rd lays
claim to for hers," said the Earl quietly. "And this letter is written
to his daughter, Mrs. Thornton Daverill, whose name is Maisie.... And
old Mrs. Prichard's name is Maisie.... And this letter is in the keeping
of old Mrs. Prichard." He left gaps, for his hearer to understand.

"Good God!" exclaimed Gwen. "Then old Mrs. Prichard is _not_ mad." She
could only see that much for the moment--no details. "Oh, be quiet a
moment and let me think." She dropped the letter, and sat with her face
in her hands, as though to shut thought in and work the puzzle out. Her
father remained silent, watching her.

Presently he said, quietly still, as though to help her:--"Norbury told
me last night what we did not know, that old Mrs. Marrable's name is
Phoebe, and that Widow Thrale's is Ruth...."

"That old Mrs. Marrable is Phoebe and her daughter is Ruth." Gwen
repeated his words, as though learning a lesson, still with her fingers
crushing her eyes.

"And that Ruth is not really Phoebe's daughter but her niece. And,
according to Norbury, she is the daughter of a twin sister, whose
husband was transported for forgery, and who followed him to Van
Diemen's Land, and died there." He raised his voice slightly to say
this.

A more amazed face than Gwen's when she withdrew her fingers to fix her
startled eyes upon her father, would have been almost as hard to find as
a more beautiful one.

"But that _is_ Mrs. Prichard, papa dear," she gasped. "Don't you _know_?
The story I told you!"

"Exactly!" said the Earl.

"But the letter--the letter! Phoebe and Ruth in the letter _cannot_ be
drowned, if they are Granny Marrable and Widow Thrale." A rapid
phantasmagoria of possibilities and impossibilities shot through her
mind. How could order come of such a chaos?

"Excuse me," said Thothmes, speaking for the first time. "Do I
understand--I assume I am admitted to confidence--do I understand that
the letter states that these two women were drowned?"

"Crossing from Antwerp. Yes!"

"Then the letter is a falsehood, probably written with a bad motive."

"But by their father--their father! Impossible!"

"How does your ladyship know it was written by their father?"

"It is signed by their father--at Darenth Mill in Essex. Both say Isaac
Runciman was their father."

"It is signed with Isaac Runciman's name--so I understand. Is it certain
that it was signed by Isaac Runciman? May I now see the letter? _And_
the envelope, please!--