ture of the positive
and the polite in his manner, of which lawyers alone possess the secret.
"There is only one way of arriving at the truth in painful matters of
this sort. We must begin at the beginning. May I venture to ask your
Ladyship a question?"

Lady Lydiard felt the composing influence of Mr. Troy. "I am at your
disposal, sir," she said, quietly.

"Are you absolutely certain that you inclosed the bank-note in the
letter?" the lawyer asked.

"I certainly believe I inclosed it," Lady Lydiard answered. "But I was so
alarmed at the time by the sudden illness of my dog, that I do not feel
justified in speaking positively."

"Was anybody in the room with your Ladyship when you put the inclosure
in the letter--as you believe?"

"_I_ was in the room," said Moody. "I can swear that I saw her Ladyship
put the bank-note in the letter, and the letter in the envelope."

"And seal the envelope?" asked Mr. Troy.

"No, sir. Her Ladyship was called away into the next room to the dog,
before she could seal the envelope."

Mr. Troy addressed himself once more to Lady Lydiard. "Did your Ladyship
take the letter into the next room with you?"

"I was too much alarmed to think of it, Mr. Troy. I left it here, on the
table."

"With the envelope open?"

"Yes."

"How long were you absent in the other room?"

"Half an hour or more."

"Ha!" said Mr. Troy to himself. "This complicates it a little." He
reflected for a while, and then turned again to Moody. "Did any of the
servants know of this bank-note being in her Ladyship's possession?"

"Not one of them," Moody answered.

"Do you suspect any of the servants?"

"Certainly not, sir."

"Are there any workmen employed in the house?"

"No, sir."

"Do you know of any persons who had access to the room while Lady
Lydiard was absent from it?"

"Two visitors called, sir."

"Who were they?"

"Her Ladyship's nephew, Mr. Felix Sweetsir, and the Honorable Alfred
Hardyman."

Mr. Troy shook his head irritably. "I am not speaking of gentlemen of
high position and repute," he said. "It's absurd even to mention Mr.
Sweetsir and Mr. Hardyman. My question related to strangers who might
have obtained access to the drawing-room--people calling, with her
Ladyship's sanction, for subscriptions, for instance; or people calling
with articles of dress or ornament to be submitted to her Ladyship's
inspection."

"No such persons came to the house with my knowledge," Moody answe