at she might have returned
there while they were absent. But their search was still without success.

Then they ascended to the upper floors, and looked all through the
handsome suites of private apartments, but still without discovering
a trace of the missing bride.

And so all over the house, from basement to attic, and from central hall
to garden wall, they went searching in vain for the lost one.

The dowager and the duke returned to the drawing-room and looked each
other in the face.

The dowager was stupefied with bewilderment. The duke was pale with
anxiety.

The mystery was growing serious and alarming.

"What do you think of it, Lady Belgrade?" inquired the duke.

"I cannot think at all. I am at my wit's end," answered the lady. "What
do _you_ think?" she inquired, after a moment's pause.

"I think--that we had better call the servants up, one at a time, and put
them separately through a strict examination," answered the duke.

Lady Belgrade rang the bell.

A footman appeared in answer to it.

"Examine him first, your grace," said the lady.

The duke put the young man through a strict catechism, without
satisfactory results. John was the hall footman, whose business it was
to answer the street-door bell and announce visitors. And he assured
his grace that no one had entered or left the house that morning, to
_his_ knowledge, except the wedding party and their attendants.

The hall-porter was next summoned and examined, and his report was found
to correspond exactly to that of the footman.

The butler was sent for and questioned, but could throw no light on the
mystery of the lady's disappearance.

The pantry footman was next called up. His duty was to wait on the butler
and attend the servants' door, to take in provisions delivered there. And
the first plausible clue to the mystery of Salome's disappearance was
received from him.

"Yes, my lady," he said, "there have been a stranger to the servants'
door this morning--an elderly old widow woman, my lady, dressed in black,
and werry much in earnest about seeing her grace; would take no denial,
my lady, on no account; which compelled me to go to her grace's
lady's-maid, Miss Watson, my lady, and send a message to her grace,"
said the young footman.

"Did the duchess see this strange visitor?" inquired the duke.

"Miss Watson come down and seen her first, your grace, and told her how
she mustn't disturb the duchess. But the visitor was so dea