pretty and high-spirited girl of nineteen,
he devoted himself to the parish, and in return enjoyed great
popularity.

Life at the vicarage was an ideal of domestic happiness. Mr. and Mrs.
Crayne were devoted to each other and to their daughter, and she to
them. Muriel Crayne had grown up among the villagers, devoting
herself to parish work as soon as she was old enough to do so. She
seemed to find her life sufficient for her needs, and many were the
comparisons drawn by other parents in Gylston between the vicar's
daughter and their own restless offspring.

A year previously a new curate had arrived in the person of the Rev.
Charles Blade. His frank, straightforward personality, coupled with
his good looks and masculine bearing, had caused him to be greatly
liked, not only by the vicar and his family, but by all the
parishioners.

Suddenly and without warning the peace of the vicarage was destroyed.
One morning Mr. Crayne received by post an anonymous letter, in
which the names of his daughter and the curate were linked together
in a way that caused him both pain, and anxiety.

A man with a strong sense of honour himself, he cordially despised
the anonymous letter-writer, and his first instinct had been to
ignore that which he had just received. On second thoughts, however,
he reasoned that the writer would be unlikely to rest content with a
single letter; but would, in all probability, make the same
calumnious statements to others.

After consulting with his wife, he had reluctantly questioned his
daughter. At first she was inclined to treat the matter lightly; but
on the grave nature of the accusations being pointed out to her, she
had become greatly embarrassed and assured him that the curate had
never been more than ordinarily attentive to her.

The vicar decided to allow the matter to rest there, and accordingly
he made no mention of the letter to Blade.

A week later his daughter brought him a letter she had found lying
in the vicarage grounds. It contained a passionate declaration of
love, and ended with a threat of what might happen if the writer's
passion were not reciprocated.

Although the letter was unsigned, the vicar could not disguise from
himself the fact that there was a marked similarity between the
handwriting of the two anonymous letters and that of his curate. He
decided, therefore, to ask Blade if he could throw any light on the
matter.

At first the young man had appeared bewildered;