CHAPTER LVI. NIGHT IN DEERING WOODS. I had a twofold object in going to Glasserton. In the first place I wished to see for myself the original record of the marriage in the register book; in the second place I wished to obtain from the registrar's servant, Jane Seebold, a description of the visitor she allowed to remain in the office while her master was absent from the house. It was evident that she had no knowledge of the purpose of the visit which M. Bordier and his son Julian paid to the registrar in the morning; and it was equally evident that the man who bribed her to silence was the man who erased the signature. I had no doubt that it was either M. Felix or Dr. Peterssen, who by this artful trick hoped to pave the way to a doubt of the genuineness of Emilia's marriage with Gerald Paget. The scoundrels had no idea that the copy of the marriage certificate had been found, or that M. Bordier and his son were in the village on the same day as themselves. All that they wished to do was to make some provision for a possible contingency in the future. If, as was very likely, they read the case in the newspaper, they must have been confounded by the conviction that they were hoist with their own petard. Another thing, I was now satisfied that when I left Bob I had started on a true trail, despite the knavish devices of Dr. Peterssen's tool, Crawley. The walk through Deering Woods was a dreary one, but it would have been much more dreary had it not been for Sophy, who was always entertaining and original, and never more so than on the present occasion. I let her partly into my confidence, and she was delighted to know that she had been the direct means of throwing light on a cruel injustice. We trudged along side by side, the most amicable and agreeable of companions. "It'll wake aunty tip when she 'ears everything," said Sophy. "She'll think me good for something now." "You are the best and brightest little girl in my acquaintance, Sophy," I said. "I didn't take _you_ in, did I?" she asked. "No, indeed," I replied. "It was a lucky day for me when I first met you." "Not so lucky for you as for me," she said. "I've got a silver watch." "It will turn into a gold one by the time you're a woman." "Will it?" she exclaimed. "Shan't I be proud!"