nder distressing
circumstances. He made him a present of money before leaving and
promised him testimonials if he should need them. As for Jenny, she
was to enjoy the bequest under her grandfather's will when she
desired to do so, while for her future, her uncle trusted that she
would make her home with him.

He soon departed and the Redmayne inquiry, begun with much zest and
determination, gradually faded away and perished of inanition. No
solitary clue or indication of progress rewarded the investigations.
Robert Redmayne had vanished off the face of the earth and his
brother with him. There remained of the family only Albert and his
niece--a fact she imparted, not without melancholy, to Mark Brendon,
when the day came that he must take his leave of her and return to
other and more profitable fields of work.

He urged her to join her uncle as soon as possible and he begged her
to accept his willing service in any way within his power; while she
was gracious and thanked him for all that he had done.

"I shall never, never forget your patience and your great goodness,"
she said. "I am indeed grateful, Mr. Brendon, and I hope, if only
for your sake, that time will lay bare the truth of these horrible
things. To know that good men, against whom there was no grudge or
hate in the world, have been murdered by their fellow men--it is a
nightmare. But God will bring the truth to light--I feel positive of
that."

He left her more deeply in love than ever; but there seemed no note
of hope or promise in their farewell. And yet he felt a profound
conviction that they would meet again. She undertook to acquaint him
with her movements and was not sure that she would accept Albert
Redmayne's invitation to join him. So Mark left her, believing that
Doria was certain to determine her future and guessing that, if she
presently proceeded to Como, the lively and indomitable Italian
would quickly follow.

For the present, however, Giuseppe seemed to be concerned with his
own affairs. He brought Brendon back on his last journey from
"Crow's Nest" in the launch and explained that he had already found
good work beside the Thames.

"We shall, I hope, meet again," he said, "and you may hear presently
of a very wonderful adventure in which Doria shall be l'allegro--the
merry man and the hero!"

They talked and Mark became impatient under a growing consciousness
that the quicker-witted spirit was pulling his leg. Doria preserved
the b