so eagerly that he laughed.

"There is another thing about that," he said. "I suppose you haven't
thought of what they would do if they saw you going off by train
anywhere?"

"What?" I asked, looking up at him with startled eyes.

"Why, they would wire to every station along the line to take notice
where you got off before Lewes, and to follow up all your movements,
you real, artful, detective-dodging little diamond thief you," declared
my companion teasingly.

And I saw him simply shaking with laughter over the steering-wheel as he
went on.

"The brilliant idea of Rats, and the manager, that you and my little
cousin Nellie should have gotten hold of his old ruby!"

"You knew at once," I said, "that we hadn't!"

And he laughed easily and said: "It didn't take much guessing when he
had seen me and knew that Nellie Million was a relative of his and a
niece of the old man's."

"Jewel thieves, not much!" he said in his quick, reassuring accent.

I said: "Well! I hope you put in a good word for us with that odious
little Jew man that lost the ruby."

"Not on your life! I just love to watch somebody who thinks they are too
quick and clever to live go over-reaching themselves some," said the
American good-humouredly.

How funny it felt to be sitting there beside him, while the hedges
whirled past--I, who had never set eyes on the young man before
yesterday, now joining him in this wild quest of a cousin whom he had
never yet seen!

"Oh, dear! I wonder if we shall find her!" I murmured.

"Why, I am determined not to close an eye to-night until we do, Miss
Smith," said the missing heiress's cousin, gravely looking ahead at the
sliding ribbon of white road. "It's a matter of some little importance
to me that we find her soon. It is also no less important what I think
of her when we do meet!"

I was a little surprised to hear him speak so impressively. Naturally,
when one is going to meet a relative for the first time one wonders what
sort of a mutual impression will be made. But why had this young man
said so seriously that this was "important"?

He seemed to read my thoughts, for, as we cleared a village and came out
into a long stretch of wide and empty road, he turned to me and said:
"You know, it is as a matter of business that I am coming to see this
cousin of mine and this mistress of yours. I have got to have a little
serious heart-to-heart talk with her on the subject of the old man's
money."

"Why?