eurs de Charite, and
gave him an address, adding that if he would like to go
himself she could spare half an hour to sit with Monsieur
there.

"I will go at once," replied Graham, "whilst he is sleeping;
he is not likely to rouse again just a present; don't let him
talk or move if he should awake, but it is not probable that
he will."

So it was arranged, and Madame Lavaux established herself with
her knitting in the dim, silent room, whilst Graham departed
on his errand, satisfied that his patient was in safe hands.
Not ten minutes had elapsed, however, when a knock came at the
door of the sick-room, and a summons--could Madame come at
once? Madame cast a look at her charge; he was perfectly still
and quiet, sleeping profoundly apparently; there could be no
harm in leaving him for a moment. She went, intending to
return immediately; but, alas! for human intentions,
downstairs she found a commotion that drove M. Linders, M. le
Docteur, and everything else out of her head for the time
being. Madame la Comtesse _au premier_ had lost her diamond
ring--her ring, worth six thousand francs, an heirloom, an
inestimable treasure; lost it? it had been stolen--she knew it,
felt convinced of it; she had left it for five minutes on her
dressing-table whilst she went to speak to some dressmaker or
milliner, and on her return it had vanished. Unpardonable
carelessness on her part, she admitted, but that did not alter
the fact; it had been stolen, and must be found; house,
servants, visitors, luggage, all must be searched and
ransacked. Where were the gendarmes? let all these people be
taken into custody at once, pointing to the group of startled,
wondering, servants,--let everyone be taken into custody.
Madame Lavaux had enough to do and to think of for the next
hour, we may be sure, and though, at the end of that time,
Madame la Comtesse found the ring safe in the corner of her
pocket, whither it had slipped off her finger, and the
disturbance was at an end, not so were the consequences of
that disturbance.

For in the meantime a very different scene was being acted out
upstairs.

CHAPTER III.

Madam's Vigil.

Five minutes after Madame Lavaux had left the room, Madelon,
just awakened from her sound sleep, came creeping gently in.
It was almost dark by this time, for it was late in the
afternoon, and the Venetian shutters were still closed that
had kept out the heat and glare all day; but now she threw
them back, a