he arm of his chair and rubbed the wrinkles from his forehead; "there
must be such a thing as justice, even in law."

"Law _is_ justice," stated Mr. Conant, resenting the insinuation, "but
justice is sometimes recognized by humans in one form, and sometimes in
another. I do not say that Jason Jones could collect damages on such
complaint, but he assuredly would have a case."

Mr. Conant had desired to return home after the first conference with
his client, but he admitted that his wife was recovering from her
indisposition and a kindly neighbor was assisting Irene in the care of
her, so he yielded to his client's urgent request to remain. Colonel
Hathaway was more alarmed by Alora's disappearance than he allowed Mary
Louise to guess, and he wanted Mr. Conant to spur the police to renewed
effort. In addition to this the Colonel and his lawyer usually spent
the best part of each day pursuing investigations on their own account,
with the result that Mary Louise was left to mope alone in the hotel
rooms.

The young girl was fond of Alora and secretly terrified over her
mysterious disappearance. She tried to embroider, as she sat alone and
waited for something to happen, but her nerveless fingers would not
hold the needle. She bought some novels but could not keep her mind on
the stories. Hour by hour she gazed from the window into the crowded
street below, searching each form and face for some resemblance to
Alora. She had all the newspapers sent to her room, that she might scan
the advertisements and "personals" for a clew, and this led her to
following the news of the Great War, in which she found a partial
distraction from her worries. And one morning, after her grandfather
and the lawyer had left her, she was glancing over the columns of the
Tribune when an item caught her eye that drew from her a cry of
astonishment. The item read as follows:

"The Grand Prize at the exhibition of American paintings being held in
the Art Institute was yesterday awarded by the jury to the remarkable
landscape entitled 'Poppies and Pepper Trees' by the California artist,
Jason Jones. This picture has not only won praise from eminent critics
but has delighted the thousands of visitors who have flocked to the
exhibition, so the award is a popular one. The Associated Artists are
tendering a banquet to-night to Jason Jones at the Congress Hotel,
where he is staying. The future of this clever artist promises well and
will be followed with