It's
the only way."
Shocked into silence by this cold-blooded philosophy, Mr. Ransom
controlled both his anger and his humiliation; but he could not control
his surprise.
"What does it mean?" he murmured to himself. "_What does it all mean?_"
CHAPTER III
"HE KNOWS THE WORD"
The next moment the doubt natural to the occasion asserted itself.
"How do you know all this? You state the impossible. Explain yourself."
Gerridge was only too willing to do so.
"I have just come from Mr. Fulton's house," said he. "Inquiries there
elicited the facts which have so startled you. Neither Mr. Fulton nor his
wife meant to deceive you. They knew nothing, suspected nothing of what
took place, and you have no cause to blame them. 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.
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