"Certainly it's true. I supposed you knew it. You didn't seem surprised
when I told you the case was settled."

"Surprised? Why, no! I thought Heman had--Never mind that. Land of love!
SHE did it. She!"

He sat weakly down. The lawyer looked anxious.

"Mr. Tidditt," he whispered, "I think perhaps he had better be left
alone for the present. He's just up from a sick bed, and this has been
a trying forenoon. Come in again this afternoon. I shall try to persuade
him to take a nap."

The Board of Strategy, its curiosity unsatisfied, departed reluctantly.
When Mr. Peabody returned to the sitting room he found that naps were
far, indeed, from the captain's thoughts. The latter was pacing the
sitting-room floor.

"Where is she?" he demanded. "She was standin' on the steps with Heman.
Have you seen her since?"

His friend was troubled.

"Why, yes, I've seen her," he said. "I have been talking with her. She
has gone away."

"Gone AWAY! Where? What do you mean? She ain't--ain't left Bayport?"

"No, no. What in the world should she leave Bayport for? She has gone
to her boarding house, I guess; at all events, she was headed in that
direction."

"Why didn't she shake hands with me? What made her go off and not say a
word? Oh, well, I guess likely I know the why!" He sighed despondently.
"I told her never to come here again."

"You did? What in the world--"

"Well, for what I thought was good reasons; all on her account they was.
And yet she did come back, and kept comin', even after Ase blabbed the
whole thing. However, I s'pose that was just to help Georgianna. Oh,
hum! I AM an old fool."

The lawyer inspected him seriously.

"Well, captain," he said slowly, "if it is any comfort for you to know
that your reason isn't the correct one for Miss Dawes's going away, I
can assure you on that point. I think she went because she was greatly
disappointed, and didn't wish to see you just now."

"Disappointed? What do you mean?"

"Humph! I didn't mean to tell you yet, but I judge that I'd better. No
one knows it here but Miss Dawes and I, and probably no one but us three
need ever know it. You see, the fact is that the Arizona woman, Desire
Higgins, isn't Mrs. Thomas at all. He isn't her missing husband."

"What?"

"Yes, it's so. Really, it was too much of a coincidence to be possible,
and yet it certainly did seem that it would prove true. This Higgins
woman was, apparently, so anxious to find her missing man that