topped with a jerk in front of a stone
staircase.

"It cannot be here," said Chester incredulously to himself. "This looks
more like a fine private house than a small country hotel."

"Villa du Lac?" he asked interrogatively, and the cabman said, "_Oui,
M'sieur_."

The Englishman got out of the cab, and ascending the stone steps, rang
the bell. The door opened, and a neat young woman stood before him.

"I am come to see Mrs. Bailey," he said in his slow, hesitating French.

There came a torrent of words, of smiles and nods--it seemed to Chester
of excuses--in which "Madame Bailey" frequently occurred.

He shook his head, helplessly.

"I will call my uncle!"

The maid turned away; and Chester, with an agreeable feeling of relief
that at last his journey was ended, took his bag off the cab, and
dismissed the man.

What a delightful, spacious house! Sylvia had not been so very foolish
after all.

M. Polperro came forward, bowing and smiling.

"M'sieur is the gentleman Madame Bailey has been expecting?" he said,
rubbing his hands. "Oh, how sad she will be that she has already gone to
the Casino! But Madame did wait for M'sieur till half-past nine; then
she concluded that he must mean to spend the night in Paris."

"Do you mean that Mrs. Bailey has gone out?" asked Chester, surprised and
disappointed.

"Yes, M'sieur. Madame has gone out, as she always does in the evening,
to the Casino. It is, as M'sieur doubtless knows, the great attraction
of our delightful and salubrious Lacville."

Chester had not much sense of humour, but he could not help smiling to
himself at the other's pompous words.

"Perhaps you will kindly show me to the room which Mrs. Bailey has
engaged for me," he said, "and then I will go out and try and find her."

M. Polperro burst into a torrent of agitated apologies. There was alas!
no room for Madame Bailey's friend--in fact the Villa du Lac was so
extraordinarily prosperous that there never was a room there from May
till October, unless one of the guests left unexpectedly!

But Mr. Chester--was not that his name?--must not be cast down, for Mrs.
Bailey had secured a beautiful room for him in another pension, a very
inferior pension to the Villa du Lac, but still one in which he would be
comfortable.

Chester now felt annoyed, and showed it. The thought of turning out again
was not a pleasant one.

But what was this funny little Frenchman saying?

"Oh, if M'sieur had only arrive