where she passed the night--_and with whom_?" he inquired.

"No. But she says she is well and will return. Is not that a great deal,
when we have feared some accident, perhaps a fatal one?"

The novelist uttered a sneering laugh.

"My God, Shirley, why do you treat me like this!" exclaimed Mr. Weil,
excitedly. "I have been your friend in everything, as true to you as man
could be! If I had done the dastardly thing of which you accuse me, why
should I come to you at all? I could have taken my bride and gone to the
other end of the earth. We need not have adopted these contemptible
measures. But although I _did_ care for this girl--more than I ever
cared or ever shall care for another--I knew it was _you_ she loved and
I did all I could to aid you in your suit. Have you forgotten how I
brought her here, as you lay in that very chair, and removed the
misunderstandings that had grown up between you? As God hears me, I have
no idea what caused her absence last night! I am going now to the
telegraph office to trace, if possible, the message and find where she
is at present, for I want to relieve her father's mind still more."

Roseleaf seemed partially convinced by this outburst. He left his chair,
and began slowly to arrange his attire before the mirror.

"If you are sincere," he said, "I will accompany you. I will also do my
best to discover the resting-place of this young woman. You must remain
with me till she is found. If we do not see her before to-morrow
morning, we will walk into her presence at Midlands together. Do you
agree to this?"

"With all my heart!" was the joyous reply.

In ten minutes they entered the carriage at the door, and were driven to
the station from which the telegram had been sent.

CHAPTER XXIV.

"THIS ENDS IT, THEN?"

There was nothing to be learned at the telegraph office. As near as
could be remembered a boy had brought the message, paid for it and
vanished. Only one discovery amounted to anything. The original dispatch
was produced and proved to be in Daisy's handwriting. Roseleaf attested
to this, and he knew the characters too well to be mistaken.

It was not advisable, in Mr. Weil's opinion, to go to the police, after
the receipt of this word from the missing girl. It would only add to the
notoriety of the family in case the press got hold of the news. But he
did think it wise to go to see Isaac Leveson and find a man named Hazen,
whose reputation as a detective was gre