ot see with the eye of the spirit.
Everything has to be done by human hands, according to your
matter-of-fact notion.

"I know better; and I tell you that these jewels were taken by the
spirit of my deceased aunt, and that she did it to show me that my
daughter was wrongfully in possession of them."

When a healthy, hearty old man, who seems to be as sane as anybody else
in the world, stands up and talks such nonsense as this, what can one
say to him?

It is useless to tell him that he is wrong about the whole matter. It is
folly to attempt to reason with him.

The only way to do is to show him a perfectly natural explanation of the
mystery, and simply make him see it.

That was the task which Nick had before him, and it must be owned that,
at the first glance, he did not see how he was going to accomplish it.

He examined the room and satisfied himself that it had no secret
entrances.

Such being the case, Nick was unable to form a theory of the robbery
which would fit the facts as they had been stated to him.

After looking at the rooms, he went with Colonel Richmond to the parlor,
on the ground floor, and there proceeded to question him about the
mysterious occurrences.

"There have been three robberies in all," said the colonel, "and they
have been exactly alike.

"In every case my daughter has left some articles of jewelry on the
dressing-table in her bed-room, and one of them has vanished. Never more
than one at a time.

"Twice it happened while she was in the adjoining room. The bed-room
door which opens into the hall was locked on these occasions.

"The third time she was in the hall, talking with my nephew. He was
standing in the upper hall, leaning over the banister rail. They were
discussing a plan for a drive out into the country. Quite a party was to
go.

"Horace had just received word from a gentleman whom they had invited
that he would be unable to go. He had read the note in his room, and he
called downstairs to my daughter to tell her about it.

"That was how they happened to be standing in the hall. Presently she
went back into her room, and almost immediately noticed that a small
locket set with diamonds had been taken.

"She screamed, and Horace and I came running to her room. We searched it
thoroughly.

"There was nobody there. The door between the bedroom and the
sitting-room was open, but the other door of the sitting-room, which
opens into the old portion of the house, was l