bracelet or under the setting of a ring possibly; or in a
hair ornament possibly; and I followed that theory. Two tests that I
made convinced me that Madame Ybanca was innocent; they quite eliminated
Madame Ybanca from the equation. So I centred my efforts on this girl
and she betrayed herself soon enough."

"Betrayed herself, how?"

"An individual who has been temporarily deprived of sight will
involuntarily keep his or her hands upon any precious object that is
concealed about the person--I suppose you know that. And as I watched
her after I had blindfolded her----"

"After you had what?"

"Blindfolded her. Oh, I kept my promise," she added, reading the
expression on his face. "There was no force used, and no violence. She
suffered herself to be blindfolded--indeed, I did the blinding myself.
Well, after she had been blindfolded with a thick silk handkerchief I
watched her, and I saw that while with one hand she groped her way
about, she kept the other hand constantly clutched upon this locket, as
though to make sure of the safety of something there. So then I was
sure; but I was made doubly sure by her actions while I was tying her
hands behind her. And then, after I had her tied and helpless, I could
experiment further--and I did--and again my experiment convinced me I
was on the right track."

"Yes--but tying her hands--didn't she resist that?"

"No; you see, she let me tie her hands too. It was a part of a game.
They all played it."

"Some of the others were blinded, eh?"

"All of them were; every single one of them was. They still are, I
imagine, providing my cousin is doing her part--and I am sure she is.
There'll be no suspicion of the truth, even after their eyes are
unhooded. Claire has her explanations all ready. They'll miss this girl
of course and wonder what has become of her, but the explanation
provides for that: She was taken with a sudden indisposition and slipped
away with me, not wishing to spoil the fun by staying on after she
began to feel badly. That's the story they'll be told, and there's no
reason why they shouldn't accept it as valid either. See! She's coming
to."

"Then I'll get out and leave you to attend to her. Keep her here in this
room until she's better, and then you may send her back to her hotel.
You might tell her that there is to be no prosecution and no unpleasant
notoriety for her if only she keeps her mouth shut about all that's
happened. Probably she'll be only too