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He looked about hi to collect his ideas 'Who are you?' he said to the wouise 'I am the supposed Mrs

Manston,' she said 'Who are you?' 'I am the officer employed by Mr Raunham to sift this mystery --which may be criradually to awake to a sense of having been incautious in his utterance 'Never you mind who I am,' he continued 'Well, it doesn't er be a secret' He stooped for his hat and ran in the direction the steward had taken--coain after the lapse of a ravated assault, after all,' he said hastily, 'until we have found out for certain what's buried here Itrubbish; but it ' He seized the spade with the aardness of a towna le-handed,' he said 'He's ever so far off by this time The best step is to see what is here' It was far easier for the detective to re-open the hole than it had been for Manston to form it The leaves were raked away, the loaed forth

'Hold this,' he said to Anne, whose curiosity still kept her standing near He turned on the light of a dark lantern he had brought, and gave it into her hand

The string which bound theon its side, seized it by the bottoe was disclosed, carefully wrapped up in impervious tarpaulin, also well tied He was on the point of pulling open the folds at one end, when a light coloured thread of so on the outside, arrested his eye He put his hand upon it; it felt stringy, and adhered to his fingers

'Hold the light close,' he said

She held it close He raised his hand to the glass, and they both peered at an aler and thu hair; the hair of a woman

'God! I couldn't believe it--no, I couldn't believe it!' the detective whispered, horror-struck 'And I have lost the et into a sheltered place