made the inevitable confession before your marriage. I am, in
some degree, answerable for your not having done this--as well as for
the far more serious dilemma with Miss Silvester in which you now
stand. If I had not innocently hastened your marriage with Blanche,
Miss Silvester's admirable letter would have reached us in ample time to
prevent mischief. It's useless to dwell on that now. Cheer up, Arnold!
I am bound to show you the way out of the labyrinth, no matter what the
difficulties may be--and, please God, I will do it!"

He pointed to a table at the other end of the room, on which writing
materials were placed. "I hate moving the moment I have had my
breakfast," he said. "We won't go into the library. Bring me the pen and
ink here."

"Are you going to write to Miss Silvester?"

"That is the question before us which we have not settled yet. Before
I decide, I want to be in possession of the facts--down to the smallest
detail of what took place between you and Miss Silvester at the inn.
There is only one way of getting at those facts. I am going to examine
you as if I had you before me in the witness-box in court."

With that preface, and with Arnold's letter from Baden in his hand as a
brief to speak from, Sir Patrick put his questions in clear and endless
succession; and Arnold patiently and faithfully answered them all.

The examination proceeded uninterruptedly until it had reached that
point in the progress of events at which Anne had crushed Geoffrey
Delamayn's letter in her hand, and had thrown it from her indignantly to
the other end of the room. There, for the first time, Sir Patrick
dipped his pen in the ink, apparently intending to take a note. "Be very
careful here," he said; "I want to know every thing that you can tell me
about that letter."

"The letter is lost," said Arnold.

"The letter has been stolen by Bishopriggs," returned Sir Patrick, "and
is in the possession of Bishopriggs at this moment."

"Why, you know more about it than I do!" exclaimed Arnold.

"I sincerely hope not. I don't know what was inside the letter. Do you?"

"Yes. Part of it at least."

"Part of it?"

"There were two letters written, on the same sheet of paper," said
Arnold. "One of them was written by Geoffrey Delamayn--and that is the
one I know about."

Sir Patrick started. His face brightened; he made a hasty note. "Go on,"
he said, eagerly. "How came the letters to be written on the same sheet?
Explain t