you preferred to ignore this part
of the affair----'

'I did,' she interrupted, with gentle dignity, reminding me of her
aunt. 'I confess that at first I felt sore and sensitive about my poor
letter, but that is over, Mr. Masters; you have made me again and
again your debtor, even by that act, as I now see clearly. Let us not
refer to that letter again.'

'But I must once more at least, and I beg you to bear with me if I
seem unduly meddling with your affairs; they are our friend's affairs
too, and I believe he has been grievously wronged.'

'Wronged?' She started, and her face flushed and paled in the same
moment. 'How--how?'

'I will tell you. You may not be aware how much a few written lines
can sometimes convey to one in my profession, especially when written
by one who speaks frankly, as friend to friend; and when I had read
that portion of your letter which describes the scene in the
conservatory, I seemed to see it all.' I was speaking with my eyes
upon the ripples of the little stream at our feet, into which, from
time to time, I tossed a leaf or twig from the branches just overhead.

'When I had read that portion of the letter, Miss Jenrys,' I went on,
'before I had seen you or Lossing, I said to myself, "She has been
deceived--tricked!"'

'Tricked?' she whispered through pale lips, and then she drew herself
erect, and awaited my next words.

'Miss Jenrys, I believe you know now whom I am about to accuse.
Yesterday I had a talk with Lossing, as long as the doctor would
permit, and I, on my part, took him quite into my confidence. He knows
me for what I am; he knows what I am doing. I told him, after
consulting you, the story of the letter--of the brunette--everything.
Was I wrong?'

'No,' very slowly.

'And last I told him that I believed someone had played him a
dastardly trick. Shall I tell you what he said to me?'

'Yes.'

'He swore that the words you heard behind the palms were never
uttered by him; that he saw only you and one other in the
conservatory.'

She clasped her two hands in her lap, and I saw that they trembled
slightly; but her voice was low and calm when she turned to me and
said:

'If he tells me this, I shall believe him.' And then, after a moment
of silence, 'How was it done?' she asked.

'Can you not imagine a rival overhearing, perhaps, the appointment in
the conservatory? If he is a good mimic or a ventriloquist, say, it
would be easy to utter a few words behind the