be of the right sort;
but the age is peculiar, and one cannot be too cautious in choosing
associates. If Miss Merrick had run away from her home and friends, Miss
Von Taer was in no way responsible for the escapade. And now, if Miss De
Graf had nothing further to say, more important matters demanded Diana's
time.

Beth was furious with anger at this baiting. Without abandoning a jot
her suspicions she realized she was powerless to prove her case at this
time. With a few bitter and cutting remarks--made, she afterward said,
in "self-defense"--she retreated as gracefully as possible and drove
home.

An hour later she suggested to Uncle John that he have a detective
placed where Diana's movements could be watched; but that had already
been attended to by both Mr. Merrick and Mr. Fogerty. Uncle John could
hardly credit Diana's complicity in this affair. The young lady's social
position was so high, her family so eminently respectable, her motive
in harming Louise so inconceivable, that he hesitated to believe her
guilty, even indirectly. As for her cousin, he did not know what to
think, as Arthur accused him unreservedly. It did not seem possible that
any man of birth, breeding and social position could be so contemptible
as to perpetrate an act of this character. Yet some one had done it, and
who had a greater incentive than Charlie Mershone?

Poor Mrs. Merrick was inconsolable as the days dragged by. She clung to
Patsy with pitiful entreaties not to be left alone; so Miss Doyle
brought her to her own apartments, where the bereft woman was shown
every consideration. Vain and selfish though Mrs. Merrick might be, she
was passionately devoted to her only child, and her fears for the life
and safety of Louise were naturally greatly exaggerated.

The group of anxious relatives and friends canvassed the subject
morning, noon and night, and the longer the mystery remained unsolved
the more uneasy they all became.

"This, ma'am," said Uncle John, sternly, as he sat one evening facing
Mrs. Merrick, "is the final result of your foolish ambition to get our
girls into society."

"I can't see it that way, John," wailed the poor woman. "I've never
heard of such a thing happening in society before, have you?"

"I don't keep posted," he growled. "But everything was moving smoothly
with us before this confounded social stunt began, as you must admit."

"I can't understand why the papers are not full of it," sighed Mrs.
Merrick,