she no theory about the missing photograph?
Surely she must marvel over its disappearance."

"She _does_; at least, she _did_; but--I'm ashamed to own it,
Armitage--we had to quiet her natural suspicions in some way, and I told
her that it was my doing,--that I took it to tease Alice, put the
photograph in the drawer of my desk, and hid the frame behind her
sofa-pillow. Chester knows of the arrangement, and we had settled that
when the picture was recovered from Mr. Jerrold he would send it to me."

Armitage was silent. A frown settled on his forehead, and it was evident
that the statement was far from welcome to him. Presently he held forth
his hand.

"Well, good-night, sir. I must go and have a quiet think over this. I
hope you will rest well. You need it, colonel."

But Maynard only shook his head. His heart was too troubled for rest of
any kind. He stood gazing out towards the park, where the tall figure of
his ex-adjutant had disappeared among the trees. He heard the low-toned,
pleasant chat of the ladies in the sitting-room, but he was in no mood
to join them. He wished that Armitage had not gone, he felt such
strength and comparative hope in his presence; but it was plain that
even Armitage was confounded by the array of facts and circumstances
that he had so painfully and slowly communicated to him. The colonel
went drearily back to the room in which they had had their long
conference. His wife and sister both hailed him as he passed the
sitting-room door, and urged him to come and join them,--they wanted to
ask about Captain Armitage, with whom it was evident they were much
impressed; but he answered that he had some letters to put away, and he
must attend first to that.

Among those that had been shown to the captain, mainly letters from
Chester telling of the daily events at the fort and of his surveillance
in the case of Jerrold, was one which Alice had brought him two days
before. This had seemed to him of unusual importance, as the others
contained nothing that tended to throw new light on the case. It said,--

"I am glad you have telegraphed for Armitage, and heartily approve your
decision to lay the whole case before him. I presume he can reach you by
Sunday, and that by Tuesday he will be here at the fort and ready to
act. This will be a great relief to me, for, do what I could to allay
it, there is no concealing the fact that much speculation and gossip is
afloat concerning the events of that unh