anywhere near it."

"Before going any further, I want you to look at this," said Selwood,
unlocking a small safe and taking out the unfortunate missive. "Wait--
excuse me one moment, I want you to look attentively at the direction
first."

He still held the envelope. Maurice took one glance at the address--the
handwriting--and as he did so his face was not pleasant to behold.

"All right. I know that calligraphy well enough. Ought to by this
time. Ha, ha! So she has been favouring you with her peculiar views on
things in general and me in particular. You ought to feel honoured."

"I? Favouring me?" echoed the other, in a state of amazement.

"Yes--you. I suppose the communication is an interesting one."

"My dear Sellon, look at the address again," said Christopher, handing
him the envelope.

"By Jove! It's for me, after all," looking at it again. "What a treat!
Why the devil can't the woman write legibly!" he muttered. Then aloud:
"Why, it looks exactly as if it was addressed to you, Selwood."

"Ha! I am very glad indeed to hear you say that. I thought the same.
You see, I'd got it mixed up among a crowd of other letters, and opened
it by mistake."

"The devil you did!"

"Yes. I can only tell you how sorry I am, and how I have spent life
cursing my blundering asinine stupidity ever since. But there is
another thing. I feel bound in honour to tell you that I didn't become
aware of the mistake until I had run my eye down the first page. You
will notice there is no beginning. I turned to the signature for
enlightenmen