it would be very
awkward," she said.

"No fear of that," he laughed in full confidence. "A man once dead and
buried, with a coroner's verdict upon him, is not easily believed to
be alive and well. No, my dear; rest assured that these men will never
get at our secret--never."

I smiled within myself. How little did he dream that the man of whom
he had been speaking was actually overhearing his words!

"But Ethelwynn, in order to regain her place in the doctor's heart,
may betray us," his wife remarked dubiously.

"She dare not," was the reply. "From her we have nothing whatever to
fear. As long as you keep up the appearance of deep mourning, are
discreet in all your actions, and exercise proper caution on the
occasions when we meet, our secret must remain hidden from all."

"But I am doubtful of Ethelwynn. A woman as fondly in love with a man,
as she is with Ralph, is apt to throw discretion to the winds," the
woman observed. "Recollect that the breach between them is on our
account, and that a word from her could expose the whole thing, and at
the same time bring back to her the man for whose lost love she is
pining. It is because of that I am in constant fear."

"Your apprehensions are entirely groundless," he declared in a
decisive voice. "She's the only other person in the secret besides
ourselves; but to betray us would be fatal to her."

"She may consider that she has made sufficient self-sacrifice?"

"Then all the greater reason why she should remain silent. She has her
reputation to lose by divulging."

By his argument she appeared only half-convinced, for I saw upon her
brow a heavy, thoughtful expression, similar to that I had noticed
when sitting opposite her at dinner. The reason of her constant
preoccupation was that she feared that her sister might give me the
clue to her secret.

That a remarkable conspiracy had been in progress was now made quite
plain; and, further, one very valuable fact I had ascertained was that
Ethelwynn was the only other person who knew the truth, and yet dared
not reveal it.

This man who stood before me was old Mr. Courtenay, without a doubt.
That being so, who could have been the unfortunate man who had been
struck to the heart so mysteriously?

So strange and complicated were all the circumstances, and so cleverly
had the chief actors in the drama arranged its details, that Courtenay
himself was convinced that for others to learn the truth was utterly
impossible