It was all a plot between the two women." "But how--why--" "You see, I had a fact to go upon.

You had noticed that your so-called bride's gloves did not fit her; the boy below, that her shoes were so tight she hobbled.

That set me thinking.

A woman of Mrs.Ransom's experience and judgment would not be apt to make a mistake in two such important particulars; which, taken with the veil and the promise she exacted from you not to address or touch her during your short ride to the hotel, led me to point my inquiries so that I soon found out that your wife had had the assistance of another woman in getting ready for her journey and that this woman was her own maid who had been with her for a long time, and had always given evidence of an especial attachment for her.

Asking about this girl's height and general appearance (for the possibility of a substitution was already in my mind), I found that she was of slight figure and good carriage, and that her age was not far removed from that of her young mistress.