is
inquiry. "She was a pretty Italian girl who had run away from her own
country, wasn't she? Would the gentleman kindly walk in? and she would
willingly respond to any further questions he might wish to ask."

Roy followed her into a handsomely-furnished parlor, that was
separated from another by elegant portieres, which, however, were
closely drawn, thus concealing the room beyond.

"Yes," madam continued, "the girl had a child--a boy--a fine little
fellow, whom she called Ino, and she did remember that a gentleman
visited them occasionally--the girl's brother, cousin, or some other
relation, she believed"--with a look of perplexity that would lead one
to infer that such visits had been so rare she found it difficult to
place the gentleman at all.

"No, she did not even know his name, and she had never heard him admit
that the girl was his wife--certainly not!--nor the child call him
father or papa. There had always been something mysterious about
Giulia, but she had appeared to have plenty of money, and had paid her
well, and thus she had not concerned herself about her private
affairs."

Roy's heart grew cold and heavy within him as he listened to these
suave and evasive replies to his every question.

It was evident to him that she had already received instructions what
to say in the event of such a visit, and was paid liberally to carry
them out.

He spent nearly an hour with her trying to make her contradict or
commit herself in some way, but she never once made a mistake; her
answers were very pat and to the point, and he knew no more when he
arose to leave than he had known when he entered the house.

He was very heavy-hearted--indeed, a feeling of despair began to
settle down upon him; for, unless he could prove that Emil Correlli
had taken Giulia Fiorini to that house, and lived with her there as
her husband, he felt that he had very little to hope for regarding his
future with Edith.

Madam ushered him out as courteously as she had invited him in,
regretting exceedingly that she could not give him all the information
he desired, and hoped that the matter was not so important as to cause
him any especial annoyance.

She even inquired if he knew where Giulia was at that time, remarking
that she "had been invariably sweet-tempered and lady-like, and she
should always feel an interest in her, in spite of a certain air of
mystery that seemed to envelop her."

But the moment the door closed after her