behind me, Miss Wardour, and carefully,
not to excite suspicion."

She turned her gaze cautiously in the direction indicated, and saw
coming slowly toward them, Mr. Belknap and Mrs. Aliston.

"It is Mr. Belknap," she said, nodding easily at the new comers as she
spoke, "and my aunt. Have no fears, sir tramp, everything shall be as
you wish. I will engage you, I think."

Constance was herself again.

"Aunt Honor," she said, as the two came within hearing distance, "you
find me at my old tricks."

"Old tricks indeed!" replied her aunt, with more subtlety of meaning
than she often employed.

Constance arose and swept past the supposed tramp, without bestowing a
glance upon him.

"What would you do aunt?" she said, with an air of honest anxiety that
would have done credit to an actress, "here is this man again. You know
I promised to try and help him when he was here before. Simon needs an
assistant, he tells me; would you try him as under gardener?"

[Illustration: "Here is this man again."]

Thoroughly drilled in the art of aiding and abetting her niece, Mrs.
Aliston proved equal to the emergency.

"It couldn't do any harm," she said surveying the gentleman tramp
somewhat superciliously. "He looks quite respectable, for that sort of a
person."

Constance stifled an inclination to laugh as she said, briskly:

"Then we will try him, and I'll just take him to the kitchen, and tell
cook what to do with him until Simon comes."

"Now just let me do that Con.," remonstrated Mrs. Aliston, "Mr. Belknap
wishes to talk with you about the servants; remain here, and I will
attend to this person."

"Very well," responded Constance, indifferently, at the same time
realizing the expediency of allowing the detective an instant
opportunity for dropping a word of warning in the ear of her relative.
"Tell the cook to give him something to eat, and now Mr. Belknap, you
and I may walk on."

"Just follow me, my man," called Mrs. Aliston, in a tone of loftiest
patronage, and the newly appointed under gardener, beaming with
gratitude, passed by Miss Wardour and Mr. Belknap, and followed the
portly figure kitchenward with eager alacrity.

Meantime, Constance, eager to engross Mr. Belknap's attention, turned
toward him a smiling face, and said:

"Now, Mr. Belknap, I am at your disposal for a short time; fate seems
against my obtaining the rest I came out here to seek, but _your_
business is in my interest, and I am not ungrat