er which he beckoned a clerk to
him.

"Ask my son to step this way a moment," he said.

The man bowed respectfully, bestowing an admiring glance upon the
attractive woman on the other side of the counter, and then withdrew
to a private office at the other end of the room.

A moment later Ray Palmer made his appearance and approached his father.

Mr. Palmer introduced his son to Mrs. Vanderbeck, mentioned her desire
that some one be sent to her residence with the diamonds she had selected
for her husband's approval, and asked if he would assume the
responsibility.

The young man readily consented, for the duty was not an unusual one, and
immediately returned to the office for his coat and hat, while his father
carefully put up the costly stones in a convenient form for him to take,
and chatted socially with the beautiful Mrs. Vanderbeck meantime.

When they were ready Ray slipped the package into one of the outside
pockets of his overcoat, but retained his hold upon it, and then followed
the lady from the store to her carriage, and the next moment they drove
away.

The young man found his companion a most charming woman. She was bright,
witty, cultured and highly educated. She had evidently seen a great deal
of the world, and was full of anecdotes, which she knew how to relate
with such effect that he forgot for the time everything but the charm of
her presence and conversation.

The drive was rather a long one, but Ray did not mind that, and was, on
the whole, rather sorry when the carriage stopped, and Mrs. Vanderbeck
remarked, in the midst of a witty anecdote:

"Here we are at last--ah--"

This last ejaculation was caused by discovering that she could not rise
from her seat, her dress having been shut into the door of the _coupe_.

Ray bent forward with a polite "allow me," to assist her, but found that
he could not disengage the dress.

Just then the coachman opened the door, but in spite of the young man's
utmost care, the beautiful cloth was badly torn in the operation.

"What a pity!" he exclaimed, in a rueful tone.

But madame looked up with a silvery laugh.

"Never mind," she said lightly, "accidents will happen, and I ought to
have been more careful when I entered the carriage."

Ray stepped out upon the sidewalk, where he stood waiting to assist
his companion, who, however, was trying to pin the rent in her skirt
together. Then gathering up some packages that were lying on the seat
opposite