I did not interfere.'

"That was another bit of information. Evidently, I looked prosperous, a
fact that was borne out when I examined my purse. I had a considerable
sum in it, and the large valise I found in my room was filled with
expensive clothes and fittings. Yet where I had obtained it or my money
or my clothes I could not tell for the life of me. All I knew was that
I was there on board the ship."

"And did you change your stateroom?" asked Ruth.

"Yes; the purser gave me another one. And then I sat down and tried to
puzzle it out. Why was I going to Cleveland? I knew no one there, and
yet I had bought a ticket to that port--or some one had bought it for
me."

"Did that occur to you?" asked Alice. "That some one might have had an
object in getting you out of the way."

"Well, if they had, they took a very public and expensive method of
doing it," Estelle said. "I was on one of the best boats on Lake Erie,
and I had plenty of money."

"Did you find in what name your room was taken?" asked Ruth. "That might
have given you a clue."

"The name given was Estelle Brown," was the answer. "I gave that name
myself, for I recognized my handwriting on the envelope in which I
sealed some of my jewelry before handing it to the purser to put in his
safe. Estelle Brown was the name I gave."

"And was it yours?" asked Alice.

"I haven't any reason to believe that it was not. In fact, as I looked
back then, and as I look back now, the name Estelle Brown seems to be
my very own--it is associated closely with me. So I'm sure I'm Estelle
Brown--that is the only part I am sure about."

"But what did you do?" asked Ruth. "Didn't you make some inquiries?"

"I did; as soon as I reached Cleveland. At first I hoped that my memory
would come back to me when I reached that place. I thought I might
recognize some of the buildings. In fact, I hoped it would prove to be
my home, from which I had, perhaps, wandered in a fit of illness.

"But it was of no help to me. I might just as well have been in San
Francisco or New York for all that the place was familiar to me. So I
gave that up. Then I began to look over the papers to see if any Estelle
Brown was missing. But there was nothing to that effect in the news
columns. All the while I was getting more and more worried.

"I went to a good hotel in Cleveland and stayed two or three days. Then
I happened to think that perhaps my clothes might offer some clue. I
examined them all ca