th the brush before she
dared to look in the mirror again, and then she was impelled to do so by
the quivering of the shapely shoulders. Was her mistress sobbing in
silent anguish under the blow she had struck, or did the convulsion
betoken restrained merriment? The glance into the glass settled it. The
eyes of mistress and maid met, and Violet broke into a ripple of silvery
laughter.

"Why, you foolish little goose!" she cried, "there is no harm done after
all. You had better go to the police with your story as soon as you
like, or as soon as Mr. Nugent permits. Mr. Chermside would no more
dream of murdering anybody than would Mr. Nugent himself--not half so
much, indeed. It was nice of Mr. Nugent to want to save his friend
annoyance, but he might have had more faith in him. Once more, you are a
goose, Louise."

The Frenchwoman bore the rebuke in silence. She had fulfilled the
instructions so carefully instilled into her artful but shallow brain,
and all her efforts just now being devoted to pleasing her new _cher
ami_, as she considered the master of The Hut, she was content to leave
it at that. Nugent had not confided to her how he expected or wished
Miss Maynard to behave on hearing what he had instructed Louise to tell
her.

As soon as her toilet was complete Violet descended to the drawing-room,
where Aunt Sarah was talking to the Mallorys, who were the only guests
who had as yet arrived. In spite of having parted with Reggie Beauchamp
that morning Enid was in high spirits, and looked delightfully fresh in
her dinner dress of virginal white. She was merrily receiving somewhat
pessimistic congratulations on her engagement from Aunt Sarah, who was
laying it down that to marry a man liable to be drowned at any moment
was simply flying in the face of Providence.

Nugent and Chermside arrived together, and when Montague Maynard came
bursting in in the wake of the few remaining guests dinner was
announced, and they adjourned to the dining-room. To Violet the meal was
a tedious function that night. She was brimming over with mixed
excitement over the implied aspersion cast by Louise on her lover, and
she was longing to share the absurdity, as she considered it, with him.
She had much ado to restrain herself from mentioning it at the
dinner-table, but she realized that it was hardly a matter to be made
fun of before the servants. Moreover, she noticed that Leslie was
looking pale and preoccupied, and by no means in a