sbelieve in the woman's actual departure by that
train as if I had searched every one of the carriages myself; and you, I
have no doubt, will entirely agree with me.

"You now know how the disaster happened. Let us not waste time and words
in lamenting it. The evil is done, and you and I together must find the
way to remedy it.

"What I have accomplished already, on my side, may be told in two words.
Any hesitation I might have previously felt at trusting this delicate
business in strangers' hands was at an end the moment I heard Robert's
news. I went back at once to the city, and placed the whole matter
confidentially before my lawyers. The conference was a long one, and
when I left the office it was past the post hour, or I should have
written to you on Monday instead of writing to-day. My interview with
the lawyers was not very encouraging. They warn me plainly that serious
difficulties stand in the way of our recovering the lost trace. But they
have promised to do their best, and we have decided on the course to be
taken, excepting one point on which we totally differ. I must tell you
what this difference is; for, while business keeps me away from Thorpe
Ambrose, you are the only person whom I can trust to put my convictions
to the test.

"The lawyers are of opinion, then, that the woman has been aware from
the first that I was watching her; that there is, consequently, no
present hope of her being rash enough to appear personally at Thorpe
Ambrose; that any mischief she may have it in contemplation to do will
be done in the first instance by deputy; and that the only wise course
for Allan's friends and guardians to take is to wait passively till
events enlighten them. My own idea is diametrically opposed to this.
After what has happened at the railway, I cannot deny that the woman
must have discovered that I was watching her. But she has no reason to
suppose that she has not succeeded in deceiving me; and I firmly believe
she is bold enough to take us by surprise, and to win or force her way
into Allan's confidence before we are prepared to prevent her.

"You and you only (while I am detained in London) can decide whether
I am right or wrong--and you can do it in this way. Ascertain at once
whether any woman who is a stranger in the neighborhood has appeared
since Monday last at or near Thorpe Ambrose. If any such person has been
observed (and nobody escapes observation in the country), take the first
opportuni