that Wildash, after killing Mr. Melray, could unobserved have dragged the body as far as Loudwater House. No; I confess it would be much harder for me to swallow these difficulties than it is to accept Mrs. Melray's narrative as a truthful statement of the facts of the case as far as she was concerned in them; and, looked at from her point of view, one can quite understand her anxiety to keep the whole affair a secret from everybody." "Your views in the main seem to tally with my own," said Mr. Melray, "and I am glad to have them confirmed by you." "It certainly seems somewhat singular," resumed Winslade presently, "that no one in Solchester should have known of the return of Wildash, and that by all his old associates the tidings of his death should still be implicitly believed. His aunt's evidence on the point would have been most valuable, because she, more than anyone, would have been likely to know of his return; but, unfortunately, she died some months ago. As to whether he and the stranger who was killed on the railway were one and the same person, there seems very little likelihood now of our ever being able to prove; the probability, however, would seem to be in favour of their being the same man." "It is a point which, I confess, has very little interest for me," replied the other. "But now comes the question," he presently resumed, "of what I ought to say to my sister-in-law, of what notice, in point of fact, it is advisable that I should take of her extraordinary statement." "If I may be allowed," said Winslade, "I would suggest that the less notice you take of it the better." "My own opinion exactly. Indeed, if she and I were brought face to face, I scarcely know what I should find to say to her about it. For me, at least, it opens up a very different view of her character from the one I held before. But that," he added with one of his dry smiles, "is scarcely a point as to which it behoves me to enlighten her." He paused for a few seconds, sitting with half-shut eyes and drumming softly on the table with one hand. Then he said: "Perhaps, after all, my best plan will be to write her a brief note, telling her I have read her statement, and that although I am sorry she did not see her way to take me into her confidence long ago, yet, bearing in mind the uncommon circumstances surrounding the affair, that I do not feel at liberty to blame her for her reticence. Further, that I accept her statement without the shadow of a doubt as to the truth of anything there set down, and that for the future it may be as well that the subject should not be further alluded to between us. Yes," he continued with an air of relief, "I think that will decidedly be the best thing to do."