It was an amusement worthy of our time;
it appealed alike to the villa and the humble lodging, encouraged
the habit of literary and logical discussion, gave an impulse to the
sale of dictionaries. High and low, far and wide, a spirit of noble
emulation took hold upon the users of the English tongue. "The
missing word"--from every lip fell the phrase which had at first
sounded so mysteriously; its vogue exceeded that, in an earlier
time, of "the missing link." The demand for postage stamps to be
used in transmitting the entrance fee threatened to disorganize that
branch of the public service; sorting clerks and letter carriers,
though themselves contributory, grew dismayed at the additional
labour imposed upon them.
Naturally the infection was caught by most of the lively little
group of Londoners in whose fortunes we are interested. Mr. Gammon
threw himself with mirthful ardour into a competition which might
prove so lucrative. Mr. Greenacre gave part of his supple mind to
this new branch. of detective energy. The newly-wedded pair, Mr.
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