was one of those stunning women of baffling age
of whom there seem to be so many nowadays. One would scarcely have
believed that she could be old enough to have a daughter who would worry
her very much.

Her voice trembled and almost broke as she proceeded with her story,
and, looking closer, I saw that, at least now, her face showed marks of
anxiety that told on her more than would have been the case some years
before.

At the mention of the name of Gloria Brackett, I saw that Craig was
extremely interested, though he did not betray it to Mrs. Brackett.
Already, with my nose for news I had scented a much bigger story than
any that had been printed. For the Bracketts had lately been more or
less in the news of the day.

Choking back a little suppressed sob in her throat, Mrs. Brackett took
from a delicate gold mesh bag and laid on the desk before Kennedy a
small clipping from the "Lost and Found" advertisements in the _Star_.
It read:

"REWARD of $10,000 and absolutely no questions asked for the
return of a diamond necklace of seventy-one stones which
disappeared from a house at Willys Hills, Long Island, last
Saturday or Sunday.

"LA RUE & CO., Jewelers,
"---- Fifth Avenue."

I recognized the advertisement as one that had occasioned a great deal
of comment on the _Star_, due to its peculiar nature. It had been a
great mystery, perhaps much more so than if the advertisement had been
worded and signed in the usual way.

I knew also that the advertisement had created a great furore of
excitement and gossip at the fashionable North Shore Hunt Club of which
Bradford Brackett was Master of Fox Hounds.

"At first," explained Mrs. Brackett nervously, "La Rue & Co. were able
to keep the secret. They even refused to let the police take up the
case. But as public interest in the advertisement increased at last the
secret leaked out--at least that part of it which connected our name
with the loss. That, however, seemed only to whet curiosity. It left
everybody wondering what was back of it all. That's what we've been
trying to avoid--that sort of publicity."

She paused a moment, but Kennedy said nothing, evidently thinking that
the best safety valve for her overwrought feelings would be to let her
tell her story in her own way.

"Why, you know," she resumed rapidly, to hide her agitation, "the most
ridiculous things have been said. Some people have even said that we
lost nothing at al