reproach between her sobs. It was some time before
I could get out of her what was wrong. Then she told me that Sir Philip
had asked her to wear the necklace at some dance we were to attend on
the next night. It was then that I learnt that the necklace had been
given to Violet by Sir Philip as a wedding present. Violet attached such
little value to the gift that she had given the necklace to me, thinking
it would not be missed, but she had found out her mistake that night. It
was in the presence of Phil and Miss Heredith that Sir Philip had asked
her to wear it. Violet tried to get out of it by saying that the pearls
were dull and the necklace wanted resetting. On hearing this Miss
Heredith had gone out of the room and returned with Mr. Musard, an old
family friend who had arrived that day on a short visit. He is a
connoisseur in jewels, and Miss Heredith asked his advice about the
necklace. Musard told her that the pearls had long needed some treatment
technically known as "skinning," and he offered to take the necklace to
London two days later and get it done by an expert. Violet accepted the
offer, and then promised Sir Philip that she would wear the necklace at
the party.

"She slipped upstairs to see me as soon as she dared. She was greatly
relieved when she learnt that I had not parted with the necklace, and
she wanted me to go up to London and bring it back so that she could
wear it to the party. I was willing to do so, but I doubted whether I
would be able to get back in time. The local train service had been
restricted on account of the war, and the only train I could catch back
did not reach Heredith until half-past seven.

"It was Violet who hit on the plan. The big thing--the vital thing for
her, she pointed out, was to have the necklace in time to give to Musard
before he went to London. She said she could easily get out of going to
the dance by pretending to have one of her bad headaches, and she did
not wish to meet Mrs. Weyne again. Her idea was that I should pretend I
had been recalled to France, delay my departure until the afternoon
train to prevent suspicion, and return secretly with the necklace. She
said that the afternoon train reached London at twenty-five minutes past
five, which would give me thirty-five minutes to take a taxi to my flat,
get the necklace, and catch the return express at six o'clock. I was to
leave the train at Weydene Junction, where nobody was likely to
recognize me, and wa