jewel thief," announced Mr.
Hiram P. Jessop. "That is, she's owned up. So real disgusted, I guess,
to find she hadn't secured the genu-ine ruby.

"I've come straight on from Rats himself, who gave me the whole story.
She brought round the other one with her own hands, and said she'd taken
it for a bet. She always was eccentric.

"Well, I calculate you've got to believe a lady of title," concluded the
young American between two spoonfuls of soup. "If you can't rely upon
your old aristocracy to tell the truth in this country, who can you rely
on?"

"Better ask the Honourable Jim!" laughed Miss Vi Vassity. "And now tell
us who's the lady."

"Another acquaintance of yours, Miss Vassity," announced Mr. Jessop,
giving the title with an air. "Lady Haye-Golightly!"

Another little buzz of comment greeted the name of the lady whom I had
always called "the cobra-woman."

And then Mr. Jessop turned from this surprising theme to something that
seemed nearer still to his heart. "Well, and, Cousin Nellie, here's a
bit of good news. I guess that bomb-dropper of mine is a cinch. Your
authorities over here are taking it up all right. They're going to use
it all right!"

"Oh, are they, Hiram?" said my young mistress in the indulgent tone of a
grown-up person discussing its toys with some child. She always adopts
this tone towards her cousin's invention. "And what do they think
they're goin' to use it for, eh?"

The young American looked round the table at each of the faces turned
towards him.

Then, in a detached tone, he made the announcement of that which was to
make all the difference in the world to all of us.

"I guess they'll use it--in this coming war!"

Well, of course we'd seen "rumours of wars" in the day-old papers that
had reached us in our wet Welsh valley. But a houseful of women recks
little of newspaper news--or did reck little. It all seemed as far away,
as little to do with us as, say, the report of some railway accident in
Northern China!

Now the young inventor's simple words brought it home to us!

CHAPTER XXXIV

THE FORTUNES OF WAR

WAR--European war was at our very doors, and it seemed more than likely
that England was going to join in, Mr. Jessop said.

He went on, quite quietly, to inform us that it would find him ready, he
guessed. He'd sent in his application early to the Royal Flying Corps,
and he guessed that next time we saw