"What is the matter?" asked the master of the Hall.
"Something is very much wrong, sir," replied Dick. "Dora
Stanhope has disappeared."
"Disappeared!"
"Yes, sir. She received some sort of a note signed with my name."
No more was said just then, Dick, the captain, and the servant doing all they could to restore Mrs. Stanhope to consciousness. When the lady finally came to her senses she could not keep from crying bitterly.
"Oh, where can my Dora be?" she moaned. "Something dreadful has happened to her—I feel certain of it."
"Where is that note?" asked Dick.
"I left it on the mantelpiece in our dining room. It said: 'Dear Friend Dora: Meet me as soon as you can down at the old boathouse on the lake. I have something important to tell you,' and it was signed 'Richard Rover.'"
"Mrs. Stanhope, as true as I stand here, I never wrote that note or sent it."
"I believe you, Dick. But who did send it?"