"Ah! Now you must be prepared for a shock, Alan. Dr. Warrender!" Thorold bounded out of his seat. "Is he lost too?" "Strangely enough, he is," answered Phelps gravely. "On the night of the funeral he went out at nine o'clock in the evening to see a patient. He never came back." "Who was the patient?" "That is the strangest part of it. Brown, the Quiet Gentleman, was the patient. Mrs. Warrender, who, as you may guess, is quite distracted, says that her husband told her so. Mrs. Marry declares that the doctor called after nine, and found Brown was absent." "What happened then?" demanded Alan, who had been listening eagerly to this tale. "Dr. Warrender, according to Mrs. Marry, asked in what direction her lodger had gone. She could not tell him, so, saying he would call again in an hour or so, he went. And, of course, he never returned." "Did Brown send for him?" "Mrs. Marry could not say. Certainly no message was sent through her." "Was Brown ill?" "Not at all, according to his landlady. We have been searching for both Brown and Warrender, but have found no traces of either." "Humph!" said Thorold, after a pause. "I wonder if they met and went away together?" "My dear lad, where would they go to?" objected the Rector. "I don't know; I can't say. The whole business is most mysterious." Alan stopped, and looked sharply at Mr. Phelps. "Have you the key of the Marlow vault in your possession?" "Yes, of course, locked in my safe. Your question is most extraordinary." The other smiled grimly. "My explanation is more extraordinary still." He took out Mr. Gramp's letter and handed it to the Rector. "What do you think of that, sir?" "Most elegant caligraphy," said the good man. "Why, bless me!" He read on hurriedly, and finally dropped the letter with a bewildered air. "Bless me, Alan!" he stammered. "What--what--what----" Thorold picked it up and smoothed it out on the table. "You see, this man says the body has been stolen. Do you know if the door of the vault has been broken open?" "No, no, certainly not!" cried the Rector, rising fussily. "Come to my study, Alan; we must see if it is all right. It must be," he added emphatically. "The key of the safe is on my watch-chain. No one can open it. Oh dear! Bless me!" He bustled out of the room, followed by Alan. A search into the interior of the safe resulted in the production of the key. "You see," cried Phelps, waving it triumphantly, "it is safe. The door could not have been opened with this. Now your key." "My key is in my desk at the Abbey Farm--locked up also," said the young man hastily. "I'll see about it to-night. In the meantime, sir, bring that key with you, and we will go into the vault." "What for?" demanded the Rector sharply. "Why should we go there?" "Can't you understand?" said Alan impatiently. "I want to find out if this letter is true or false--if the body of Mr. Marlow has been removed."