“It’s a pretty clear case,” reflected Jimmie.  “The secret refers, without doubt, to the man who murdered her.  And the motive for it must be traced back to her early life at Dunwold.  She left a discarded lover behind when she went to Paris.  Ah, but why not a husband?  Suppose she was never really Jack’s wife!  In that case it is easy to see what she meant by saying that she would make him happy again.  By Jove, I’m anxious to ferret the thing out!”

Jimmie looked at his watch; it was just seven o’clock.  He put the letter in his desk, safe under lock and key, and went straight to Morley’s Hotel.  He dined with Sir Lucius Chesney, and told him what he had learned from his visit to Mrs. Rickett.  He made no mention of what he had found in the secret closet, nor did he refer to Victor Nevill.

Sir Lucius was amazed and delighted, hopeful of success.  He thoroughly approved Jimmie’s plan, and gave him a brief note of introduction to the Vicar of Dunwold.

“I wish I could go with you,” he said; “but, unfortunately, I have two important engagements in town to-morrow.”

The interview was a long one, and it was eleven o’clock when Jimmie left the hotel.  He went straight home to bed, and an early hour the next morning found him gliding out of Victoria station in a South Coast train.

* * * * *

On the previous night, while Jimmie and Sir Lucius were dining at Morley’s, Victor Nevill emerged from his rooms in Jermyn street, and walked briskly to Piccadilly Circus.  He looked quite unlike the spruce young man of fashion who was wont to disport himself in the West End at this hour, for he wore tweeds, a soft hat, and a rather shabby overcoat.  He took a cab in Coventry street, and gave the driver a northern address.  As he rode through the Soho district he occasionally pressed one hand to his breast, and a bundle of bank notes, tucked snugly away there, gave forth a rustling sound.  The thought of them aggravated him sorely.

“A thousand pounds to that black-mailing scoundrel!” he muttered.  “It’s a steep price, and yet it means much more than that to me.  There was no other way out of it, and I can’t blame the fellow for making a hard bargain and sticking to it.  If all goes smoothly, and I get possession of the papers, it’s ten to one I will be secure, with nothing more to fear.  It was fortunate that Timmins picked me out.  It would have meant ruin to my prospects had he sold his knowledge elsewhere.  He is a clever rascal, and he knows that it will be to his interest to keep his mouth shut hereafter.  What risk there may be from other quarters is so slight that I needn’t worry about it.”