how one of the
survivors was moving heaven and earth to find her, but hadn't succeeded;
and how, if the case had been given to him, he would have done thus and
so--for she never could have escaped _him_. And there I was almost under
his very nose!--yes, then and many a time after!"

"It's the funniest thing I ever heard!" cried Donald, enjoying the joke
immensely, and convulsed to think of Mr. Wogg's disgust when he should
learn these simple facts.

"Poor old Wogg!" he said. "It will almost kill him."

"I tell you, Mr. Donald," continued Madame Rene, earnestly, though she
had laughed with him, "I listened then for every word that man might
say. I longed to ask questions, but I did not dare. I heard enough,
though, to know they were looking for me, and it frightened me
dreadfully.

"Well, as soon as we were married--Edouard and I--we went to my old
home, and I made my peace with my poor old parents--Heaven be
praised!--and comforted their last days. Then we went about through
French, Swiss, and German towns, taking pictures. I helped Edouard with
the work, and my English and French served us in many ways. But we found
it hard getting a living, and at last my poor man sickened. I felt that
nothing would help him but the baths at Aix-la-Chapelle; and so did he.
We managed to work our way there, and once safe at Aix, I found
employment as a _doucheuse_ in the baths."

"What is that, please?" asked Don.

"The _doucheuse_ is the bath-woman who attends specially to ladies. My
earnings enabled my poor husband to stay and take the waters; and when
he grow better, as he did, he got a situation with a photographer in the
town. But it was only for a while. He sickened again--Heaven rest and
bless his precious soul!--and soon passed away like a little child. I
couldn't bear Aix then, and so I went with a family to Paris, and
finally became a visiting dressmaker. My poor husband always called me
Elise; and so Madame Elise Rene could go where she pleased without any
fear of the detectives finding her. At last, only the other day, I
picked up a French newspaper, and there I chanced to see your notice
about Ellen Lee, and I answered it."

"Bless you for that!" said Donald, heartily. "But had you never seen any
other? We advertised often for Ellen Lee in the London and Liverpool
papers."

"No, I never saw one, sir; and, to tell the truth, I hated to remember
that I had ever been called Ellen Lee, for it brought back the though