suspecting that the letter to which he
alluded had been delivered at the Yard after the superintendent's
departure, jumped into the breach and saved the situation.

"Very good of you indeed to place such great reliance in me, Mr.
Carruthers," he said. "We had to scramble for it, Mr. Narkom and
I--the letter was so late in arriving--but, thank fortune, we managed
to get here, as you see. And now, please, may I have the details of
the case?"

He spoke guardedly, lest it should be upon some matter other than
the interest of the "Golden Boy" and to prevent the Honourable
Felix from guessing that he had already been approached upon that
subject by Lady Essington. It was not some other matter, however.
It was again the mystery of the secret attacks upon his little
lordship he was asked to dispel; and the Honourable Felix, plunging
forthwith into the details connected with it, gave him exactly the
same report as Lady Essington had done.

"Come to the rescue, Mr. Cleek," he finished, rather excitedly. "Both
my wife and I feel that you and you alone are the man to get at the
bottom of this diabolical thing; and the boy is as dear to us as if
he were our own. Help me to get proof--unimpeachable proof--of the
hand which is engineering these diabolical attacks, that we may not
only put an end to them before they go too far, but may avert the
disgrace which publicity must inevitably bring."

"Publicity, Mr. Carruthers? What publicity are you in dread of,
please?"

"That which could only bring shame to a dear, lovable young
fellow if any hint of what I believe to be the truth should get
out, Mr. Cleek," he replied. "To you I may confess it: I appeal to
no medical man because I fear, for young Claude's sake, that
investigation may lead to a discovery of the truth; for both my
wife and I feel--indeed, we almost _know_--that it is his own
grandmother, Lady Essington, who is injuring the boy and that it
will not be long before she attempts to direct suspicion against
_us_."

"Indeed? For what purpose?"

"To have us removed by the courts as not being fit to have the care
of the child, and to get him transferred to her care, that she may
enjoy the revenue from his estate."

"Phew!" whistled Cleek softly. "Well done, my lady!"

"We do our best to keep her from getting at him," went on the
Honourable Felix, "but she succeeds in spite of us. His nursery
was on the same floor as her rooms, but for greater safety I last
night had