He went into the little library where he did his work, opened a combination wall safe and took out the letter. He had read it again and again after it had been written, and with every reading he had the warm glow of complacency which men derive from the contemplation of their own generosity. My dear Leslie: Thank you for your letter. I did not doubt that you would keep your word. My answer you will find enclosed herewith--a blank check. I make no stipulations, I extract no conditions. Draw the check for as much money as your brother requires to clear himself from his dreadful situation. I have given instructions to the bank that the check is to be honoured without question. Fabrian. It was characteristic of the man, who kept three banking accounts, that the check was drawn on a branch where his balance was exactly the amount required to liquidate Arthur Gwyn’s liability. It would have been a simple matter to fill in the form for the amount required, but there was a certain nobility, a magnificence, in the blank check. It was a carte-blanche upon his fortune. He replaced the letter in the envelope, put it back in the safe and pushed the door close, as the telephone bell rang. The caller was the man who had taken his place at the office. Had he heard anything about Gwyn? “We haven’t seen anything of him since you left, and the letters we have sent down for him to sign haven’t been returned.” Gilder comforted the anxious man with the assurance that Arthur would put in an appearance some day that week. At the back of his mind there was still a great uneasiness about the tragedy at Chelfordbury. He sent his maid out to get a copy of the sporting editions, but they had not arrived at Regent’s Park, and he decided to take a taxi to Piccadilly Circus, and, if necessary, to Fleet Street, to get an early copy. Such a journey would serve the purpose of filling in the time until the country post arrived. It was at Oxford Circus that he saw the first newspaper contents bill. The first said “Terrible Tragedy in Sussex Village”; the second made him sit bolt upright in the car: “Well-known Earl Kidnapped and Murdered.” XLIV Gilder stopped the taxi and, springing out, grabbed at a paper. A flaring headline met his eye. LORD CHELFORD CARRIED OFF BY UNKNOWN MURDERER. FEARED DOUBLE TRAGEDY IN A SUSSEX VILLAGE There were other sub-headings, but his eye ran down to the story.