n
unearthing the ruby myself, assured that through it I must certainly
succeed in drawing some betrayal from the murderer, that its loss
amounted to a thwarting of all my efforts. My feeling was that of one
who has striven and failed--failed through a solitary act of gross
carelessness.

But if I was dejected, I was no less determined. Only a little more
than two days had elapsed since Felix Page met his untimely death; the
body had not been interred yet; and I knew that I held in my hands the
ends of a net which enveloped all the actors. One of them was guilty.
My determination was to be no longer considerate through fear of
wounding the innocent. I meant to draw in the lines of the net until
everybody's position stood clear and unequivocal; but to that end I
must be fortified with one more fragment of information. And here it
was that I looked to Genevieve.

A neat-appearing maid admitted me, who seemed to be expecting my
arrival, for she conducted me at once up-stairs, above the second story
to the third, and to a room in the rear of the house. I wondered a bit
at this; but I was more surprised than ever when the open door
disclosed Miss Fluette instead of Genevieve. A good many startling
experiences were in store for me that morning.

The maid closed the door and left us immediately. I began muttering
some words expressive of my pleasure at seeing Miss Fluette able to be
up and about; but something in her manner checked the speech. She had
not even looked at me. In fact, I quite suddenly realized that she was
studiously keeping her eyes averted from mine.

And again, she presented the appearance of one who has recently
undergone a strenuous exertion. Her rich, red-gold hair was in
disorder; she was breathing deeply, and her cheeks were flushed, though
her movements were direct and full of purpose. Then, too, if a man may
hazard the guess, I would have said that the lacey, beribboned dressing
gown she wore hid her nightdress. The situation was most unusual.

When I entered the room she was standing on one side of the door,
precisely as if she had moved aside to make way for me, meaning to
depart as soon as I had entered. But she did not. Instead, the
instant I crossed the threshold, she advanced quickly to the door. She
turned the key, then withdrew it from the lock, and hastened to a chair
on the side of the room farthest away from me.

I could not repress a smile--despite my amazement at thes