ted for a moment upon
his.

"No!" she answered, "we kept that from him. You see nothing was really
stolen. As a matter of fact there was so little in that room which could
have been of any value to any one."

"Exactly!" he answered, feeling a little uncomfortable.

"There are so many lovely things all over the house," she continued,
"that it has puzzled me very much why they should have chosen to try
only to break open that desk in the library. It seems queer,
doesn't it?"

"Perhaps it does," he admitted. "On the other hand, they might have
thought that your uncle had bonds and papers worth a great deal more
than any of the ordinary treasures they could collect."

"Well," she said, "they got nothing at all. Somehow, I don't fancy," she
added, "that my uncle is the sort of man to keep valuable things where
they could possibly be stolen."

He determined to be a little daring. He raised his eyebrows, and looked
at her with a smile which was meant to be humorous.

"Fortunate for him that he doesn't," he answered, "for, frankly, if I
knew where to find it, I should certainly steal that document that Mr.
Weiss came and worried you about. We ought to have it. If it got into
any one's hands except your uncle's, it would be the most serious thing
that ever happened to any of us."

"I don't think," she said reassuringly, "that you need worry. My uncle
does not part easily with things which he believes have value."

He laughed, not quite naturally.

"I see," he said, "that you are beginning to appreciate your uncle."

"One learns all manner of things," she answered, "very quickly here."

He looked at her with more attention than he had as yet bestowed upon
her. She was very slim, but wonderfully elegant, and her clothes, though
simple, were absolutely perfect. Her eyes certainly were marvellous. Her
complexion had not altogether lost the duskiness which came from her
outdoor life. Her hair was parted in the middle, after a fashion of her
own, and coming rather low on the back of her head, gave her the
appearance of being younger even than she was. Stella's beauty was
perhaps the most pronounced, but this girl, he felt, was unique. He
looked thoughtfully into her eyes. Her whole expression and manner were
so delightfully simple and girlish, that he found it almost impossible
to believe that she was playing a part.

They talked for a little while upon purely general subjects, the Opera,
her new friends, the whole soc