both ready to receive her here to-morrow, at four
o'clock.

"Gratefully yours,

"NORAH VANSTONE."

IX.

FROM MR. DE BLERIOT TO MRS. LECOUNT.

"Dark's Buildings, October 28th.

"Private.

"Dear Madam,—One of Mr. Loscombe's clerks
has proved amenable to a small pecuniary
consideration, and has mentioned a circumstance
which it may be of some importance to you to
know.

"Nearly a month since, accident gave the
clerk in question an opportunity of looking into
one of the documents on his master's table,
which had attracted his attention from a slight
peculiarity in the form and colour of the paper.
He had only time, during Mr. Loscombe's
momentary absence, to satisfy his curiosity by looking
at the beginning of the document, and at the
end. At the beginning, he saw the customary
form used in making a will. At the end, he
discovered the signature of Mr. Noel Vanstone;
with the names of two witnesses underneath,
and the date (of which he is quite certain)—
the thirtieth of September last.

Before the clerk had time to make any further
investigations, his master returned, sorted the
papers on the table, and carefully locked up the
will, in the strong-box devoted to the custody of
Mr. Noel Vanstone's documents. It has been
ascertained that, at the close of September, Mr.
Loscombe was absent from the office. If he was
then employed in superintending the execution
of his client's will—which is quite possible—it
follows clearly that he was in the secret of Mr.
Vanstone's address, after the removal of the 4th
of September; and if you can do nothing on your
side, it may be desirable to have the lawyer
watched on ours. In any case, it is certainly
ascertained that Mr. Noel Vanstone has made his
will, since his marriage. I leave you to draw
your own conclusions from that fact, and remain,
in the hope of hearing from you shortly,
"Your faithful servant,

"ALFRED DE BLERIOT."

X.

FROM MISS GARTH TO MR. PENDRIL.

"Portland Place, October 28th.

"My dear Sir,—Mrs. Lecount has just left
us. If it was not too late to wish, I should
wish from the bottom of my heart, that Norah
had taken your advice, and had refused to see
her.

"I write in such distress of mind, that I
cannot hope to give you a clear and complete
account of the interview. I can only tell you
briefly what Mrs. Lecount has done, and what
our situation now is. The rest must be left until
I am more composed, and until I can speak to
you personally.

"You will remember my informing you of the
letter which Mrs. Lecount addressed to Norah
from Aldborough, and which I answered for her
in her absence. When Mrs. Lecount made her
appearance to-day, her first words announced to
us that she had come to renew the subject. As
well as I can remember it, this is what she said,
addressing herself to Norah:

"'I wrote to you on the subject of your sister,
Miss Vanstone, some little time since; and Miss
Garth was so good as to answer the letter. What
I feared at that time has come true. Your sister
has defied all my efforts to check her; she has
disappeared in company with my master, Mr.
Noel Vanstone; and she is now in a position of
danger, which may lead to her disgrace and ruin
at a moment's notice. It is my interest to
recover my master; it is your interest to save your
sister. Tell me—for time is precious—have you
any news of her.'

"Norah answered, as well as her terror and
distress would allow her, 'I have had a letter, but
there was no address on it.'

"Mrs. Lecount asked, 'Was there no postmark
on the envelope?'

"Norah said—'Yes; Allonby.'

"'Allonby is better than nothing,' said Mrs.
Lecount. 'Allonby may help you to trace her.
Where is Allonby?'

"Norah told her. It all passed in a minute.
I had been too much confused and startled to
interfere before; but I composed myself sufficiently
to interfere now.

"'You have entered into no particulars,' I
said. 'You have only frightened us—you have
told us nothing.'

"'You shall hear the particulars, ma'am,' said
Mrs. Lecount; 'and you and Miss Vanstone
shall judge for yourselves, if I have frightened
you without a cause.'

"Upon this, she entered at once upon a long
narrative, which I cannot—I might almost say,
which I dare not—repeat. You will understand
the horror we both felt, when I tell you the end.
If Mrs. Lecount's statement is to be relied
on, Magdalen has carried her mad resolution
of recovering her father's fortune to the
last and most desperate extremity—she has
married Michael Vanstone's son, under a false
name. Her husband is at this moment still
persuaded that her maiden name was Bygrave, and
that she is really the niece of a scoundrel who
assisted her imposture, and whom I recognise by
the description of him to have been Captain
Wragge.

"I spare you Mrs. Lecount's cool avowal,
when she rose to leave us, of her own mercenary
motives in wishing to discover her master and to
enlighten him. I spare you the hints she dropped
of Magdalen's purpose in contracting this
infamous marriage. The one aim and object of
my letter is, to implore you to assist me in
quieting Norah's anguish of mind. The shock
she has received at hearing this news of her
sister, is not the worst result of what has