orn--a lie
which records her death has been written on her mother's tomb--and
there are two men, alive and unpunished, who are responsible for it.
That house shall open again to receive her in the presence of every
soul who followed the false funeral to the grave--that lie shall be
publicly erased from the tombstone by the authority of the head of the
family, and those two men shall answer for their crime to ME, though
the justice that sits in tribunals is powerless to pursue them. I have
given my life to that purpose, and, alone as I stand, if God spares me,
I will accomplish it."

He drew back towards his table, and said nothing. His face showed
plainly that he thought my delusion had got the better of my reason,
and that he considered it totally useless to give me any more advice.

"We each keep our opinion, Mr. Kyrle," I said, "and we must wait till
the events of the future decide between us. In the meantime, I am much
obliged to you for the attention you have given to my statement. You
have shown me that the legal remedy lies, in every sense of the word,
beyond our means. We cannot produce the law proof, and we are not rich
enough to pay the law expenses. It is something gained to know that."

I bowed and walked to the door. He called me back and gave me the
letter which I had seen him place on the table by itself at the
beginning of our interview.

"This came by post a few days ago," he said. "Perhaps you will not
mind delivering it? Pray tell Miss Halcombe, at the same time, that I
sincerely regret being, thus far, unable to help her, except by advice,
which will not be more welcome, I am afraid, to her than to you."

I looked at the letter while he was speaking. It was addressed to
"Miss Halcombe. Care of Messrs. Gilmore & Kyrle, Chancery Lane." The
handwriting was quite unknown to me.

On leaving the room I asked one last question.

"Do you happen to know," I said, "if Sir Percival Glyde is still in
Paris?"

"He has returned to London," replied Mr. Kyrle. "At least I heard so
from his solicitor, whom I met yesterday."

After that answer I went out.

On leaving the office the first precaution to be observed was to
abstain from attracting attention by stopping to look about me. I
walked towards one of the quietest of the large squares on the north of
Holborn, then suddenly stopped and turned round at a place where a long
stretch of pavement was left behind me.

There were two men at the