He shook his head. "I don't know what to think, Vance. The whole matter is most mysterious and perplexing. Give me a night to think about the matter. It is strange," he said suddenly, "that Miss Monk wants you to leave the matter alone." "It is strange," I assented, and winced; "but there it is." "Well, let it remain so until to-morrow," said Cannington hastily. "To-morrow, when I've had a good think, I'll give you my opinion." I guessed what was in his mind, although delicacy prevented him from speaking plainly to me. Gertrude's conduct was suspicious, and he, not being in love with her saw the position more clearly than I did. I don't say he suspected her, but he apparently believed that she knew more than she chose to tell, and thus desired me to leave the case alone. In point of fact, Cannington fancied that Gertrude feared what I might discover if I pried further into the matter. Had he known, as I did, that she was withholding the name of the person who had called to see Mrs. Caldershaw, he might even have taken a blacker view of the matter. Of course, being Gertrude's devoted lover, and believing in her absolutely, I said nothing. All the same I felt a trifle uneasy myself, especially when I guessed what Cannington was thinking about. "The Queen of Hearts can do no wrong": so I amended the old saying. Nevertheless I fervently wished that Gertrude would be more frank with me. Only on perfect confidence would perfect love and perfect peace be established, to say nothing of perfect happiness. After a pause Cannington, having promised to give me his opinion to-morrow, said no more, but began to talk of Lady Mabel. It seemed that Mr. Wentworth Marr had returned to London, and was more attentive than ever. "He's coming here to-day to afternoon tea," said Cannington, glancing at his watch, "in half-an-hour, I expect he'll turn up. Aunt Lucy and Mab will be here also, and Dicky Weston." "Oh, Weston is attentive also?" "Well, he is. In some way he got an inkling that Marr was paying court to Mabel, so he suddenly appeared, and has been here morning, noon, and night. I shouldn't be surprised if he proposed soon." "Will Lady Mabel accept him?" "Oh Lord! who knows what girls will do? I think she will, and yet Marr is a fascinating sort of tame-cat man, with heaps of money, so you may be inclined to go 'nap' on him." "I shouldn't think a tame-cat man would suit your sister," I said dryly. "Wait till you see him," said Cannington with a yawn; "he's not my style, I must confess. By the way, Dicky's getting on splendidly with his airship and wants some quiet place to put it together." "To put it together. What do you mean, boy?" "It's in bits," explained Cannington, "and he wishes to cart the several parts to some peaceful part of the country where the putting together won't be overlooked. What about Burwain?"