an--" he fumbled
and stammered.

Lady Linden pointed to the door. "Good afternoon!" she said. "I don't
know what business it is of yours, and I don't care. All I know is that
if Hugh Alston is a fool, he is not a knave, so you have my permission
to retire."

Mr. Slotman retired, but it was not till some hours had passed that he
finally left the neighbourhood of Cornbridge. He had been making
discreet enquiries, and he found on every side that her ladyship's story
was corroborated.

For Lady Linden talked, and it was asking too much of any lady who was
fond of a chat to expect her to keep silent on a matter of such
interest. Lady Linden had discussed Hugh Alston's marriage with Mrs.
Pontifex, the Rector's wife, who in turn had discussed it with others.
So, little by little, the story had leaked out, and all Cornbridge knew
it, and Mr. Slotman found ample corroboration of Lady Linden's story.

Not till he was in the train did Mr. Slotman begin to gather together
all the threads of evidence. "I should not describe Lady Linden as a
pleasant person," he decided, "still, her information will prove of the
utmost value to me. On the whole I am glad I went." He felt satisfied;
he had discovered all that was discoverable, so far as Cornbridge was
concerned.

"Married in eighteen, June of eighteen," he muttered, "at Marlbury,
Dorset. I'll bet she wasn't! She may have said she was, but she wasn't!"
He chuckled grimly. He was beginning to see through it. "I suppose she
told that tale, and then it got about, and then the fellow came and
offered her marriage as the only possible way out. I'd like to choke the
brute!"

Slotman slept that night in London, and early the following morning he
was on his way to Marlbury. He found it a little quiet country town,
where information was to be had readily enough. It took him but a few
minutes to discover that there was a school for young ladies, a school
of repute, kept by a Miss Skinner. It was the only ladies' school in or
near the town, and so Mr. Slotman made his way in that direction, and in
a little time was ushered into the presence of the headmistress.

"I must apologise," he said, "for this intrusion."

Miss Skinner bowed. She was tall and thin, angular and severe, a typical
headmistress, stern and unyielding.

"I am," Slotman lied, "a solicitor from London, and I am interested in a
young lady who a matter of three years ago was, I believe, a pupil in
this school."

"Indee