put away, diamonds and all. Contrary to her usual
custom, for she was very careful of her diamonds, and very much afraid
they would be stolen, she had left them in their box on her dressing
bureau. But they were not there now. Sarah, who knew where she kept
them, had put them away, of course, and she gave them no more thought
until three days later, when she received an invitation to a lunch party
at Brier Hill.

'I shall wear my dark blue satin and diamonds,' she said to her maid,
who was dressing her hair, but the diamonds, when looked for, were not
in their usual place.

Sarah had not put them away, nor in fact had she seen them at all, for
they were not upon the bureau when she went to arrange her mistress'
room the morning after the party. The diamonds were gone, nor could any
amount of searching bring them to light. And they looked everywhere, in
every box and drawer and corner, and Mrs. Tracy grew cold and sick and
faint, and finally broke down in a fit of crying, as she explained to
her husband that her beautiful diamonds were stolen. She called it that,
now, and the whole household was roused and questioned as to when and
where each had last seen the missing jewels. But no one had seen them
since they were in the lady's ears, and she knew she had left them upon
her bureau when she went down to breakfast. She was positive of that. No
one had been in the room, or that part of the house, except Tom, Fred
Raymond, Charles and Sarah. Of these the first two were not to be
thought of for a moment, while the last two had been in the family for
years, and were above suspicion. Clearly, then, it was some one from
outside, who had watched his or her portunity and come in.

Had any one been seen about the house at that hour? Yes, Charles
remembered having met Harold Hastings coming out of the rear door;
'but,' he added, 'I would sooner suspect myself than him.'

And this was the verdict of all except Mrs. Tracy, who now recalled the
fact that she, too, had seen Harold 'sneaking through the door as if he
did not wish to be seen.'

That was the way she expressed herself, and her manner had in it more
meaning even than her words.

'What was Harold doing in the house? What was his errand? Does any one
know?' she asked, but no one volunteered any information until Charles
suggested that he probably came on some errand to Mr. Arthur; he would
inquire, he said, and he went at once to his master's room.

Arthur was sittin