no reasonable luxury and
seemed to have adopted a shut-in life from a pure love of seclusion. The
master was never seen at the stores. It was the servant who made the
purchases, and this by means of gestures which were often strangely
significant. Indeed, he seemed to have great power of expressing himself
by looks and actions, and rarely caused a mistake or made one. He would
not endure cheating, and always bought the best.

Of his sanity up to the day of his master's death there was no question;
but more than one man with whom he had had dealings was ready to testify
that there had been a change in his manner for the past few weeks--a
sort of subdued excitement, quite unlike his former methodical bearing.
He had shown an inclination to testiness, and was less easily pleased
than formerly. To one clerk he had shown a nasty spirit under very
slight provocation, and was only endured in the store on account of his
master, who was too good a customer for them to offend. Mr. Kelly, a
grocer, went so far as to say he acted like a man with a grievance who
burned to vent his spite on some one, but held himself in forcible
restraint.

Perhaps if no tragedy had taken place in the house on ---- Street these
various persons would not have been so ready to interpret thus
unfavorably a nervousness excusable enough in one so cut off from all
communication with his kind. But with the violent end of his master in
view, and his own unexplained connection with it, who could help
recalling that his glance had frequently shown malevolence?

But this was not evidence of the decided character required by the law,
and Mr. Gryce was about to regard the day as a lost one, when Sweetwater
made his reappearance at Headquarters. The expression of his face put
new life into Mr. Gryce.

"What!" he cried, "you have not found her?"

Sweetwater smiled. "Don't ask me, sir, not yet. I've come to see if
there's any reason why I should not be given the loan of that parasol
for about an hour. I'll bring it back. I only want to make a certain
test with it."

"What test, my boy? May I ask, what test?"

"Please to excuse me, sir; I have only a short time in which to act
before respectable business houses shut up for the night, and the test I
speak of has to be made in a respectable house."

"Then you shall not be hindered. Wait here, and I will bring you the
parasol. There! bring it back soon, my boy. I have not the patience I
used to have."

"An h