e that your gem has
been returned to you. That would make our work on the case useless, and
assure him of winning his bet."

Mr. Barnes's object here was ingenious. He thought that if the girl
accepted his suggestion, he would thus be assured that she still
suspected Mr. Mitchel. Thus he would reach her true opinion of the case.
Her answer was.

"I cannot do that. It would certainly be to give up my hope of
recovering the stone. I am sure that Mr. Mitchel has not taken it. If I
am wrong, and he has done so without trusting me, why then he has made
a mistake, and must suffer by it. I am sure, however, it will prove
otherwise. So do the best you can, if you please."

"You may rely upon it that my best energies shall be devoted to this
work. I wish you good-morning."

About six o'clock that same afternoon, Mr. Barnes sent his card up to
Mr. Mitchel, at the Lafayette, in Philadelphia. A few minutes later he
was shown into that gentleman's room, and found him in bed.

"Delighted to see you, Mr. Barnes. You are very kind to come and see me.
For doing so, I am almost willing to forgive you for the wrong which you
have done me."

"Wrong? What wrong?"

"Do you remember the day you came to see me at the Fifth Avenue, about
the button which you had found? You asked me to show you the seventh of
my own set. I agreed on condition that you would not annoy the lady."

"Well!"

"You broke your promise--that is all."

"In what way?"

"In the first place you bribed her maid to tell her a lie, and leave
her, so that one of your spies could take her place. Secondly, your spy
did take her place. The result of which was that Miss Remsen could not
re-engage her old maid, and has had much trouble to get another as
good."

"I did not foresee, when I made that promise, that such an emergency
would arise as did later."

"Very true! But I did, and I warned you that you would gain nothing by
making the promise, since you would only find my own story verified by
your visit."

"Well, I am very sorry, and will say that it shall not occur again."

"But, Mr. Barnes, it has occurred again."

"How so?"

"Why, she cannot leave her home at any time, without being dogged by
your spies."

Mr. Barnes bit his lip in chagrin to find how well this man was
acquainted with his plans, but he replied unhesitatingly,

"This time you are wrong. I promised you not to annoy Miss Remsen in
connection with the particular case of which we were the