"Oh," Dan was startled, but did not show it, "your Sheepeak friend has been to London then?" "Went a couple of days ago, and came back last night," said Pelgrin, "and she says to me, 'George, look after my traps, for you're the only smart porter in this station,' she says. Ah, she's a kind lady is Mrs. Jarsell, and that civil as never was. There's the luggage in the cab all right, sir. The Vulcan Hotel? Yes, sir. Drive on, cabby." Mrs. Bolstreath and Lillian had not heard this conversation, but Dan pondered over it on the way to the hotel. Mrs. Jarsell had, then, been in London at the time of Penn's death, and probably--although he could not prove this--she was responsible for the same. When the young man arrived at the hotel, and the ladies went to rest, he wrote a letter to Laurance, detailing the new fact he had learned, and instructed him what use to make of the confession if anything happened to himself in Hillshire. Then he enclosed the confession and went out personally to register the packet. Once it was posted he felt that he had done all that was possible. "And now," said Dan, to himself, "we'll see what move Queen Beelzebub will make." CHAPTER XVI DAN'S DIPLOMACY Mrs. Pelgrin welcomed her unexpected guests with great delight and showed her appreciation of their coming by emphatic aggressiveness. Why she should mask a kind heart and an excellent disposition by assuming a brusque demeanor is not very clear, but certainly the more amiable she felt the more disagreeable did she become. In fact, the landlady appeared to believe that honesty of purpose was best shown by blunt speeches and abrupt movements. Consequently, she did not get on particularly well with Mrs. Bolstreath, who demanded respect and deference from underlings, which Mrs. Pelgrin positively declined to render. She termed the chaperon "a fine madam," in the same spirit as she had called Dan "a butterfly," and was always ready for a war of words. But, admiring Lillian's gay and lively character, she waited on the girl hand and foot, yet with an air of protest to hide the real satisfaction she felt at having her in the house. To Mrs. Pelgrin, Lillian was a goddess who had descended from high Olympus to mingle for a time with mere mortals.