out of his Custody.

And so they departed, glad to have got over the first step so pleasantly.

CHAPTER XVIII.

AUGUSTA FLIES.

Of course, Augusta's story, so far as it was publicly known, had created
no small stir, which was considerably emphasised when pictures of her
appeared in the illustrated papers, and it was discovered that she was
young and charming. But the excitement, great as it was, was as nothing
compared to that which arose when the first whispers of the tale of the
will, which was tattooed upon her shoulders, began to get about.
Paragraphs and stories about this will appeared in the papers, but of
course she took no notice of these.

On the fourth day, however, after she had been photographed for the
purposes of the Registry, things came to a climax. It so happened that on
that morning Lady Holmhurst asked Augusta to go to a certain shop in
Regent-street to get some lace which she required to trim her widow's
dresses, and accordingly at about half-past twelve o'clock she started,
accompanied by the lady's maid. As soon as they shut the front door of
the house in Hanover-square she noticed two or three doubtful-looking men
who were loitering about, and who instantly followed them, staring at her
with all their eyes. She made her way along, however, without taking any
notice until she got to Regent-street, by which time there were quite a
score of people walking after her whispering excitedly at each other. In
Regent-street itself, the first thing that she saw was a man selling
photographs. Evidently he was doing a roaring trade, for there was a
considerable crowd round him, and he was shouting something which she
could not catch. Presently a gentleman, who had bought one of the
photographs, stopped just in front of her to look at it, and as he was
short and Augusta was tall, she could see over his shoulder, and the next
second started back with an indignant exclamation. "No wonder!" for the
photograph was one of herself as she had been taken in the low dress in
the Registry. There was no mistake about it--there was the picture of the
will tattooed right across her shoulders.

Nor did her troubles end there, for at that moment a man came
bawling down the street carrying a number of the first edition of an
evening paper--

"Description and picture of the lovely 'eroine of the Cockatoo," he
yelled, "with the will tattooed upon 'er! Taken from the original
photograph! Facsimile picture!"

"O