at a message from Hugh?"

"No--not exactly. It is a message from one who is his friend."

"You are very mysterious," she declared. "If you do not know where he is
at the moment, perhaps you know where we can find him later."

"Yes. He is making his way to Brussels. A letter addressed to Mr.
Godfrey Brown, Poste Restante, Brussels, will eventually find him.
Recollect the name," he added. "Disguise your handwriting on the
envelope, and when you post it see that you are not observed. Recollect
that his safety lies in your hands."

"Trust me," she said. "But do let me know your name," she implored.

"Any old name is good enough for me," he replied. "Call me Mr. X."

"Don't mystify me further, please."

"Well, call me Smith, Jones, Robinson--whatever you like."

"Then you refuse to satisfy my curiosity--eh?"

"I regret that I am compelled to do so--for certain reasons."

"Are you a detective?" Dorise suddenly inquired.

The stranger laughed.

"If I were a police officer I should scarcely act as an intermediary
between Mr. Henfrey and yourself, Miss Ranscomb."

"But you say he is innocent. Are you certain of that? May I set my mind
at rest that he never committed this crime of which the police suspect
him?" she asked eagerly.

"Yes. I repeat that he is entirely innocent," was the earnest response.
"But I would advise you to affect ignorance. The police may question
you. If they do, you know nothing, remember--absolutely nothing. If you
write to Mr. Henfrey, take every precaution that nobody sees you post
the letter. Give him a secret address in London, or anywhere in England,
so that he can write to you there."

"But how long will it be before I can see him again?"

"Ah! That I cannot tell. There is a mystery underlying it all that even
I cannot fathom, Miss Ranscomb."

"What kind of mystery?"

The white cavalier shrugged his shoulders.

"You must ask Mr. Henfrey. Or perhaps his friend Brock knows. Yet if he
does, I do not suppose he would disclose anything his friend may have
told him in confidence."

"I am bewildered!" the girl declared. "It is all so very
mysterious--Hugh a fugitive from justice! I--I really cannot believe it!
What can the mystery be?"

"Of that I have no means of ascertaining, Miss Ranscomb. I am here
merely to tell you what has happened and to give you in secret the name
and address to which to send a letter to him," the masked man said
very politely. "And now I think we must pa