George flung himself into the armchair from which he had just risen, placed his feet upon the fender and his hands at the back of his head, as was his habit when desiring to listen attentively. "Well," he said, sighing, "about that absurd provision of the old man's will, I suppose? I'm comfortable enough, so what's the use of worrying over it?" "But it is necessary. You see, I'm bound to try and find this woman," the other answered, taking from his pocket some blue foolscap whereon were some memoranda. "Besides, the first stage of the inquiry is complete." "And what have you discovered?" he asked eagerly. "I placed the matter in the hands of Rutter, the private inquiry agent, whose report I have here," answered the solicitor. "It states that no such person as Madame Lepage is living at 89 Rue Toullier, Paris, but the concierge remembers that an elderly lady, believed to be a widow, once occupied with her daughter a flat on the fourth floor. The man, however forgets their name, as they only resided there a few months. During that time the daughter, whom he describes as young and of prepossessing appearance, mysteriously disappeared, and although a search was instituted, she was never found. There was no suspicion of suicide or foul play, but the police at the time inclined to the belief that, possessing a voice above the average, she had, like so many other girls who tire of the monotony of home life, forsaken it and obtained an engagement at some obscure cafe-concert under an assumed name. Rutter, following up this theory, then visited all the impressarios he could find in an endeavour to discover an artist whose real name was Lepage. But from the first this search was foredoomed to failure, for girls who desire to exchange home life for the stage seldom give their impressarios their correct names, hence no such person as Mariette Lepage could be traced." "Then, after all, we are as far off discovering who this mysterious woman is as we ever were," George observed, glancing at his visitor with a half-amused smile. "Well, not exactly," the solicitor answered. "Undoubtedly the girl who disappeared from the house in the Rue Toullier was the woman for whom we are searching." "The letter found on Nelly Bridson is sufficient proof that she's still alive," said the younger man. "Exactly; and from its tone it would appear that she is in the lower strata of society," Harrison remarked. "Whoever she is I shall, I suppose, be required to offer her marriage, even if she's a hideous old hag! My father was certainly determined that I should be sufficiently punished for my refusal to comply with his desire," George observed, smiling bitterly.