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“Whatisit，Patricia？Iknowyouwanttoaskmesomething。Isitaboutthatnight？“
“Iwonderifyouwouldreallymindverymuch，Vic，ifIaskedyou？“
“Notintheveryleast。Ishalldoubtlessenjoyitafterit’sout。
Painlessdentistryeffect。Gotoit，Patsy。“
“Itisveryserious，Vic。Ialwaysthinkpeopleinbooksaresostupid。Theycomeneartothetruthandthenjustmissgettingit。“
“Thetruth。Ah！Goon，Pat。“
“Well，Vic，“saidPatriciawithanairofonetakingadesperateventure，“whydidyounotgiveAdrienhernotethatnight？Itwouldhavesavedherandmesuchpain。Icriedallnightlong。I
hadsocountedonadancewithJack——andthenneverawordfromhim。Buthedidsendanote。Hetoldmeso。InevertoldAdrienthat，forsheforbademe，oh，soterribly，nevertospeakofitagain。Whydidn’tyougiveherormethenote，Vic？“Patricia’svoicewasverypatheticandhereyesverygentlebutverypiercing。
AllthelaughterdiedoutofVictor’sface。“Pat，Iliedtoyouonce，onlyonce，andthatliehascostmemanyanhour’smisery。
ButnowIshalltellyouthetruthandthewholetruth。“Andheproceededtorecountthetribulationswhichheenduredonthenightofthehockeydance。“Ididittohelpyoubothout，Pat。I
thoughtIcouldmakeiteasyforyou。Itwasallasheerguess，butitturnedouttobeprettywellright。“
Patricianoddedherhead。“Butyoureceivednonote？“
“Notascrap，Patricia，sohelpme。Notascrap。Patricia，youbelieveme？“
ThegirllookedstraightintoVic’shonesteyes。“Yes，Vic，“shesaid，“Ibelieveyou。ButJacksentanote。“
Vicsprangtohisfeet。“Good-bye，Watson。Youshallhearfrommewithinanhour。“
“Whateverdoyoumean？Whereareyougoing？“
“Dearlady，asknoquestions。IamabouttoSherlock。Farewell。“
AtthedoorheovertookJack。“Aha！Thefirstlinkinthechain。
Hello，oldchap，awordwithyou。MayIgetintoyourcar？“
“Certainly。Getin。“
“Nowthen，aboutthatnote。Nothinglikediplomacy。Thenightofthehockeydanceyousentanotetoalady？“
Jackglancedathiminamazement。
“Don’tbeanass，Vic。Idon’tfeellikethatstuffjustnow。“
“Thisisserious。Didyousendanotebymethatnightofthehockeydance？“
“Byyou？No。WhosaidIdid？“
“Aha！Themysterydeepens。Bywhom？Nothinglikefinesse。“
“Itisnoneofyourbusiness，“saidJackcrossly。
“Check，“criedVic。
“Whatareyoutalkingabout，anyway？“inquiredJack。
“Anotewassentbyyou，“saidVicimpressively，“throughsomeagencyatpresentunknown。Sofar，sogood。“
“Unknown？Whatrubbish。IsentanotebySamWigglesworth，whogaveittosomeofyouforAdrien。Whataboutit？“
AstheyapproachedtheentrancetotheMaitlandMillsVicsawastreamofemployeesissuefromthegate。
“Nothingmoreatpresent，“hesaid。“Thisismycorner。Letmeout。Iaminanawfulhurry，Jack。“
“Willyoutellme，please，whatallthismeans？“saidJackangrily。
“Sorry，oldchap。Awfullyhurriedjustnow。Seeyoulater。“
“Youareavastidiot，“grumbledJack，asVicrandownthestreet。
HetookhisplaceatthecornerwhichcommandedtheentrancetotheMaitlandworks。“HereIshallwait，abstractedlygazingatthepassers-by，untiltheunhappySammakeshisappearance，“musedVictohimself。“Andbythepowers，hereSamisnow。“
FromamongtheemployeesastheypouredfromthegateVictorpounceduponhisvictimandborehimawaydownasidestreet。
“Sam，“hesaid，“itmaybeyouareabouttodie，sotellmethetruth。Ihatetotakeyouryounglife。“Samgrinnedathiscaptor，unafraid。“Castyourmindbacktotheoccasionofthehockeydance。Yourememberthat？“
“YoubetIdo，Mister。Imadeadollarthatnight。“
“Ah！Adollar。Yes，youdid，fordeliveringanotegivenyoubyCaptainJackMaitland，“hissedVic，grippinghisarm。
“Huh-huh，“saidSam。“Lookout，Mister，that’sme。“
“Villain！“criedVic。“Boy，Imean。Now，Sam，didyoudeliverthatnote？“
“OfcourseIdid。Didn’tCaptainJackgivemeadollarforit？I
didn’twanthisdollar。“
“Thelastquestion，Sam，“saidVicsolemnly，“towhomdidyoudeliverthenote？“
“Tothatchap，thesonofthestorekeeper。“
“RupertStillwell？“suggestedVic。
“Huh-huh，that’shisname。That’shimnow，“criedSam。“InthatHudsoncar——see——there——quick！“
“Boy，“saidVicsolemnly，“youhavesavedyourlife。Here’sadollar。Now，remember，notawordaboutthis。“
“Allright，sir，“grinnedSamdelightedly，ashemadeoffdownthestreet。
“Nowthen，what？“saidVictohimself。“Thisthinghasgotpastthejokestage。Imustdosomethinking。ShallItellPatornot？
ByJove，byJove，that’snotthequestion。Whenthatyoungladygetsthosebigeyesofhersonmethetruthwillflowinalimpidstream。Imustmakesureofmyground。MeantimeIshalldotheKameradact。“
ThatafternoonAnnettehadanothervisitor。Hernurse，thoughsomewhatdubiousastothewisdomofthisindulgence
