She was silent a few moments, lost in troubled thought. At length she said, timidly:
"I am afraid I cannot recall it, sir. My poor brain is dazed by my troubles, perhaps. But I am sure of one thing. She had the name of a flower, sir—a beautiful flower. I remember that, because it seemed to suit her so well."
Shelton's eyes brightened.
"Was her name—Lily?" he asked, impressively.
Instantly a gleam of remembrance irradiated the listener's face.
"Lily, Lily!" she said; "yes, that was indeed her name, sir. How could I forget it when I remembered everything else so well? I recall it distinctly now. It was Lily—Lily Lawrence."
Shelton sprang up with a cry that rang through the dungeon.
He was like one dazzled by the flash of light that broke in upon his mind.
Here was the solution of the dreadful mystery that had baffled him for weary months, the confirmation of the vague suspicion that had haunted him for days.
It was a living, breathing, beautiful woman he sought instead of a cold and lifeless body! No wonder the banker's reward failed of its object!