ley, to have sent
such a letter as that over the name of an innocent young girl, who,
but for the happy chance of meeting you as she did might never have
had the opportunity of righting herself in your estimation, argues a
cold and calculating selfishness closely allied to depravity. And my
Helen is an angel--or so I have always thought her."

The depth to which his voice sank in the last sentence showed that for
all his seeming confidence he was not without his doubts.

I began to feel very uncomfortable, and not knowing what consolation
to offer, I ventured upon the suggestion that he should see Mrs.
Walworth and frankly ask her whether she had been to the hotel on Main
Street on such a day, and if so, if she had seen a letter addressed
to Miss N---- lying on the table of the small parlor. His answer
showed how much his confidence in her had been shaken.

"A woman who, for the sake of paying some unworthy debt or of
gratifying some whim of feminine vanity, could make use of a young
girl's signature to obtain money, would not hesitate at any denial.
She would not even blench at my questions."

He was right.

"I must be convinced in some other way," he went on. "Mrs. Couldock or
Miss Dawes do not either of them possess any more truthful or
ingenuous countenance than she does, and though it seems madness to
suspect such women--"

"Wait," I broke in. "Let us be sure of all the facts before we go on.
You lie down here and close your eyes; now pull the rug up so. I will
have Sudley in and question him. If you do not turn towards the light
he will not know who you are."

Taylor followed my suggestion, and in a few moments Sudley stood
before me. I opened upon him quite carelessly.

"Sudley," said I, throwing down the newspaper I had been ostensibly
reading, "you remember that little business you did for me in Main
Street last month? Something I've been reading made me think of it
again."

"Yes, sir."

"Have you never had a conviction yourself as to which of the three
ladies you saw go into the parlor took the letter I left hid in the
Bible?"

"No, sir. You see I could not. All of them are well known in society
here and all of them belong to the most respectable families. I
wouldn't dare to choose between them, sir."

"Certainly not," I rejoined, "unless you have some good reason for
doing so, such as having been able to account for the visits of two of
the ladies to the hotel, and not of the third."

"They