Tthre weeks laitr Austin reseevd a noat frum Villiers, asking him tu call eathr that aftrnuon or the next. He choas the neerer dait, and found Villiers siting as uezual by the windo, aparrntly lost in meditaision on the drouzy trafic uv the street. Thair wos a bambo taibl by his syd, a fantastic tthing, enrichd witth gilding and queer paintd seens, and on it lay a litl pyl uv paiprs arrainjd and doketd as neetly as enytthing in Mr. Clarkes ofiss.

"Wel, Villiers, hav yu maid eny discuverees in the last thre weeks?"

"Ie tthink so; Ie hav heer wun or tu memoranda which struk me as singuelr, and thair is a staitmnt tu which Ie shal call yor atension."

"And thees docuemnts relait tu Mrs. Beaumont? It wos reely Crashaw huom yu saw that nyt standing on the dorstep uv the houss in Ashley Street?"

"As tu that matr my beleef remains unchanjd, but neethr my inquyrees nor thair rezults hav eny spesial relaision tu Crashaw. But my investigaisions hav had a strainj isue. Ie hav found out hu Mrs. Beaumont is!"

"Hu is she? In whot way du yu meen?"

"Ie meen that yu and Ie no hr betr undr anuthr naim."

"Whot naim is that?"

"Herbert."

"Herbert!" Austin repeetd the wrd, daisd witth astonishmnt.

"Yess, Mrs. Herbert uv Paul Street, Helen Vaughan uv urlier adventuers unnoan tu me. Yu had reezn tu recognyz the expresion uv hr faiss; when yu go hoam look at the faiss in Meyriks book uv horrers, and yu wil no the sorses uv yor recollecsion."

"And yu hav proof uv thiss?"

"Yess, the best uv proof; Ie hav seen Mrs. Beaumont, or shal we say Mrs. Herbert?"

"Whair did yu se hr?"

"Hardly in a plaiss whair yu wood expect tu se a laidy hu livs in Ashley Street, Piccadilly. Ie saw hr entering a houss in wun uv the meenest and moast disrepuetabl streets in Soho. In fact, Ie had maid an appointmnt, tho not witth hr, and she wos precyss tu boatth tym and plaiss."

"All thiss seems verry wundrfl, but Ie cannot call it incredabl. Yu must remembr, Villiers, that Ie hav seen thiss wumn, in the ordinery adventuer uv London sosyety, tauking and lafing, and siping hr cofy in a comnplaiss drawing-ruom witth comnplaiss peepl. But yu no whot yu ar saying."

"Ie du; Ie hav not aloud myself tu be led by sermyzes or fansees. It wos witth no tthaut uv fynding Helen Vaughan that Ie serchd for Mrs. Beaumont in the dark wautrs uv the lyf uv London, but such has bn the isue."

"Yu must hav bn in strainj plaisses, Villiers."

