,
while Lala Roy and Arnold waited down below. And then Arnold made a
great discovery. He began to examine the folded papers which were in
the packet. I think he had some kind of vague idea that they might
contain secret and invisible writing. They were all sheets of
note-paper, of the same size, folded in the same way--namely, doubled
as if for a square envelope. On holding one to the light, he read the
water-mark:

HIEROGLYPHICA
A Vegetable Vellum.
M.S. & Co.

They all had the same water-mark. He showed the thing to the Hindoo,
who did not understand what it meant.

Then Iris came down again. Her grandfather was sleeping. Like a child,
he fell asleep the moment his head fell upon the pillow.

"Iris," he said, "this is no delusion of your grandfather's. The
parcel has been robbed."

"How do you know, Arnold?"

"The stupid fellow who stole and opened the packet no doubt thought he
was wonderfully clever to fill it up again with paper. But he forgot
that the packet has been lying for eighteen years in the safe, and
that this note-paper was made the day before yesterday."

"How do you know that?"

"You can tell by the look and feel of the paper; they did not make
paper like this twenty years ago; besides, look at the water-mark;" he
held it to the light, and Iris read the mystic words. "That is the
fashion of to-day. One house issues a new kind of paper, with a fancy
name, and another imitates them. To-morrow, I will ascertain exactly
when this paper was made."

"But who would steal it, Arnold? Who could steal it?"

"It would not probably be of the least use to any one. But it might be
stolen in order to sell it back. We may see an advertisement carefully
worded, guarded, or perhaps--Iris, who had access to the place, when
your grandfather was out?"

"No one but James, the shopman. He has been here five-and-twenty
years. He would not, surely, rob his old master. No one else comes
here except the customers and Cousin Joe."

"Joe is not, I believe, quite--"

"Joe is a very bad man. He has done dreadful things. But then, even if
Joe were bad enough to rob the safe, how could he get at it? My
grandfather never leaves it unlocked. Oh, Arnold, Arnold, that all
this trouble should fall upon us on the very day--"

"My dear, is it not better that it should fall upon you when I am
here, one more added to your advisers? If you have lost a fortune, I
have found one. Think that you have given it to