round that he had been joking.

Then he made the rounds of the treasure room, pointing out and giving
the history of each precious family heirloom or art object with an
encyclopedic knowledge that should have caused his companion to wonder
how he knew so much. Several times he slipped in the pronoun I, hoping
that this might have some effect in waking Helen from the obsession
that any other than he could be the real Travers Gladwin.

But alas! for his subtle efforts, the hints and innuendoes fell on
deaf ears. She accepted his fund of information as a second-hand
version, exclaiming once:

"What a splendid memory you have!"

Then he gave it up as a hopeless case and led the way back into the
other room.

CHAPTER XVIII.

SADIE BECOMES A CONSPIRATOR.

"Ah! Be careful! Don't go out there!" was the warning that had stopped
Sadie Burton in full flight for the treasure room into which her
cousin and Travers Gladwin had vanished.

She was more than half way to the door in obedience to Helen's command
when Whitney Barnes spoke. He was sitting on the arm of one of the
great upholstered chairs in a gracefully negligent attitude twirling
his gold key chain about his finger. He spoke softly but with a
mysterious emphasis that took hold and held the retreating miss fast
in her tracks. She turned with a frightened:

"Why?"

"Because I would be all alone," he said solemnly. Then as Sadie took
another hurried step forward: "Oh, no, you wouldn't desert me--you
wouldn't be so cruel! How would you like to have some one desert
you?"

This mystic remark caused Sadie to turn around and take a step toward
him. She said timidly:

"I don't understand."

"Then I'll tell you," he said, getting on his feet and going toward
her.

"No, no!" objected Sadie, and began to back away.

The young man stopped and said in his most reassuring tones:

"Fear not--I am quite harmless, I assure you. Now, I can see that you
are in trouble--is that not so?"

"Oh, yes!" Sadie admitted, delighted at this new turn in his attitude.
Her first disturbing suspicion had been that he wanted to flirt.

"You see, I'm right," he pursued. "I would like to help you."

"Would you?" she breathed, with increasing confidence.

"Of course I would," he said, earnestly, whereat Sadie lost all fear.

"Then we must hurry if we are to stop it," she said in a dramatic
whisper.

"Stop it--stop what?" The heir of Old Grim Barnes had launched the
belief