and wrote an answer, in
which he said:

'You have no further claim on my friendship, nor on Miss
Owen's. Fortunately, she is now under my protection, and in
a place where you are not likely to find her. Do not expect
for one moment that I shall do anything to bring her again
within the reach of your dangerous character. Only the
memory of our old kindness restrains me from writing in a
very much stronger way. I am sorry that I must ask you never
to hold communication with me again.'

Meanwhile Prescott had been doing his utmost to obtain some further
light upon the mystery. But neither his inquiries nor those of the
skilled detective whom he sent down at his own expense to investigate
had resulted so far in finding the smallest clue to what had happened
on the night of the first of June.

He had not seen Eleanor since they parted at Abertaff. He now received
a letter from her, in which she fulfilled her promise of letting him
know her address. But her letter was so despondent, and showed her to
feel her situation so deeply, that Prescott was greatly shocked and
grieved.

Two days after he was roused by seeing in the papers this
announcement:

'THE PORTHSTONE MURDER: DISCOVERY OF THE LOST JEWELS.--Last
night, while dragging for fish along the shore of Newton
Bay, some fishermen brought to land in their net a chest
which had evidently been in the water some time. On being
opened, it was found to be full of valuable gems. The police
were at once communicated with, it being supposed that they
were those missing since the night of the murder. They sent
for Mr. Lewis, but as he was unable to speak to their
identity, Mr. Williams, of Abertaff, who had supplied
deceased with jewellery, was wired for, and he came down by
the next train and identified the contents of the chest as
the missing jewels. It will be remembered that a part of the
body was discovered at or about the same place.

'The importance of the discovery is in negativing the theory
that the crime was committed for the sake of robbery. But it
cannot be said that the mystery which has enshrouded this
murder from first to last is in any degree dispelled by this
new incident.'

While Prescott was still pondering over this discovery, and its
bearing on the position of Eleanor and the facts in the case, he
received a second letter