n several occasions, it appears,
when he sent his card to the dressing-room, Marie returned equivocal
messages and did not even inform her mistress of Sir Marcus's visit.
This had been going on for some time when one night whilst Miss Merlin
was on the stage a telephone call came for Marie and a certain
proposal was made to her.

"It was this: if on the following night Sir Marcus should present
himself she was to tell him that Miss Merlin would take supper in his
company after the performance, but that he was to observe every
possible precaution. Marie, according to her account, at first
declined to entertain the proposal, but being informed that it was
merely intended to play a practical joke upon the baronet, she
ultimately consented. I may add that the promise of a ten-pound note
undoubtedly hastened her decision and it was on her receipt of the
amount by post on the following morning that she determined to carry
out her part of the bargain.

"Her instructions had been explicit. She was to tell Sir Marcus that
Miss Merlin would see him after the performance, then when he
presented himself, to inform him that her mistress had decided it
would be more prudent for him to proceed to the rendezvous alone,
where she would join him in a quarter of an hour. She was to give him
the door key (which had arrived with the money) and to direct him to
enter and wait in the room on the right of the hall. A cabman who knew
the address would be waiting at the stage door."

Gatton paused, puffing slowly at his pipe, then: "Unknown to Miss
Merlin," he continued, "this scheme was carried out. Sir Marcus
presented himself at ten o'clock and received Marie's message; he
returned about eleven and she told him, as she had been instructed,
that her mistress would join him in a quarter of an hour. Curiosity
respecting the joke which she believed was being played upon the
baronet prompted her to go outside the stage-door to see if there was
actually a cab waiting. There was, and she heard Sir Marcus ask the
man if he knew the address to which he was to drive.

"The cabman replied that he did, and Marie claims to know no more
about the matter, except that Sir Marcus drove off in the cab, and
that her mistress returned to her flat alone about a quarter of an
hour later. Next point. Inquiries for the cabman have been made at all
the ranks since early this morning, and he turned up at the Yard about
a couple of hours ago. His story is simple e