Then, pulling himself together with an effort, he seemed to dash away a tear, and walked into the room, saying almost harshly, “What does it mean?”

Doctor Hills rose to meet him, and by way of a brief explanation he put into Tom’s hand the paper he had found on the table. Tom read the written message, and looked more stupefied than ever. With a sudden gesture he turned towards Schuyler Carleton and said in a low voice, “but you did love her, didn’t you?”

“I did,” replied Carleton simply.

“Why should she have thought you didn’t?” went on Tom, looking at the paper, and seeming to soliloquize rather than to address his question to anyone else.

As this was the first time that the “ S. ” in Madeleine’s note had been openly assumed to stand for Schuyler Carleton, there was a stir of excitement all round the room.