ng his natural politeness
with his employment of the vernacular, "and if you will also answer
a few questions I will save you a lot of trouble. You were Lady
Bartholomew's maid weren't you?"

"Yes, sir," sobbed the red-eyed Mary Ann.

"And you have been detected trying to pawn a gold bracelet, the property
of Lady Bartholomew?"

The maid gulped, nodded and started breathlessly upon a recital of her
wrongs.

"Yes, sir--but she practically gave it to me, sir, and I haven't had my
wages for two months, sir, and she can give that foreigner thousands
and thousands of pounds at a time, sir, but her poor servants she can't
pay--no, she can't. And if Sir William knew especially about my lady's
cards and about the snuffbox, what would he think, I wonder, and I'm
going to have my rights, for if she can pay thousands to a swell like
Mr. Kara she can pay me and--"

Mansus jerked his head.

"Take her down to the cells," he said briefly, and they led her away, a
wailing, woeful figure of amateur larcenist.

In three minutes Mansus was with T. X. and had reduced the girl's
incoherence to something like order.

"This is important," said T. X.; "produce the Abigail."

"The--?" asked the puzzled officer.

"The skivvy--slavey--hired help--get busy," said T. X. impatiently.

They brought her to T. X. in a condition bordering upon collapse.

"Get her a cup of tea," said the wise chief. "Sit down, Mary Ann, and
forget all your troubles."

"Oh, sir, I've never been in this position before," she began, as she
flopped into the chair they put for her.

"Then you've had a very tiring time," said T. X. "Now listen--"

"I've been respectable--"

"Forget it!" said T. X., wearily. "Listen! If you'll tell me the whole
truth about Lady Bartholomew and the money she paid to Mr. Kara--"

"Two thousand pounds--two separate thousand and by all accounts-"

"If you will tell me the truth, I'll compound a felony and let you go
free."

It was a long time before he could prevail upon her to clear her
speech of the ego which insisted upon intruding. There were gaps in her
narrative which he bridged. In the main it was a believable story. Lady
Bartholomew had lost money and had borrowed from Kara. She had given as
security, the snuffbox presented to her husband's father, a doctor, by
one of the Czars for services rendered, and was "all blue enamel and
gold, and foreign words in diamonds." On the question of the amount Lady
Bartholomew had