nd
to wonder in what way she was connected with such a blackguard.

However, he saw nothing and turned his face homeward. Just as he was
leaving the park on the side near the cemetery he saw something
glittering in the grass. This he picked up, and was so amazed that he
could only stare at it dumb-founded. And his astonishment was little to
be wondered at. He held in his hand a half-sovereign with an amethyst, a
diamond, and a pearl set into the gold. It was the very ornament which
he had given Anne Denham on the night of the children's party at The
Elms--the coin of His Most Gracious Majesty King Edward VII.

CHAPTER XV

AN AWKWARD INTERVIEW

The discovery of the coin perplexed Giles. It was certainly the trinket
attached to the bangle which he had given Anne. And here he found it in
the grounds of the Priory. This would argue that she was in the
neighborhood, in the house it might be. She had never been to the Priory
when living at The Elms, certainly not after the New Year, when she
first became possessed of the coin. He decided, therefore, that at some
late period--within the last few days--she had been in the park, and
there had lost the coin. It would, indeed, be strange if this trifling
present which he had made her should be the means of tracing her to her
hiding-place.

And that hiding-place was the Priory. Giles felt sure of this. If she
was in the neighborhood and walking about openly, she would be
discovered and arrested. Therefore she must be concealed in the house.
She had gone off with Walter Franklin, and here she was under the wing
of his brother George. The case grew more mysterious and perplexing as
time went on. Giles did not know which way to turn, or what advantage to
reap from this discovery.

Certainly, if he could get into the Priory and search the house, he
might discover Anne. Or, it might be, that if he confided in Franklin
and told him of his love for Anne, the man might tell the truth and let
him have an interview. But the matter took some thinking out. He decided
to let it remain in abeyance at present. After kissing the coin--had it
not been Anne's?--he slipped it into his waistcoat-pocket and returned
home.

Here a surprise, and not a very agreeable one, awaited him. He reached
his house just in time to dress for dinner, and found a letter, which
had been delivered by hand. It was from Olga Karacsay, and announced
that she and her mother were stopping at the village inn.