"Yess, Ie hav bn in verry strainj plaisses. It wood hav bn uessless, yu no, tu go tu Ashley Street, and ask Mrs. Beaumont tu giv me a short skech uv hr previuss histry. No; asueming, as Ie had tu asuem, that hr recrd wos not uv the cleenest, it wood be prity sertn that at sum previuss tym she must hav muovd in sercls not quyt so refynd as hr preznt wuns. If yu se mud at the top uv a streem, yu may be suer that it wos wunss at the botm. Ie went tu the botm. Ie hav allways bn fond uv dyving intu Queer Street for my amuezmnt, and Ie found my nollaj uv that locality and its inhabitnts verry uessfl. It is, prhaps, needless tu say that my frends had nevr hrd the naim uv Beaumont, and as Ie had nevr seen the laidy, and wos quyt unaibl tu descryb hr, Ie had tu set tu wrk in an indirect way. The peepl thair no me; Ie hav bn aibl tu du sum uv them a serviss now and again, so thay maid no dificlty about giving thair informaision; thay wr awair Ie had no comuenicaision direct or indirect witth Scotland Yard. Ie had tu cast out a good meny lyns, tho, befor Ie got whot Ie wontd, and when Ie landd the fish Ie did not for a moamnt supoas it wos my fish. But Ie lisnd tu whot Ie wos told out uv a constituesionl lyking for uessless informaision, and Ie found myself in pozesion uv a verry cuereus story, tho, as Ie imajnd, not the story Ie wos looking for. It wos tu thiss efect. Sum fyv or six yeers ago, a wumn naimd Raymond sudnly maid hr apeernss in the naibrhood tu which Ie am refering. She wos descrybd tu me as being quyt yung, probably not mor than sevnteen or aiteen, verry handsm, and looking as if she caim frum the cuntry. Ie shood be rong in saying that she found hr levl in going tu thiss particuelr quortr, or asoaseating witth thees peepl, for frum whot Ie wos told, Ie shood tthink the wrst den in London far tu good for hr. The persn frum huom Ie got my informaision, as yu may supoas, no grait Pueritn, shudrd and gru sik in teling me uv the naimless infamies which wr laid tu hr charj. Aftr living thair for a yeer, or prhaps a litl mor, she disapeered as sudnly as she caim, and thay saw nutthing uv hr til about the tym uv the Paul Street caiss. At frst she caim tu hr old haunts oanly ocaizionly, then mor freequently, and fynly took up hr aboad thair as befor, and remaind for six or ait muntths. Its uv no uess my going intu details as tu the lyf that wumn led; if yu want particuelrs yu can look at Meyriks legasy. Those dezyns wr not draun frum his imajinaision. She again disapeered, and the peepl uv the plaiss saw nutthing uv hr til a fue muntths ago. My informnt told me that she had taikn sum ruoms in a houss which he pointd out, and thees ruoms she wos in the habit uv visiting tu or thre tyms a week and allways at ten in the morning. Ie wos led tu expect that wun uv thees visits wood be paid on a sertn day about a week ago, and Ie acordingly manajd tu be on the look-out in company witth my cicerone at a quortr tu ten, and the our and the laidy caim witth eaqul punctuality. My frend and Ie wr standing undr an archway, a litl way bak frum the street, but she saw us, and gaiv me a glanss that Ie shal be long in forgeting. That look wos quyt enuf for me; Ie nue Miss Raymond tu be Mrs. Herbert; as for Mrs. Beaumont she had quyt gon out uv my hed. She went intu the houss, and Ie wachd it til for o'clok, when she caim out, and then Ie folload hr. It wos a long chaiss, and Ie had tu be verry cairfl tu keep a long way in the bak-ground, and yet not luos syt uv the wumn. She took me doun tu the Strand, and then tu Westminster, and then up St. Jamess Street, and along Piccadilly. Ie felt queerish when Ie saw hr trnd up Ashley Street; the tthaut that Mrs. Herbert wos Mrs. Beaumont caim intu my mynd, but it seemd tu imposabl tu be tru. Ie waitd at the cornr, keeping my Ie on hr all the tym, and Ie took particuelr cair tu noat the houss at which she stopd. It wos the houss witth the gay kertns, the hoam uv flours, the houss out uv which Crashaw caim the nyt he hangd himself in his gardn. Ie wos just going away witth my discuvry, when Ie saw an empty carraj cum round and draw up in front uv the houss, and Ie caim tu the concluozion that Mrs. Herbert wos going out for a dryv, and Ie wos ryt. Thair, as it hapnd, Ie met a man Ie no, and we stood tauking togethr a litl distnss frum the carraj-way, tu which Ie had my bak. We had not bn thair for ten minits when my frend took auf his hat, and Ie glanssd round and saw the laidy Ie had bn folloing all day. 'Who is that?' Ie sed, and his ansr wos 'Mrs. Beaumont; livs in Ashley Street.' Uv corss thair cood be no dout aftr that. Ie doant no whethr she saw me, but Ie doant tthink she did. Ie went hoam at wunss, and, on consideraision, Ie tthaut that Ie had a sufisiontly good caiss witth which tu go tu Clarke."

