you were coming home, possibly with the hope that the past
had been forgotten. We intended showing you that it had not been
forgotten, that you could not return and enjoy the fortune whose
foundation was----But enough of that!

"I had been in Honduras spying upon you. I was sent because you did not
know me, and would not be on guard, as you might have been, had some man
gone down there. We did not care to send an ordinary detective, of
course. I kept the people here informed of all your movements. I began
the punishment by leaving that note in your stateroom and pasting the
other on your suit case, began it by reminding you that the past lived
in the minds of some persons.

"You know the rest. We began our work. We caused you annoyance from the
first, with the banker, the hotel manager, and all that. Before we could
do any more, you were accused of murder. That pleased us, of course. We
did not believe you guilty, but we were glad to see that you were being
caused some trouble, that your name was being stained. Some of us even
began to think that the law of retribution was at work itself, without
our poor help.

"We went ahead with our plans, however. You engaged a prominent
attorney, and finally we induced him to leave you. But some who were
handling the affair went too far. You were assaulted in Central Park.
Your valet was knocked on the head and kidnaped, and an attempt made to
get him to take payment and spy upon you. At that time I told a certain
man who had the handling of the affair that there could be no more
violence.

"We should not break a law to undo you, I declared. If we did that, we
were as bad as you. I said that, if there was any more violence, I
should cease having anything to do with the affair, and would come to
you and tell you so. An hour ago, I found out that Detective Farland, a
man in your employ, had been seized and treated with violence and was
being held prisoner because he insisted upon remaining loyal to you. So
I am here!"

"This is amazing, Miss Gilbert!" Sidney Prale told her. "The whole thing
has been amazing. Somebody has tried to connect me with that murder.
Somebody tried to smash my alibi. The little annoyances were bad enough,
and the knowledge that I had unknown foes who fought in the dark; but
the murder charge was the worst of all, for it placed me in a position
where I had to clear myself absolutely or remain forever suspected by
many persons."

"I understand that," K