closed the investigation.

The loss of the famous jewel was a severe blow to the Dreux-Soubise.
Their credit being no longer propped up by the reserve fund that such a
treasure constituted, they found themselves confronted by more exacting
creditors and money-lenders. They were obliged to cut down to the quick,
to sell or mortgage every article that possessed any commercial value.
In brief, it would have been their ruin, if two large legacies from some
distant relatives had not saved them.

Their pride also suffered a downfall, as if they had lost a quartering
from their escutcheon. And, strange to relate, it was upon her former
schoolmate, Henriette, that the countess vented her spleen. Toward
her, the countess displayed the most spiteful feelings, and even openly
accused her. First, Henriette was relegated to the servants' quarters,
and, next day, discharged.

For some time, the count and countess passed an uneventful life. They
traveled a great deal. Only one incident of record occurred during that
period. Some months after the departure of Henriette, the countess was
surprised when she received and read the following letter, signed by
Henriette:

"Madame," "I do not know how to thank you; for it was you, was it not,
who sent me that? It could not have been anyone else. No one but you
knows where I live. If I am wrong, excuse me, and accept my sincere
thanks for your past favors...."

What did the letter mean? The present or past favors of the countess
consisted principally of injustice and neglect. Why, then, this letter
of thanks?

When asked for an explanation, Henriette replied that she had received
a letter, through the mails, enclosing two bank-notes of one thousand
francs each. The envelope, which she enclosed with her reply, bore the
Paris post-mark, and was addressed in a handwriting that was obviously
disguised. Now, whence came those two thousand francs? Who had sent
them? And why had they sent them?

Henriette received a similar letter and a like sum of money twelve
months later. And a third time; and a fourth; and each year for a period
of six years, with this difference, that in the fifth and sixth years
the sum was doubled. There was another difference: the post-office
authorities having seized one of the letters under the pretext that it
was not registered, the last two letters were duly sent according to the
postal regulations, the first dated from Saint-Germain, the other from
Suresnes. Th