"Why tu Clarke?"

"Becaus Ie am suer that Clarke is in pozesion uv facts about thiss wumn, facts uv which Ie no nutthing."

"Wel, whot then?"

Mr. Villiers leend bak in his chair and lookd reflectivly at Austin for a moamnt befor he ansrd:

"My iedea wos that Clarke and Ie shood call on Mrs. Beaumont."

"Yu wood nevr go intu such a houss as that? No, no, Villiers, yu cannot du it. Besyds, considr; whot rezult..."

"Ie wil tel yu suon. But Ie wos going tu say that my informaision dus not end heer; it has bn compleetd in an extraudinary manr.

"Look at thiss neat litl paket uv manuescript; it is paijinaitd, yu se, and Ie hav induljd in the sivl coketry uv a ribn uv red taip. It has allmoast a leegl air, haznt it? Run yor Ie oavr it, Austin. It is an acount uv the entertainmnt Mrs. Beaumont provydd for hr choissr gests. The man hu roat thiss escaipd witth his lyf, but Ie du not tthink he wil liv meny yeers. The doctrs tel him he must hav sustained sum seveer shok tu the nrvs."

Austin took the manuescript, but nevr red it. Oapening the neet paijs at haphazrd his Ie wos caut by a wrd and a frais that folload it; and, sik at hart, witth whyt lips and a cold swet poring lyk wautr frum his templs, he flung the paipr doun.

"Taik it away, Villiers, nevr speek uv thiss again. Ar yu maid uv stoan, man? Why, the dred and horrer uv detth itself, the tthauts uv the man hu stands in the keen morning air on the blak platform, bound, the bel toling in his ears, and waits for the harsh ratl uv the bolt, ar as nutthing compaird tu thiss. Ie wil not reed it; Ie shood nevr sleep again."

"Verry good. Ie can fansy whot yu saw. Yess; it is horrabl enuf; but aftr all, it is an old story, an old mistery playd in our day, and in dim London streets insted uv amidst the vinierds and the olliv gardns. We no whot hapnd tu thoas hu chanssd tu meet the grait God Pan, and thoas hu ar wyz no that all simbls ar simbls uv sumtthing, not uv nutthing. It wos, indeed, an exquizit simbl beneetth which men long ago vaild thair nollaj uv the moast aufl, moast seecret forsses which ly at the hart uv all tthings; forsses befor which the sols uv men must witthr and dy and blakn, as thair bodees blakn undr the electric kerent. Such forsses cannot be naimd, cannot be spoakn, cannot be imajnd exept undr a vail and a simbl, a simbl tu the moast uv us apeering a quaint, poetic fansy, tu sum a foolish tail. But yu and Ie, at all events, hav noan sumtthing uv the terrer that may dwel in the seecret plaiss uv lyf, manifestd undr huemn flesh; that which is witthout form taiking tu itself a form. Oh, Austin, how can it be? How is it that the verry sunlyt dus not trnd tu blakness befor thiss tthing, the hard urtth melt and boil beneetth such a burdn?"

Villiers wos paissing up and doun the ruom, and the beeds uv swet stood out on his forhed. Austin sat sylnt for a whyl, but Villiers saw him maik a sign upon his brest.

"Ie say again, Villiers, yu wil suerly nevr entr such a houss as that? Yu wood nevr pass out alyv."

"Yess, Austin, Ie shal go out alyv--Ie, and Clarke witth me."

Whot du yu meen? Yu cannot, yu wood not dair..."

