omised to go.'

'Was John Haddon there?'

'Yes; but he appeared late. He should have been present at the
opening, and his brother was seriously annoyed by his absence. When he
did come he acted in a wild and reckless manner, which gave the guests
the impression that he had been drinking. Both my niece and myself
were disgusted with his actions.'

'Do you think your niece suspects him?'

'She certainly did not at first, and was indignant when I told her,
coming home from the ball, that her jewels were undoubtedly in
Steffenham House, even though they were not round her neck, but
latterly I think her opinion has changed.'

'To go back a moment. Did any of your servants see him prowling about
the place?'

'They all say they didn't, but I myself saw him, just before dusk,
coming across the fields towards this house, and next morning we found
the same footprints both going and coming. It seems to me the
circumstantial evidence is rather strong.'

'It's a pity that no one but yourself saw him. What more evidence are
the authorities waiting for?'

'They are waiting until he attempts to dispose of the jewels.'

'You think, then, he has not done so up to date?'

'I think he will never do so.'

'Then why did he steal them?'

'To prevent the marriage of my niece with Jonas Carter, of Sheffield,
to whom she is betrothed. They were to be married early in the New
Year.'

'My lord, you amaze me. If Mr. Carter and Lady Alicia are engaged, why
should the theft of the jewels interfere with the ceremony?'

'Mr. Jonas Carter is a most estimable man, who, however, does not move
in our sphere of life. He is connected with the steel or cutlery
industry, and is a person of great wealth, rising upwards of a
million, with a large estate in Derbyshire, and a house fronting Hyde
Park, in London. He is a very strict business man, and both my niece
and myself agree that he is also an eligible man. I myself am rather
strict in matters of business, and I must admit that Mr. Carter showed
a very generous spirit in arranging the preliminaries of the
engagement with me. When Alicia's father died he had run through all
the money he himself possessed or could borrow from his friends.
Although a man of noble birth, I never liked him. He was married to my
only sister. The Blair emeralds, as perhaps you know, descend down the
female line. They, therefore, came to my niece from her mother. My
poor sister had long been disillusioned before de