very day when her best friend was robbed, and that father, mother, and
brother were all absent in behalf of the robbed friend, thus leaving the
way open to the fugitives, and giving them plenty of time to escape.

"Now for some _facts_ that looked strange.

"It was strange that Sybil Lamotte should leave her home to marry a man
like John Burrill, when she was known to have bestowed her heart
elsewhere.

"It was strange that Jasper Lamotte, going to the city to employ a
detective, should so soon have stumbled upon Jerry Belknap, who was
identified with no agency, and could only be reached through private
means.

"It was strange that Frank Lamotte should set himself up as an amateur
detective, and should bring back a report that tallied so perfectly with
the deductions of Jerry Belknap.

"It was strange that Miss Wardour, having just been robbed of jewels to
the amount of fifty thousand dollars, should be so little distressed, so
little agitated by her loss.

"From deductions, coincidences and strange facts, I evolved the
following theory, which certainly looked well from my standpoint, but
might not hold water. You will see, that from the first I connected the
Wardour robbery and the Lamotte elopement.

"Now, Sybil Lamotte's strange flight gave proof that there was a
skeleton in the Lamotte closet. I said:

"If this unseen Mr. Lamotte had planned this robbery, and if for some
reason it seemed good that his daughter should elope, how well all was
arranged.

"His son assisting him, they could drop down from Mapleton in their row
boat; come up from the river, and, with their plans all laid, and
knowing their ground, could make quick headway. Frank Lamotte's boot
heel would leave just such a print, as one of the robbers left in the
loose dirt beside the garden fence. Frank Lamotte would know just how to
administer the chloroform. Then, Mr. Lamotte, in going to the city,
ostensibly to procure the services of a detective, could easily take the
spoils along; and his wife also, that she might be well out of his
daughter's way. Such a man would naturally select a fellow like Jerry
Belknap, who would keep up a farce of investigation, and keep away all
who might, perhaps, stumble upon the truth. Frank's eagerness to be
absent on this day of his sister's flight, and to assist in the search
for the robbers, would be thus explained; and his anxiety concerning the
contents of his sister's letter might be easily traced to a