cions to herself, she merely informed him that the
interpretation was in her hands. He at once asked to see it. She refused
to show it to him until he had made her his wife. "Put a chisel in your
pocket, when we go to church, to-morrow morning," was the one hint she
gave him. As thoroughly worthy of each other as ever, the betrothed
lovers distrusted each other to the last.

At eleven o'clock the next morning they were united in the bonds of
wedlock; the landlord and the landlady of the public-house in which they
had both served being the only witnesses present. The children were not
permitted to see the ceremony. On leaving the church door, the married
pair began their honeymoon by driving to St. John's Wood.

A dirty printed notice, in a broken window, announced that the House was
To Let; and a sour-tempered woman informed them that they were free to
look at the rooms.

The bride was in the best of humors. She set the bridegroom the example
of keeping up appearances by examining the dilapidated house first.
This done, she said sweetly to the person in charge, "May we look at the
garden?"

The woman made a strange answer to this request. "That's curious," she
said.

James interfered for the first time. "What's curious?" he asked roughly.

"Among all the idle people who have come here, at one time or another,
to see this house," the woman said, "only two have wanted to look at the
garden."

James turned on his heel, and made for the summer-house, leaving it to
his wife to pursue the subject or not as she pleased. She did pursue the
subject.

"I am one of the persons, of course," she said. "Who is the other?"

"An old man came on Monday."

The bride's pleasant smile vanished.

"What sort of person was he?" she asked.

The sour-tempered woman became sourer than ever.

"Oh, how can I tell! A brute. There!"

"A brute!" The very words which the new Mrs. Bellbridge had herself used
when the Expert had irritated her. With serious misgivings, she, too,
turned her steps in the direction of the garden.

James had already followed her instructions and used his chisel. The
plank lay loose on the floor. With both his big hands he rapidly cleared
away the mould and the rubbish. In a few minutes the hiding-place was
laid bare.

They looked into it. They looked at each other. There was the empty
hole, telling its own story. The diamonds were gone.

9.--The Mother.

Mrs. Bellbridge eyed her husband, prepared