ouldn't marry Enid,
he would, after all, rather see her the wife of his old friend's son
than anybody else's. He had, therefore, willingly accepted Sir
Reginald's invitation to spend a few days at the Abbey and witness his
son's admission to the full orders of the priesthood.

Vane and Ernshaw, after exchanging greetings and receiving
congratulations, declined Sir Reginald's invitation to dine and sleep at
the Abbey, and went straight back to the Retreat with Father Philip.

It happened that, somewhat late that night after their guests had gone
to bed, Reginald Garthorne had a couple of rather important letters to
write, and sat up to get them finished. When he had sealed and stamped
them, he took them to the post-box in the hall. The postman's lock-up
bag was standing on the hall table, and, as he knew there wouldn't be
any more letters that night, he thought he might as well put what there
were there into the bag and lock it with his own key. He took them out
in a handful, but before he could put them into the bag they slipped and
scattered on to the table. He bent down to gather them up, and there,
right under his eyes, was an envelope addressed in Sir Arthur Maxwell's
handwriting to Miss Dora Murray, 15 Stonebridge Street, Worcester. He
would have given a thousand pounds to know what that thin paper cover
concealed. The thought half entered his mind to take it away and steam
it, read the letter, and then put it back again; but he was not without
his own notions of honour, and he dismissed the thought before it was
fully formed. He contented himself with taking out his pencil and
copying the address, and as he put the letters into the bag and locked
it he said to himself:

"Well, I was wondering at service what in the name of all that's unlucky
brought that girl down here just now, and I suppose I shall have to find
out. But what the deuce does the old man want writing to her? A nice
thing if they were to discover the lost Miss Carol and present her to
the world as Vane's half-sister, and then the rest of the story came
out. What an almighty fool I was to do that. If I'd only known that Enid
really would have me--but it's no use grizzling over that. I shall have
to find out what that young woman wants down in this part of the world,
and why Sir Arthur should be writing to her, that's quite certain."

CHAPTER XV.

Among Garthorne's letters the next morning there chanced to be one from
his solicitor in Wor