"And is your brother a desk clerk?" inquired I almost
involuntarily:

He gave me a surprised glance, but answered courteously enough,
"Yes;" and the conversation flagged.

Exultantly I thought that my deduction, though rather an obvious
one, was right; but after another furtive glance at the young
man, I realized that Stone would have known he was wearing
another's coat, for it was the most glaring misfit in every way.

Once more I tried, and directed my attention to a middle-aged,
angular-looking woman, whose strong, sharp-featured face
betokened a prim spinster, probably at the head of a girls'
school, or engaged in some clerical work. However, as I passed
her on my way to leave the train I noticed a wedding-ring on her
hand, and heard her say to her companion, "No; I think a woman's
sphere is in her own kitchen and nursery. How could I think
otherwise, with my six children to bring up?" After these
lamentable failures, I determined not to trust much to deduction
in the case I was about to investigate, but to learn actual facts
from actual evidence.

I reached West Sedgwick, as Donovan had said, at quarter before
eleven. Though I had never been there before, the place looked
quite as I had imagined it. The railway station was one of those
modern attractive structures of rough gray stone, with
picturesque projecting roof and broad, clean platforms. A flight
of stone steps led down to the roadway, and the landscape in
every direction showed the well-kept roads, the well-grown trees