decided to give his old playmate the benefit of the doubt, and you know
already from what I've told you about Peter that, when he makes up his
mind to do a thing, he does it thoroughly. The story that Justin
Stanislaws had been murdered was denied, and scorn was poured upon it by
the family. It survived only among sensation mongers and gossip
lovers--like Caspian--who always believe the worst of every one and
everything. Marcel Senior was grateful beyond words, but he was
conscientious, too. Months passed with no word from his son (this was no
new experience!), then a letter came from the Argentine.

"I'm doing well here," wrote Marcel Junior. "You won't have to worry
about me in future. I know I've been a fool; but for once and for all
I've had my lesson." And he went on to tell what the lesson was. "I was
half crazy when you and old Stanislaws refused to let me have five
thousand dollars," he said. "The scrape I'd got into was worse than I'd
told you. I was at my wits' ends for money, and I dreamed about the safe
in Stanislaws' wall. I knew what he kept there. He often showed Pietro
and me the jewels. I dreamed that I went into his room, took the keys
from under the pillow, and opened the safe. Then a noise woke me up. The
dream was true. I waked standing at the open safe with the steel box in
my hand. The noise that brought me to myself was Stanislaws falling on
the marble floor. You know I've been a sleep walker all my life. But I
realized in a second how hard it would be to prove myself innocent,
whether Stanislaws lived or died. I thought my one chance was to be off
before morning. I swear I didn't mean to steal the jewels. But the first
thing I knew, I was out in the hall with the box in my hand, and I dared
not go back!"

Marcel Junior went on to say that to his surprise the jewel-case wasn't
locked. Because he had no money to get away with, he took out a diamond
ring. The box, with the rest of its contents intact, he buried in the
garden. In the hiding-place described it was found by Marcel Senior who
carried it, with the letter, to Pietro.

It was soon after this that Peter finished settling up his father's
affairs with the help of James Strickland, and sailed for England in the
_Lusitania_, meaning to take a long holiday after his strenuous years as
a budding millionaire. The recovered jewels he left in Strickland's
care. And now you will have guessed, Mercedes, whence came those pearls,
diamonds, rubies, a