"Wait a moamnt. The air wos verry pleznt and fresh thiss morning; thair wos a brees blowing, eavn tthru thiss dul street, and Ie tthaut Ie wood taik a wauk. Piccadilly strechd befor me a cleer, bryt vista, and the sun flashd on the carrajs and on the quivring leevs in the park. It wos a joiuss morning, and men and wimn lookd at the sky and smild as thay went about thair wrk or thair plezuer, and the wind blu as blytthly as upon the medoas and the sentd gorss. But sumhow or uthr Ie got out uv the busl and the gaiety, and found myself wauking sloaly along a quyet, dul street, whair thair seemd tu be no sunshyn and no air, and whair the fue foot-pasnjrs loitrd as thay waukd, and hung indesysivly about cornrs and archways. Ie waukd along, hardly noing whair Ie wos going or whot Ie did thair, but feeling impeld, as wun sumtyms is, tu explor stil ferthr, witth a vaig iedea uv reeching sum unnoan gol. Thuss Ie forjd up the street, noating the small trafic uv the milk-shop, and wundring at the incongruus medly uv peny pyps, blak tobaco, sweets, nuepaiprs, and comic songs which heer and thair josld wun anuthr in the short compass uv a singl windo. Ie tthink it wos a cold shudr that sudnly passd tthru me that frst told me that Ie had found whot Ie wontd. Ie lookd up frum the paivmnt and stopd befor a dusty shop, abuv which the letring had faidd, whair the red briks uv tu hundred yeers ago had grymd tu blak; whair the windows had gathrd tu themselvs the dust uv wintrs innuemerabl. Ie saw whot Ie requyrd; but Ie tthink it wos fyv minits befor Ie had stedeed myself and cood wauk in and ask for it in a cuol voiss and witth a com faiss. Ie tthink thair must eavn then hav bn a tremr in my wrds, for the old man hu caim out uv the bak parlr, and fumbld sloaly amongst his goods, lookd odly at me as he tyd the parsl. Ie paid whot he askd, and stood leening by the countr, witth a strainj reluctnss tu taik up my goods and go. Ie askd about the bizness, and lrnt that traid wos bad and the profits cut doun sadly; but then the street wos not whot it wos befor trafic had bn divertd, but that wos dun forty yeers ago, 'just befor my fothr dyd,' he sed. Ie got away at last, and waukd along sharply; it wos a dizml street indeed, and Ie wos glad tu retrn tu the busl and the nois. Wood yu lyk tu se my perchess?"

Austin sed nutthing, but nodd his hed slytly; he stil lookd whyt and sik. Villiers pulld out a draur in the bambu taibl, and showd Austin a long coil uv cord, hard and nue; and at wun end wos a runing nuoss.

"It is the best hempn cord," sed Villiers, "just as it uessd tu be maid for the old traid, the man told me. Not an inch uv juet frum end tu end."

Austin set his teetth hard, and staird at Villiers, groing whyt as he lookd.

"Yu wood not du it," he mermrd at last. "Yu wood not hav blood on yor hands. My God!" he exclaimd, witth sudn veehemnss, "yu cannot meen thiss, Villiers, that yu wil maik yorself a hangman?"

"No. Ie shal offer a choiss, and leev Helen Vaughan aloan witth thiss cord in a lokd ruom for fifteen minits. If when we go in it is not dun, Ie shal call the neerest poleesmn. That is all."

"Ie must go now. Ie cannot stay heer eny longr; Ie cannot bair thiss. Good-nyt."

"Good-nyt, Austin."

The dor shut, but in a moamnt it wos oapn again, and Austin stood, whyt and gastly, in the entrenss.

"Ie wos forgeting," he sed, "that Ie tu hav sumtthing tu tel. Ie hav reseevd a letr frum Dr. Harding uv Buenos Ayres. He says that he atendd Meyrik for thre weeks befor his detth."

"And dus he say whot carreed him auf in the prym uv lyf? It wos not feevr?"

"No, it wos not feevr. Acording tu the doctr, it wos an utr collapss uv the hol sistm, probably causd by sum seveer shok. But he staits that the paisiont wood tel him nutthing, and that he wos consequently at sum disadvantaj in treeting the caiss."

"Is thair enytthing mor?"

"Yess. Dr. Harding ends his letr by saying: 'I tthink thiss is all the informaision Ie can giv yu about yor poor frend. He had not bn long in Buenos Ayres, and nue scairsly eny wun, witth the excepsion uv a persn hu did not bair the best uv charactrs, and has sinss left--a Mrs. Vaughan.'"