our, sir; give me an hour, and then----"

The shutting of the door behind his flying figure cut short his
sentence.

That was a long hour to Mr. Gryce, or would have been if it had not
mercifully been cut short by the return of Sweetwater in an even more
excited state of mind than he had been before. He held the parasol in
his hand.

"My test failed," said he, "but the parasol has brought me luck,
notwithstanding. I have found the lady, sir, and----"

He had to draw a long breath before proceeding.

"And she is what I said," began the detective; "a respectable person in
a respectable house."

"Yes, sir; very respectable, more respectable than I expected to see.
Quite a lady, sir. Not young, but----"

"Her name, boy. Is it--Evelyn?"

Sweetwater shook his head with a look as naive in its way as the old
detective's question.

"I cannot say, sir. Indeed, I had not the courage to ask. She is
here----"

"Here!" Mr. Gryce took one hurried step toward the door, then came
gravely back. "I can restrain myself," he said. "If she is here, she
will not go till I have seen her. Are you sure you have made no mistake;
that she is the woman we are after; the woman who was in Mr. Adams's
house and sent us the warning?"

"Will you hear my story, sir? It will take only a moment. Then you can
judge for yourself."

"Your story? It must be a pretty one. How came you to light on this
woman so soon? By using the clew I gave you?"

Again Sweetwater's expression took on a touch of naivete.

"I'm sorry, sir; but I was egotistical enough to follow my own idea. It
would have taken too much time to hunt up all the drivers of hacks in
the city, and I could not even be sure she had made use of a public
conveyance. No, sir; I bethought me of another way by which I might
reach this woman. You had shown me those spangles. They were portions of
a very rich trimming; a trimming which has only lately come into vogue,
and which is so expensive that it is worn chiefly by women of means, and
sold only in shops where elaborate garnitures are to be found. I have
seen and noticed dresses thus trimmed, in certain windows and on certain
ladies; and before you showed me the spangles you picked up in Mr.
Adams's study could have told you just how I had seen them arranged.
They are sewed on black net, in figures, sir; in scrolls or wreaths or
whatever you choose to call them; and so conspicuous are these wreaths
or figures, owing to the brilliance of