med an eternity before
I reached the house and rang the bell. The butler opened the door, and
was evidently surprised to see me. "Is Mr. Wetherell at home?" I asked.

For a moment he looked doubtful as to what he should say, then
compromising matters, answered that he would see.

"I know what that means," I said in reply. "Mr. Wetherell is in, but you
don't think he'll see me. But he must! I have news for him of the very
utmost importance. Will you tell him that?"

He left me and went along the hall and upstairs. Presently he returned,
shaking his head.

"I am very sorry, sir, but Mr. Wetherell's answer is, if you have
anything to tell him you must put it in writing; he cannot see you."

"But he must! In this case I can accept no refusal. Tell him, will you,
that the matter upon which I wish to speak to him has nothing whatsoever
to do with the request I made to him this morning. I pledge him my word
on that."

Again the butler departed, and once more I was left to cool my heels in
the portico. When he returned it was with a smile upon his face. "Mr.
Wetherell will be glad if you will step this way, sir."

I followed him along the hall and up the massive stone staircase.
Arriving at the top he opened a door on the left-hand side and announced
"Mr. Hatteras."

I found Mr. Wetherell seated in a low chair opposite the fire, and from
the fact that his right foot was resting on a sort of small trestle, I
argued that he was suffering from an attack of his old enemy the gout.

"Be good enough to take a chair, Mr. Hatteras," he said, when the door
had been closed. "I must own I am quite at a loss to understand what you
can have to tell me of so much importance as to bring you to my house at
this time of night."

"I think I shall be able to satisfy you on that score, Mr. Wetherell," I
replied, taking the _Evening Mercury_ from my pocket and smoothing it
out. "In the first place, will you be good enough to tell me if there is
any truth in the inference contained in that paragraph."

I handed the paper to him and pointed to the lines in question. Having
put on his glasses he examined it carefully. "I am sorry they should
have made it public so soon, I must admit," he said. "But I don't deny
that there is a considerable amount of truth in what that paragraph
reports."

"You mean by that that you intend to try and marry Phyllis to the
Marquis of Beckenham?"

"The young man has paid her a very considerable amount of a