The Argosy, Vol. 66

# Colonel Fane's Secret

This August 1898 Argosy serial installment (Chapters 27–28) by Sydney Hoppes continues the melodramatic search for Vera Fane. Hugh Chetwode, recently returned from abroad, discovers that Vera has left London in the company of actress Grace Carlyon, with whom Hugh has a complicated romantic past. Suspecting Vera has joined the theatrical profession, Hugh pursues theatrical directories and agents, finding tantalizing evidence that she may be performing under an assumed name—possibly "Miss Violet Fenton," who understudied Grace Carlyon in Dublin. Frustrated by London leads, Hugh embarks for Dublin to interview theatre managers and confirm the young woman's identity, hoping to locate Vera and explain his past to her. The narrative emphasizes Hugh's mounting anxiety and determination amid a series of investigative dead-ends.