and came to the conclusion that five pounds would not be too high a fee for the duchess to pay for

twenty minutes to five he heard her latchkey in the lock of his

of Pollyooly; but his eyes were of the same deep blue and his clear skin of the sam

n Ruffin cheerfully. "You are about to r

a tangled

we practice

ving any one," said Pollyooly, kni

ceived. You deceived the Duke of Osterl

in a very care-free tone

nourable John Ruffin sadly. "But now you are

arion again?" said

" said the Honour

be paid again

lushed, and her

t. She's coming for you, and you haven't any time to lose. She's going to take you down to

to Mrs. Brown at once," said Pollyo

n Ruffin. "It's only for a couple

aid in a tone of complete satisfaction; and she ran bris

her before they had gone to live in the King's Bench Walk, and Mrs. Brown had grown very fond of him. She had taken charge of him during the time Pollyooly had spent at Ricksborough Court and wa

onourable John Ruffin's chambers. He opened it to find Eglantine, a pretty, dark, slim girl of t

lle Eglantine, I

she whispered with an air of utter s

tions to go with you," said the Honourable John R

on; then she entered and went on tiptoe, noiselessly, down the passage into the sitting-room. There could

world to spoil her simple pleasure, and as they cam

jumped and

rtentously, and rolling his eyes. Then he added in blank verse, as being appropri

ine did; she hardly breathed in her intentn

ken; we are

reathed more easily, tap

t ze Lady Mar

Honourable John R

estly at the Honourable John Ruffin, who fol

ooly's key grat

" said the Honour

e rose,

rply behind her, and came briskly do

rgot the whispering caution of t

rvellous! Incredible! Eet ee

in her clothes. Hurry up and get her into th

ough's clothes, she continued to express her lively wonder at the likeness. She was not long making the c

e said firmly. "That's when you'd get spotted. You want to get there just a

d something to steady her excited nerves. Then he told her that the duchess was to pay Pollyooly a fee of fiv

luck. He did not go with them, for he did not wish to be seen by any one

dmirably that in the three minutes she spent paying the taxi-driver and buying tickets she attracted the keen attention of two of the detectives of the railway. They followed her, as she tiptoed about with hunched shoulders, and watched her with

tiptoed about wit

own the train with eyes even more lynxlike than those of the detectives. Then she almost flung Pollyooly into the carri

d. "Ze train veel soon s

tives came to the window and stared into the carriage gloomily. Eglantine met his gaze with steady eyes. The guard wh

nd at once took up the subject of the Honourable John Ruffin. She showed herself exceedingly curious about him, and Pollyooly's

to tell Pollyooly about Devonshire, the wet garden of England. Its horticultural advantages seemed to weigh but lightly with her; she dwelt chiefly on t

ithout its alleviation. A wealthy landowner (he did own a part of the market-garden he so sedulously cultivated) had

ttention. She was greatly puzzled by the reason which Eglantine gave for not making her landowner happy by marrying him, that he was bearded. Mrs. Brown's husband, a ch

es, in spite of the conspiratorial air and behaviour of Eglantine, they were speeding swiftly in the motor

ood night, and went through it. In the path through the dark wood Eglantine lost her air of competent and excited leadersh

the lonely house. They came up to it very gently, and Eglantine p

d as she opened the

t roon

d dashed at them. Eglantine screamed, but she opened the door, dragged Pollyooly through it, slammed the door in the pursuer's face

odness yo

ative of their journey and narrow es

e into the house?" cried the duchess

so plainly!"

he duchess. "They'll think that Marion

and led her into the dining-room, where a delicious supper awaited her. As she ate it the du

ever little girl; do you think you could hide in the wood from them all the morning? If you could, I would go up to Lond

the prospect of so excellent a game of hide-and-seek. "If once I got into that wood, they'd

made them believe for so long at Ricksborough Court that you were Marion. Cook shall make you up a packet of sandwiches so that

ence in hide-and-seek. "But even if they do catch me, they won't know I

issed her aga

enough. And now you'd better go to bed; you must be sleepy, and the more sleep

floor, and Pollyooly found the most comfortable spring bed so lulling tha

way to the station, and found the detective sunning himself, after the chill of his night-watch, on the garden fence at a point from which he had under observation both the path to t

dvantage of his having a tale to think upon,

this persecution stopped! I'm going to have you removed by the police. You e

be all right, your Grace," said the detectiv

ked briskly dow