“It tells how old friends of the family would never permit the lands of the Dinwiddies to be sold for taxes, and how Jimmy paid up the interest on the mortgages when he returned, and paid off the taxes. Then it recites the remarkable case of his being mistaken for a criminal, and how readily he proved that he was not—and goes into quite a long explanation of a distant relationship existing between that dead criminal and Ledger Dinwiddie, which accounts for the resemblance.” “Oh, yes. Never mind all that, Nan. Get down to the part about the wife. That is what interests me most just now.” “In the interview Jimmy explains to the reporter that the alleged engagement between him and Miss Remsen was in the nature of a joke. He admits that there was some foundation for the report, but says it was given out at the request of Miss Remsen herself—and, by the way, there is a printed cablegram from Theodore Remsen which says that the stated version of it is substantially correct.” “Of course Remsen would say that. It lets him down easy and stops gossip. Go on.” “The impression that Jimmy succeeds in giving is to the effect that Lenore Remsen’s father wanted her to marry a man she did not admire—whose name is not mentioned.” “Naturally, since there was no such man. But, go on.” “And that it was a put-up job between Jimmy and Lenore that they should pretend to be in love with each other in order that she might escape the other man. That is all there is to it, save that Jimmy speaks at length about his wife, whom he calls Juno.” “Yes. Well, that is the part of it that I want to hear.” “He says that soon after he left his home in Virginia he made the acquaintance of the young woman, who is now his wife. That he fell in love with her at once, but that because he had no means with which to support a wife, he did not ask her to marry him until about a year ago. And then, he states, it developed that she had been in love with him all the time—and so they were married. A real love match. He says that he adores his wife and that she is equally fond of him, and that he makes this statement to the reporter in order that the world may understand exactly how things stand, and may not misjudge him, or her, ever again.” “The cheek of the fellow is monumental, Nan.” “It certainly is,” she replied. CHAPTER XV. A WOMAN OF MYSTERY. “Where does Jimmy say that his wife is staying?” asked Nick, after a pause. “He does not say—more than that she happens to be absent. He insinuates that she is out of the country—visiting relatives in her own country, in fact, although he does not state where that is, or who the relatives are.” “I see. At all events she is not in evidence just now, Nan. Is that the idea?” “Yes.” “That is significant, Nan.” “Is it? Why so?” “It suggests to me that there is some reason why she prefers to keep out of sight at the moment when so much attention is directed toward her.”