had broken the policeman to them
gently. Of course, Anne said at once that he was the thief, but they
found him tucked in and sound asleep with his back against the furnace.)

"In the first place," Max said, standing importantly in the middle of
the room, "we retired between two and three--nearer three. So the
theft occurred between three and five, when Anne woke up. Was your door
locked, Dal?"

"No. The door into the hall was, but the door into the dressing room was
open, and we found the door from there into the hall open this morning."

"From three until five," Max repeated. "Was any one out of his room
during that time?"

"I was," said Tom Harbison promptly, from the foot of the bed. "I was
prowling all around somewhere about four, searching"--he glanced at
me--"for a drink of water. But as I don't know a pearl from a glass
bead, I hope you exonerate me."

Everybody laughed and said, "Of course," and "Sure, old man," and
changed the subject quickly.

While that excitement was on, I got Jim to one side and told him about
Bella. His good-natured face was radiant at first.

"I suppose she DID come to see Takahiro, eh, Kit?" he asked delicately.
"She didn't say anything about me?"

"Nothing good. She said the house was in a disgraceful condition," I
said heartlessly. "And her diamond bracelet was stolen while she took
a nap on the kitchen table"--he groaned--"and--oh, Jim, you are such
a goose! If I could only manage my own affairs the way I could my
friends'! She's too sure of you, Jimmy. She knows you adore her,
and--how brutal could you be, Jim?"

"Fair," he said. "I may have undiscovered depths of brutality that I
have never had occasion to use. However, I might try. Why?"

"Listen, Jim," I urged. "It was always Bella who did things here; she
managed the house, she tyrannized over her friends, and she bullied you.
Yes, she did. Now she's here, without your invitation, and she has to
stay. It's your turn to bully, to dictate terms, to be coldly civil or
politely rude. Make her furious at you. If she is jealous, so much the
better."

"How far would you sacrifice yourself on the altar of friendship?" he
asked.

"You may pay me all the attention you like, in public," I replied, and
after we shook hands we went together to Bella.

There was an ominous pause when we went into the den. Bella was sitting
by the register, with her furs on, and after one glance over her
shoulder at us, she looked away again w