n what their
motive could have been in making it appear that your daughter is dead."

Tears were running down Mrs. Speir's cheeks as she said:

"I can."

"You can?" queried the detective.

"I can."

"Well?"

"They are seeking to cover up a more horrible crime than her murder."

This same suspicion had run through our hero's mind.

We will here state that the evidences attending the discovery of the
dead girl apparently indicated beyond all possibility of doubt that she
had taken her own life. The mutilations which prevented a positive
identification were attributed to some animal that had discovered the
remains before they were discovered by the lads who reported the find;
and as apparently there was no mystery in the case, the affair dropped
away from immediate public attention; the circumstances did not appear
to call for an investigation, but here were the facts. Mrs. Speir was
positive that it was not the body of her child, and against this was the
tragic testimony that her daughter's clothing and trinkets had been
found on the body, and these served for identification--an
identification which was apparently complete and absolute. It not being
Amalie Speir, and the fact that testimonies were present to indicate
that it was, seemed to make it appear almost positive that there was
some deep design in the presence of those articles, and we can add that
our hero sadly feared that the motive suggested by the mother was the
truth, that the girl had been the victim of some heartless villain, and
he concluded that if such were indeed the fact the smooth, cunning,
adroit and skillful baron was the despoiler.

CHAPTER VI.

JACK'S DEEP INTEREST IN THE AFFAIR--A NEW
GAME--BETTER PLAY--SHOTS THAT TOLD--A SCHEME
UNMASKED--A HURRIED MESSAGE--THE DETECTIVE PLAYS
SPANISH.

It is not necessary to state that our hero was aroused and stirred to
the very lowest depths of his nature. There did remain one remote chance
that the motive was different from the one indicated, but such a
possibility was very remote. Our hero had the deepest possible interest
in the missing girl, and he did feel that if the mother's premonitions
were correct that it would have been far better if indeed the dead had
been veritably Amalie Speir; but as long as there was a possibility our
hero was determined not to give up, and he said cheerily to the almost
distracted mother:

"I think I can assign another motive for the passing off of th