“That is so obvious, Sey,” my brother-in-law observed, in a most aggrieved tone, “that I should have thought any secretary worth his salt would have arrived at it instantly.”

I abstained from remarking that Charles himself had not arrived at it even now, until I told him.  I thought that to say so would serve no good purpose.  So I merely went on:  “Well, it seems to me likely that when he came as Medhurst, with his hair cut short, he was really wearing his own natural crop, in its simplest form and of its native hue.  By now it has had time to grow long and bushy.  When he was David Granton, no doubt, he clipped it to an intermediate length, trimmed his beard and moustache, and dyed them all red, to a fine Scotch colour.  As the Seer, again, he wore his hair much the same as Elihu’s; only, to suit the character, more combed and fluffy.  As the little curate, he darkened it and plastered it down.  As Von Lebenstein, he shaved close, but cultivated his moustache to its utmost dimensions, and dyed it black after the Tyrolese fashion.  He need never have had a wig; his own natural hair would throughout have been sufficient, allowing for intervals.”

“You’re right, Sey,” my brother-in-law said, growing almost friendly.  “I will do you the justice to admit that’s the nearest thing we have yet struck out to an idea for tracking him.”

On the Saturday morning a letter arrived which relieved us a little from our momentary tension.  It was from our enemy himself—­but most different in tone from his previous bantering communications:—­

“Saratoga, Friday.

“SIR CHARLES VANDRIFT—­Herewith I return your dispatch-box, intact, with the papers untouched.  As you will readily observe, it has not even been opened.

“You will ask me the reason for this strange conduct.  Let me be serious for once, and tell you truthfully.

“White Heather and I (for I will stick to Mr. Wentworth’s judicious sobriquet) came over on the Etruria with you, intending, as usual, to make something out of you.  We followed you to Lake George—­for I had ‘forced a card,’ after my habitual plan, by inducing you to invite us, with the fixed intention of playing a particular trick upon you.  It formed no part of our original game to steal your dispatch-box; that I consider a simple and elementary trick unworthy the skill of a practised operator.  We persisted in the preparations for our coup, till you pulled my hair out.  Then, to my great surprise, I saw you exhibited a degree of regret and genuine compunction with which, till that moment, I could never have credited you.  You thought you had hurt my feelings; and you behaved more like a gentleman than I had previously known you to do.  You not only apologised, but you also endeavoured voluntarily to make reparation.  That produced an effect upon me.  You may not believe it, but I desisted accordingly from the trick I had prepared for you.

“I might also have accepted your offer to go to South Africa, where I could soon have cleared out, having embezzled thousands.  But, then, I should have been in a position of trust and responsibility—­and I am not quite rogue enough to rob you under those conditions.