“’Mabel，cometomeatoncewiththebearer。Theytellmethattheycannottakemehome。’Itlookslikemyownwriting。“
“Lookslikeit！ItISyourwriting。“
“Itlookslikeit——andwrittenwithashakypen。“
“Mydearchild，one’shandwouldshakeatsuchamomentasthat。“
“Mabel，wheredidyougetthis？“
“ItwasbroughttomeinCaneandWilson’s。“
“Whobroughtit？“
“Whobroughtit？Why，themanyousent。“
“ThemanIsent！“Alightburstupontheduke’sbrain。Hefellbackapace。“It’sthedecoy！“
Hergraceechoedthewords:
“Thedecoy？“
“Thescoundrel！Tosetatrapwithsuchabait！Mypoorinnocentdarling，didyouthinkitcamefromme？Tellme，Mabel，wheredidhecutoffyourhair？“
“Cutoffmyhair？“
Hergraceputherhandtoherheadasiftomakesurethatherhairwasthere。
“Wheredidhetakeyouto？“
“HetookmetoDraper’sBuildings。“
“Draper’sBuildings？“
“IhaveneverbeenintheCitybefore，buthetoldmeitwasDraper’sBuildings。Isn’tthatneartheStockExchange？“
“NeartheStockExchange？“
Itseemedratheracuriousplacetowhichtotakeakidnapedvictim。Theman’saudacity！
“HetoldmethatyouwerecomingoutoftheStockExchangewhenavanknockedyouover。HesaidthathethoughtitwasaPickford’svan——wasitaPickford’svan？“
“No，itwasnotaPickford’svan。Mabel，wereyouinDraper’sBuildingswhenyouwrotethatletter？“
“Wrotewhatletter？“
“Haveyouforgottenitalready？IdonotbelievethatthereisawordinitwhichwillnotbebrandedonmybrainuntilIdie。“
“Hereward！Whatdoyoumean？“
“Surelyyoucannothavewrittenmesuchaletterasthat，andthenhaveforgottenitalready？“
Hehandedhertheletterwhichhadarrivedinthesecondcommunication。Sheglancedatit，askance。Thenshetookitwithalittlegasp。
“Hereward，ifyoudon’tmind，IthinkI’lltakeachair。“Shetookachair。“Whatever——whatever’sthis？“Asshereadtheletterthevaryingexpressionswhichpassedacrossherfacewere，inthemselves，astudyinpsychology。“Isitpossiblethatyoucanimaginethat，underanyconceivablecircumstances，Icouldhavewrittensuchaletterasthis？“
“Mabel！“
Sherosetoherfeetwithemphasis。
“Hereward，don’tsaythatyouthoughtthiscamefromme！“
“Notfromyou？“HerememberedKnowles’sdiplomaticreceptionoftheepistleonitsfirstappearance。“Isupposethatyouwillsaynextthatthisisnotalockofyourhair？“
“Mydearchild，whatbeehaveyougotinyourbonnet？Thisalockofmyhair！Why，it’snotintheleastbitlikemyhair！“
Whichwascertainlyinaccurate。Asfarascolorwasconcerneditwasanalmostperfectmatch。TheduketurnedtoMr。Dacre。
“Ivor，I’vehadtogothroughagooddealthisafternoon。IfI
havetogothroughmuchmore，somethingwillcrack！“Hetouchedhisforehead。“Ithinkit’smyturntotakeachair。“Nottheonewhichtheduchesshadvacated，butonewhichfacedit。Hestretchedouthislegsinfrontofhim；hethrusthishandsintohistrouserspockets；hesaid，inatonewhichwasnotgloomybutabsolutelygrewsome:
“MightIask，Mabel，ifyouhavebeenkidnaped？“
“Kidnaped？“
“ThewordIusedwas’kidnaped。’ButIwillspellitifyoulike。
OrIwillgetadictionary，thatyoumayseeitsmeaning。“
Theduchesslookedasifshewasbeginningtobenotquitesureifshewasawakeorsleeping。SheturnedtoIvor。
“Mr。Dacre，hastheaccidentaffectedHereward’sbrain？“
Theduketookthewordsoutofhiscousin’smouth。
“Onthatpoint，mydear，letmeeaseyourmind。Idon’tknowifyouareundertheimpressionthatIshouldbethesameshapeafteraPickford’svanhadrunovermeasIwasbefore；but，inanycase，IhavenotbeenrunoverbyaPickford’svan。SofarasIamconcernedtherehasbeennoaccident。Dismissthatdelusionfromyourmind。“
