“I am sorry to say, no advance has been made since my former report.  The trace of the young lady which we found nearly a week since, still remains the last trace discovered of her.  This case seems a mighty simple one looked at from a distance.  Looked at close, it alters very considerably for the worse, and becomes, to speak the plain truth—­a Poser.

“This is how we now stand: 

“We have traced the young lady to the theatrical agent’s in Bow Street.  We know that at an early hour on the morning of the twenty-third the agent was called downstairs, while he was dressing, to speak to a young lady in a cab at the door.  We know that, on her production of Mr. Huxtable’s card, he wrote on it Mr. Huxtable’s address in the country, and heard her order the cabman to drive to the Great Northern terminus.  We believe she left by the nine o’clock train.  We followed her by the twelve o’clock train.  We have ascertained that she called at half-past two at Mr. Huxtable’s lodgings; that she found he was away, and not expected back till eight in the evening; that she left word she would call again at eight; and that she never returned.  Mr. Huxtable’s statement is—­he and the young lady have never set eyes on each other.  The first consideration which follows, is this:  Are we to believe Mr. Huxtable?  I have carefully inquired into his character; I know as much, or more, about him than he knows about himself; and my opinion is, that we are to believe him.  To the best of my knowledge, he is a perfectly honest man.

“Here, then, is the hitch in the case.  The young lady sets out with a certain object before her.  Instead of going on to the accomplishment of that object, she stops short of it.  Why has she stopped? and where?  Those are, unfortunately, just the questions which we can’t answer yet.

“My own opinion of the matter is, briefly, as follows:  I don’t think she has met with any serious accident.  Serious accidents, in nine cases out of ten, discover themselves.  My own notion is, that she has fallen into the hands of some person or persons interested in hiding her away, and sharp enough to know how to set about it.  Whether she is in their charge, with or without her own consent, is more than I can undertake to say at present.  I don’t wish to raise false hopes or false fears; I wish to stop short at the opinion I have given already.

“In regard to the future, I may tell you that I have left one of my men in daily communication with the authorities.  I have also taken care to have the handbills offering a reward for the discovery of her widely circulated.  Lastly, I have completed the necessary arrangements for seeing the play-bills of all country theaters, and for having the dramatic companies well looked after.  Some years since, this would have cost a serious expenditure of time and money.  Luckily for our purpose, the country theaters are in a bad way.  Excepting the large cities, hardly one of them is open, and we can keep our eye on them, with little expense and less difficulty.