am propriety
personified."

Mark concluded his call and left the house, well pleased at having
successfully carried out his instructions. He went back directly to the
hotel, and sitting down in the reading room wrote the following letter
to his employer:

"HENRY SWAN, ESQ.,

"DEAR SIR: I have delivered the diamond ring, and inclose Mrs.
Loring's check for a thousand dollars in payment. She is very much
pleased with it, and says it exactly suits her. I have had a
pleasant journey, and expect to start on my return to-morrow.

"Yours respectfully,
"MARK MASON."

As he was writing the address some one passed behind his chair and
looked over his shoulder at the superscription.

It was the "Rev." Mr. Buffington, as he called himself.

His eye lighted up as he saw to whom the letter was addressed.

"So this boy is traveling for a New York jeweler," he said to himself.
"I am glad to know this. He probably carries a stock of jewelry with
him, and if so, I shall cultivate his acquaintance."

He passed out of the reading room without Mark observing him. Mr.
Buffington took care to keep out of the way, and Mark supposed he had
left the hotel.

CHAPTER XVIII.

A MIDNIGHT VISIT.

Mark was confirmed in his belief that Mr. Buffington had left the hotel,
because on looking over the book he found no such name. It did not occur
to him that Lawrence Perkins was his railroad friend under another
_alias_. Mr. Buffington was rich in names, and had masqueraded under at
least a dozen. He, however, had seen Mark's name in the register, and
noted carefully the number of his room. The information seemed to him
important, especially after he had looked over Mark's shoulder and found
that he represented a prominent jeweler in New York.

Mark did not fail to keep his appointment at the theater. He arrived
first, but five minutes later Mrs. Loring, Florence and a young man,
cousin to the latter, made their appearance.

Florence smiled pleasantly, and arranged the party so that Mark should
sit beside her.

"Now, George," she said to her cousin, "make yourself agreeable to mama,
and I will try to entertain Mr. Mason."

"No flirting, Florence," cautioned her cousin.

"Did you ever know me to flirt?" asked Florence in mock indignation.

"Well, occasionally."

"Very well, if I have the reputation I may as well deserve it," and she
proceeded to chat with Mark.

In the gallery, among the