THE OFFICIAL CHAPERON By Natalie Sumner Lincoln The Official Chaperon C. O. D. The Man Inside The Lost Despatch The Trevor Case D. APPLETON & COMPANY, NEW YORK THE OFFICIAL CHAPERON BY NATALIE SUMNER LINCOLN AUTHOR of “C. O. D.,” “THE TREVOR CASE,” ETC. ILLUSTRATED NEW YORK AND LONDON D. APPLETON AND COMPANY 1915 COPYRIGHT, 1915, BY D. APPLETON AND COMPANY Printed in the United States of America [Illustration: Marjorie Langdon] TO MY BROTHER GEORGE GOULD LINCOLN “_We twa hae run about the braes, And pu’d the gowans fine; But we’ve wandered mony a weary foot Sin auld lang syne._” CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE I. AN ILL WIND 1 II. MISSING 7 III. QUESTIONS AND QUERIES 18 IV. TEMPTING FATE 28 V. GIVE AND TAKE 37 VI. AT FORT MYER 47 VII. TREASURE TROVE 61 VIII. THE ONLY WOMAN 76 IX. GAY DECEIVERS 89 X. IN THE COLD, GRAY DAWN 104 XI. GREAT EXPECTATIONS 115 XII. A TANGLED WEB 129 XIII. DUNCAN’S DILEMMA 143 XIV. THE PHILANDERER 159 XV. IN SHEEP’S CLOTHING 169 XVI. A TUG OF WAR 177 XVII. OUT OF THE FRYING-PAN 191 XVIII. LIGHT-FINGERED GENTRY 204 XIX. FALSE WITNESS 222 XX. WATCHFUL WAITING 240 XXI. THE STORM CENTER 255 XXII. “TOUJOURS SANS TACHE” 272 XXIII. THE HEARING EAR 282 XXIV. THE KINGDOM OF THE BLIND 294 XXV. PHANTOMS OF THE NIGHT 304 XXVI. UNCOVERED 317 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Marjorie Langdon _Frontispiece_ FACING PAGE “She was about to call her by name, when Janet quietly took up a diamond sunburst” 100 “Barnard again inspected Mrs. J. Calhoun-Cooper. ‘She looks like an Indian begum’” 214 THE OFFICIAL CHAPERON CHAPTER I AN ILL WIND “WASHINGTON, Washington; all off for Washington!” The porter’s stentorian call echoed through the Pullman sleeper. “This way out.” A second more and the aisle was filled with sleepy passengers who strove to push past each other with the impatient rudeness which characterizes the average American traveler. The last to leave the car was a tall man, whose leisurely movements left him a prey to a hovering porter, and he surrendered his suit-case to the obsequious darky, after first inquiring the way to the baggage room. “Go ahead and engage a taxi for me,” he directed, following his guide across the imposing concourse and into the waiting-room.