“Oh！“
“Youappearsurprised。Onemighteventhinkthatyouweresorry。
ButmayInowaskwhatyoudidwhenyouarrivedatDraper’sBuildings？“
“Did！Ilookedforyou！“
“Indeed！Andwhenyouhadlookedinvain，whatwasthenextiteminyourprogramme？“
Theladyshrankstillfartherfromhim。
“Hereward，haveyoubeenhavingajestatmyexpense？Canyouhavebeensocruel？“Tearsstoodinhereyes。
Rising，thedukelaidhishanduponherarm。
“Mabel，tellme——whatdidyoudowhenyouhadlookedformeinvain？“
“Ilookedforyouupstairsanddownstairsandeverywhere。Itwasquitealargeplace，ittookmeeversuchatime。IthoughtthatI
shouldgodistracted。Nobodyseemedtoknowanythingaboutyou，oreventhattherehadbeenanaccidentatall——itwasalloffices。I
couldn’tmakeitoutintheleast，andthepeopledidn’tseemtobeabletomakemeouteither。SowhenIcouldn’tfindyouanywhereI
camestraighthomeagain。“
Thedukewassilentforamoment。ThenwithfunerealgravityheturnedtoMr。Dacre。Heputtohimthisquestion:
“Ivor，whatareyoulaughingat？“
Mr。Dacredrewhishandacrosshismouthwithratherasuspiciousgesture。
“Mydearfellow，onlyasmile！“
Theduchesslookedfromonetotheother。
“Whathaveyoutwobeendoing？Whatisthejoke？“
Withanairofpreternaturalsolemnitytheduketooktwolettersfromthebreastpocketofhiscoat。
“Mabel，youhavealreadyseenyourletter。Youhavealreadyseenthelockofyourhair。Justlookatthis——andthat。“
Hegaveherthetwoverysingularcommunicationswhichhadarrivedinsuchamysteriousmanner，andsoquicklyoneaftertheother。
Shereadthemwithwide-openeyes。
“Hereward！Whereverdidthesecomefrom？“
Thedukewasstandingwithhislegsapart，andhishandsinhistrouserspockets。“Iwouldgive——Iwouldgiveanotherfivehundredpoundstoknow。ShallItellyou，madam，whatIhavebeendoing？
Ihavebeenpresentingfivehundredgoldensovereignstoaperfectstranger，withatophat，andagardeniainhisbuttonhole。“
“Whateverfor？“
“Ifyouhaveperusedthosedocumentswhichyouhaveinyourhand，youwillhavesomefaintidea。Ivor，whenit’syourfuneral，I’LL
smile。Mabel，DuchessofDatchet，itisbeginningtodawnuponthevacuumwhichrepresentsmybrainthatI’vebeenthevictimofoneoftheprettiestthingsinpracticaljokesthateveryetwasplanned。WhenthatfellowbroughtyouthatcardatCaneandWilson’s——which，Ineedscarcelytellyou，nevercamefromme——someonewalkedoutofthefrontentrancewhowassoexactlylikeyouthatbothBarnesandMoyseytookherforyou。Moyseyshowedherintothecarriage，andBarnesdroveherhome。Butwhenthecarriagereachedhomeitwasempty。Yourdoublehadgotoutupontheroad。“
Theduchessutteredasoundwhichwashalfgasp，halfsigh。
“Hereward！“
“BarnesandMoysey，withbeautifulandchildlikeinnocence，whentheyfoundthattheyhadbroughtthethinghomeempty，camestraightwayandtoldmethatYOUhadjumpedoutofthebroughamwhileithadbeendrivingfullpeltthroughthestreets。WhileI
wasdigestingthatpieceofinformationtherecamethefirstepistle，withthelockofyourhair。BeforeIhadtimetodigestthattherecamethesecondepistle，withyoursinside。“
“Itseemsincredible！“
“Itsoundsincredible；butunfathomableisthefollyofman，especiallyofamanwholoveshiswife。“ThedukecrossedtoMr。
Dacre。“Idon’twant，Ivor，tosuggestanythinginthewayofbriberyandcorruption，butifyoucouldkeepthismattertoyourself，andnotmentionittoyourfriends，ourwhite-hattedandgardenia-buttonholedacquaintanceiswelcometohisfivehundredpounds，and——Mabel，whatonearthareyoulaughingat？“
