things, the better."

Their host turned towards the butler, who was arranging a tray upon the
sideboard.

"You must permit me to offer you some refreshments after your journey," he
begged. "Then I will tell you the whole story. I think you will agree,
when you hear it, that no particular blame can be said to rest upon any
one's shoulders. It was simply an extraordinary interposition of chance.
There is tea, whisky and soda, and wine here, Mr. Quest. Edgar, I know
you'll take some tea."

"English tea for me," the Professor remarked, watching the cream.

"Whisky and soda here," Quest decided.

Lord Ashleigh himself attended to the wants of his guests. Then, at his
instigation, they made themselves comfortable in easy-chairs and he
commenced his narration.

"You know, of course," he began, "that Craig was arrested at Liverpool in
consequence of communications from the New York police. I understand that
it was with great difficulty he was discovered, and it is quite clear that
some one on the ship had been heavily bribed. However, he was arrested,
brought to London, and then down here for purposes of identification. I
would have gone to London myself, and in fact offered to do so, but on the
other hand, as there are many others on the estate to whom he was
well-known, I thought that it would be better to have more evidence than
mine alone. Accordingly, they left London one afternoon, and I sent a
dogcart to the station to meet them. They arrived quite safely and started
for here, Craig handcuffed to one of the Scotland Yard men on the back
seat, and the other in front with the driver. About half a mile from the
south entrance to the park, the road runs across a rather desolate strip
of country with a lot of low undergrowth on one side. We have had a little
trouble with poachers, as there is a sort of gipsy camp on some common
land a short distance away. My head-keeper, to whom the very idea of a
poacher is intolerable, was patrolling this ground himself that afternoon,
and caught sight of one of these gipsy fellows setting a trap. He chased
him, and more, I am sure, to frighten him than anything else, when he saw
that the fellow was getting away he fired his gun, just as the dog-cart
was passing. The horse shied, the wheel caught a great stone by the side
of the road, and all four men were thrown out. The man to whom Craig was
handcuffed was stunned, but Craig himself appears to have been unhurt. He
jumped up, took t