on. He asserted emphatically that it was possible to alleviate her
sufferings and prolong her life, especially if her mind was kept at
rest. There was not a question as to the necessity for my immediate
return to her. But there was still a day for me to tarry in London.

"Martin," said Jack, "why have you never followed up the clew about your
Olivia--the advertisement, you know? Shall we go to those folks in
Gray's-Inn Road this afternoon?"

It had been in my mind all along to do so, but the listless
procrastination of idleness had caused me to put it off from time to
time. Besides, while I was absent from the Channel Islands my curiosity
appeared to sleep. It was enough to picture Olivia in her lowly home in
Sark. Now that I was returning to Guernsey, and the opportunity was
about to slip by, I felt more anxious to seize it. I would learn all I
could about Olivia's family and friends, without betraying any part of
her secret.

At the nearest cab-stand we found a cabman patronized by Jack--a
red-faced, good-tempered, and good-humored man, who was as fond and
proud of Jack's notice as if he had been one of the royal princes.

Of course there was not the smallest difficulty in finding the office of
Messrs. Scott and Brown. It was on the second floor of an ordinary
building, and, bidding the cabman wait for us, we proceeded at once up
the staircase.

There did not seem much business going on, and our appearance was hailed
with undisguised satisfaction. The solicitors, if they were solicitors,
were two inferior, common-looking men, but sharp enough to be a match
for either of us. We both felt it, as if we had detected a snake in the
grass by its rattle. I grew wary by instinct, though I had not come with
any intention to tell them what I knew of Olivia. My sole idea had been
to learn something myself, not to impart any information. But, when I
was face to face with these men, my business, and the management of it,
did not seem quite so simple as it had done until then.

"Do you wish to consult my partner or me?" asked the keenest-looking
man. "I am Mr. Scott."

"Either will do," I answered. "My business will be soon dispatched. Some
months ago you inserted an advertisement in the _Times_."

"To what purport?" inquired Mr. Scott.

"You offered fifty pounds reward," I replied, "for information
concerning a young lady."

A gleam of intelligence and gratification flickered upon both their
faces, but quickly faded aw