And Alan did tell the whole story; honestly, frankly and without sparing himself. He began at the beginning, telling how, at the first, Leslie's youth, beauty and vivacity, together with a certain disparity of years between herself and husband, had caused him to doubt her affection for his brother, and to suspect a mercenary marriage; how he had discovered her sending away notes by stealth; how his suspicions had grown and strengthened until, on the night of the masquerade, he had set Van Vernet to watch her movements; and how Vernet had discovered, or claimed to discover, a lover in the person of a certain Goddess of Liberty. At this point in his narrative, Alan was surprised to note certain unmistakable signs of levity in the face and manner of Mr. Follingsbee; and presently that gentleman broke in: "Wait; just wait. Let's clear up that point, once and for all. That 'Goddess' was introduced into your house by me, and for a purpose which, to me, seemed good. Until that night he had never seen Leslie Warburton." "He! then it was a man?" "It was; and Van Vernet, as I have since learned, knew him and laid a trap for him. Their feud dates from that night." "Ah, then our detective and the 'Goddess of Liberty'--" "Are the same. Now resume, please." Going back to his story, Alan tells how he had followed Leslie; how he had rushed in, in answer to her cry for aid; how he had rescued her, and had himself been rescued in turn by a pretended idiot. He told of his return home; his interview with Leslie after the masquerade, and their last interview; ending with the scene with Vernet and the organ-grinder. "That fellow is the mischief!" said Mr. Follingsbee, rubbing his palms softly together. "He's the very mischief!" "By which I infer that my 'Organ-grinder,' my 'Idiot,' and the 'Goddess of Liberty,' are one and the same?" "_Pre_cisely; I haven't a doubt of it." "And that the three are identical with this 'gentleman detective,' who, in making war upon Van Vernet, has espoused my cause, or rather that of my sister-in-law." "Just so." Alan leans back in his chair, and clutches his two hands upon its either arm, fixing his eyes on vacancy. Seeming to forget the presence of his _vis-a-vis_, he loses himself in a maze of thoughts. Evidently they are not pleasant thoughts, for his face expresses much of perplexity, doubt and disgust, finally settling into a look of stern resolve. He is silent so long that Mr. Follingsbee grows impatient, and by and by this uneasiness manifests itself in a series of restless movements. At last Alan turns his face toward the lawyer, and then that gentleman bursts out: "Well, are you going to sit there all night? What shall you do next?" Alan Warburton rises from his chair and faces his questioner. "First," he says slowly, "I am going to find Leslie, and bring her back." "Oh!"