"Mrs.
Vrain has defended herself successfully, much in the same way as Count Ferruci has done.

Your only chance of getting at the truth lies in discovering Wrent; and unless Rhoda helps you there, I do not see how you can trace the man." "I am of a different opinion," said Link, lying freely to conceal his doubts of success in the matter.

"As you have failed through lack of experience, I shall attempt to unravel this skein." "You attempted to do so before, and gave it up because of the tangle," said Lucian with quiet irony.

"And unless you discover more than I have done, you will dismiss the matter again as impossible.

So far as I can see, the mystery of Vrain's death is more of a mystery than ever, and will never be solved." "I'll make one last attempt to unriddle it, however," answered Link, with a confidence he was far from feeling, "but, of course--not being one of your impossible detectives of fiction--I may fail." "You are certain to fail," said Lucian decisively, and with this disheartening prophecy he left Link to his task of--apparently--spinning ropes of sand.
Whether it was that Link was so doubtful of the result as to extend little energy in the search, or whether he really found the task impossible of accomplishment, it is difficult to say, but assuredly he failed as completely as Lucian predicted.