"
The young man crackled the bank-note between his fingers and thumb,
while he passed his other hand over his hair with the action of a man
who strives to collect himself.
"It is some ridiculous mistake," he said. "I must try and set it right.
Yet I don't know how to set about it either. I was going down to the
village from the Vicarage just after dusk when I found a fellow in a
trap who had got himself into broken water. One wheel had sunk into the
edge of the ditch which had been hidden by the snow, and the whole thing
was high and dry, with a list to starboard enough to slide him out of
his seat. I lent a hand, of course, and soon had the wheel in the road
again. It was quite dark, and I fancy that the fellow thought that I
was a bumpkin, for we did not exchange five words. As he drove off he
shoved this into my hand. It is the merest chance that I did not chuck
it away, for, feeling that it was a crumpled piece of paper, I imagined
that it must be a tradesman's advertisement or something of the kind.
However, as luck would have it, I put it in my pocket, and there I found
it when I looked for the dates of our cruise. Now you know as much of
the matter as I do."
Brother and sister stared at the black and white crinkled note with
astonishment upon their faces.
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