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 Carey Vermont! To his knowledge there was no such person in existence. True, there might be, but if so it was strange that he had neither seen nor heard of her. Was this the reason of that sudden generosity which made light of delay, which found in so serious an accident a blessing in disguise? This thought brought a rush of other thoughts, of which the worthy Smales was not a little afraid. There was that strange meeting at Newland’s Corner to be accounted for, and the story of the wrecked bicycle. He remembered now that he had seen no trace of that wreckage. Also, his mind wandered to a slim, pale girl whom he more than half believed might one day consent to become Mrs. Carey Vermont. What would happen now? What had happened during his stay in London?

Smales, being a highly respectable young man, resented strongly the imputations of George, the waiter. He liked neither the manner nor the tone of that hoary individual; and as for the red-headed Miss Short, it seemed to him she would have been much better employed looking after her beer-taps than in talking scandal of her betters. It is true Mr. Vermont