aper containing a notice of the
vacancy here. That of course was just to set him thinking about it.
The next Sunday Schumann motored down to his parish, saw for himself
that the resemblance to me was actually quite remarkable, and then
after service made the minister's acquaintance. Imagine the good Mr
Burnett's surprise and interest when this pleasant stranger proved to
be intimately acquainted with the vacant parish of Myredale, and
described it as a second Garden of Eden! Before they parted Schumann
saw that the fish was hooked.

"The next problem was how to make the real Burnett vanish into space,
and substitute the false Burnett without raising a trace of suspicion
till my visit here was safely over. Again luck was with us. We sent
an agent down to make inquiries of his servant a few days before he
started, and found that he was going to spend a night with a friend in
Edinburgh on his way north."

Tiel paused to knock the ashes out of his pipe, and I remarked--

"At first sight I confess that seems to me to complicate the problem.
You would have to wait till Burnett had left Edinburgh, wouldn't you?"

Tiel smiled and shook his head.

"That is what we thought ourselves at first," said he, "but our second
thoughts were better. What do you think of a wire to Burnett from his
friend in Edinburgh telling him that a Mr Taylor would call for him in
his motor-car: plus a wire to the friend in Edinburgh from Mr Burnett
regretting that his visit must be postponed?"

"Excellent!" I laughed.

"Each wire, I may add, contained careful injunctions not to reply. And
I may also add that the late Mr Burnett was simplicity itself."

I started involuntarily.

"The 'late' Mr Burnett! Do you mean----"

"What else could one do with him?" asked Tiel calmly. "Both Schumann
and I believe in being thorough."

Of course this worthy pair were but doing their duty. Still I was glad
to think they had done their dirty work without my assistance, It was
with a conscious effort that I was able to ask calmly--

"How did you manage it?"

"Mr Taylor, with his car and his chauffeur, called at the manse. The
chauffeur remained in the car, keeping his face unostentatiously
concealed. Mr Taylor enjoyed the minister's hospitality till the
evening had sufficiently fallen. Then we took him to Edinburgh by the
coast road."

Tiel paused and looked at me, as though to see how I was enjoying the
gruesome tale. I am afraid I made i