Theduchessappeared，allatonce，tobeseizedwithinextinguishablelaughter。
“Hereward，“shecried，“justthinkhowthatmanmustbelaughingatyou！“
AndtheDukeofDatchetthoughtofit。
TheMinorCanonItwasMonday，andintheafternoon，asIwaswalkingalongtheHighStreetofMarchbury，Iwasmetbyadistinguished-lookingpersonwhomIhadobservedattheservicesinthecathedralonthepreviousday。NowitchancedonthatSundaythatIwassingingtheservice。Properlyspeaking，itwasnotmyturn；but，asmybrotherminorcanonswereeitherawayfromMarchburyorillinbed，Iwastheonlyonelefttoperformthenecessaryduty。Thedistinguished-lookingpersonwasatall，bigmanwitharoundfatfaceandsmallfeatures。Hiseyes，hishairandmustachehisfacewasbarebutforasmallmustachewerequiteblack，andhehadaverypleasantandgenialexpression。Heworeatallhat，setratherjauntilyonhishead，andhewasdressedinblackwithalongfrockcoatbuttonedacrossthechestandfittinghimclosetothebody。Ashecame，withahalfsaunter，halfswagger，alongthestreet，Iknewhimagainatoncebyhisappearance；and，ashecamenearer，Isawfromhismannerthathewasintendingtostopandspeaktome，forheslightlyraisedhishatandinasoft，melodiousvoicewithacolonial“twang“whichwasfarfrombeingdisagreeable，andwhich，indeed，tomyeargaveacertainadditionalinteresttohisremarks，hesalutedmewith“Goodday，sir！“
“Goodday，“Ianswered，withjustalittlereserveinmytone。
“Ihope，sir，“hebegan，“youwillexcusemystoppingyouinthestreet，butIwishtotellyouhowverymuchIenjoyedthemusicatyourcathedralyesterday。IamanAustralian，sir，andwehavenosuchmusicinmycountry。“
“Isupposenot，“Isaid。
“No，sir，“hewenton，“nothingnearlysofine。Iamveryfondofmusic，andasmybusinessbroughtmeinthisdirection，IthoughtI
wouldstopatyourcityandtaketheopportunityofpayingavisittoyourgrandcathedral。AndIamdelightedIcame；sopleased，indeed，thatIshouldliketoleavesomememorialofmyvisitbehindme。Ishouldlike，sir，todosomethingforyourchoir。“
“Iamsureitisverykindofyou，“Ireplied。
“Yes，IshouldcertainlybegladifyoucouldsuggesttomesomethingImightdointhisway。Asregardsmoney，ImaysaythatIhaveplentyofit。Iamtheownerofamostvaluableproperty。
Mybusinessrelationsextendthroughouttheworld，andifIamasfortunateintheprojectsofthefutureasIhavebeeninthepast，Ishallprobablyonedayachievetheproudpositionofbeingtherichestmanintheworld。“
Ididnotliketoundertakemyselftheresponsibilityofadvisingorsuggesting，soIsimplysaid:
“Icannotventuretosay，offhand，whatwouldbethemostacceptablewayofshowingyourgreatkindnessandgenerosity，butI
shouldcertainlyrecommendyoutoputyourselfincommunicationwiththedean。“
“Thankyou，sir，“saidmyAustralianfriend，“Iwilldoso。Andnow，sir，“hecontinued，“letmesayhowmuchIadmireyourvoice。
Itis，withoutexception，theveryfinestandclearestvoiceIhaveeverheard。“
“Really，“Ianswered，quiteovercomewithsuchunqualifiedpraise，“reallyitisverygoodofyoutosayso。“
“Ah，butIfeelit，mydearsir。Ihavebeenroundtheworld，fromSydneytoFrisco，acrossthecontinentofAmerica“hecalleditAmerrker“toNewYorkCity，thenontoEngland，andto-morrowI
shallleaveyourcitytocontinuemytravels。ButinallmyexperienceIhaveneverheardsograndavoiceasyourown。“
Thisandagreatdealmorehesaidinthesamestrain，whichmodestyforbidsmetoreproduce。