n the library, and resealed the envelope. It had
not been tampered with so far as he could discover, and he returned it
to the pocket.

The mysterious visitor at the mansion, whoever or whatever he was, could
not be regarded as a burglar, or, if he was, he had strangely neglected
his opportunities, for he had failed to appropriate at least five
hundred dollars worth of watches and money, which he could hardly have
helped seeing. His object was not plunder, and there was nothing to
indicate the purpose of his visit. In retiring from the house the
intruder had left the front door ajar: and Christy thought it would
have been the most natural thing in the world to close it, in order to
conceal the way by which he had left the mansion. But he might have done
this to avoid the noise of shutting it, or had neglected it in his haste
to escape.

When he had completed his toilet Christy looked at his watch, and was
rather surprised to find that it was a full hour later than usual when
the call bell had been rung. He went down-stairs, and found his mother
and Florry very busy in the dining-room, setting the table. This was the
man's work, and the young officer was astonished to see his mother and
sister doing it.

"What has broken now, mother?" asked the lieutenant, glancing from one
to the other of the busy couple.

"I don't know that anything has broken," replied Mrs. Passford, with a
smile, after she had said good-morning to her son.

"You and Florry are not in the habit of setting the table, mother; and
the first bell rang an hour later than usual," added Christy.

"We were all disturbed last night, and I did not wake till the cook
knocked at my door. She told me she could not find Walsh, and breakfast
had been ready half an hour. That is the reason why everything is late
this morning," Mrs. Passford explained.

"But where is Walsh?" inquired Christy.

"I am sure I do not know. I called in the coachman, and he has been to
his room and looked all over the place without finding him."

"That is very odd," mused the officer, wondering whether this sudden
disappearance had anything to do with the principal event of the
preceding night.

"Peach says he has taken his valise with him, which indicates that he
has gone for good."

"Who is Peach?" asked Christy, who had been at home so little that he
hardly knew the names of the servants.

"He is the coachman. I am not sorry that Walsh has gone, for he has
saved me the tr