as she and
Grace turned their steps in the direction of the police station.

Grace nodded silently. Her mind was busy with Marian's problem. She must
get back the money that Henry Hammond had wheedled Marian into giving
him. If the stranger had been apprehended and if Hammond were really his
confederate, then the stranger might, under cross-examination, betray
Hammond, who would at once be arrested.

Now that Eleanor had become her friend, Grace knew that she would never
expose Marian in class meeting, but even with this menace removed, still
nothing could disguise the fact that the judge's gift could not be
honestly accounted for.

Grace believed that Henry Hammond had appropriated the money for his own
use. She did not place any dependence in his story of having lost it
through speculation. She therefore resolved that he should return it if
she could devise any means of making him do so, without subjecting him
to public exposure.

For Marian's sake, she would refrain from carrying the matter into
court, and she reluctantly decided to say nothing about the meeting
between Hammond and the prisoner that she had witnessed at the station
on the night of her return from New York.

Eleanor's surmise proved to be correct. At the door of the station
house, Grace's father awaited them, and they were conducted into the
court room, where the first thing that caught Grace's attention was the
eyes of the prisoner, that glared ferociously at her.

"So you're the fresh kid that got me jugged, are you!" he snarled with a
menacing gesture. "I'd like to get my hands on you for a couple of
minutes."

"Silence!" roared Chief Burroughs.

Then the examination began. The strong box had been turned over to the
police that morning by Miss Nevin, to be held as proof against the
thief.

Grace identified the man as the one she had seen tampering with the lock
the previous night, repeating what she had heard him say as he left the
old house. She then told her story of the removal of the box, which was
corroborated by Eleanor and John, the coachman.

"This is not the first time this man and I have met," declared Grace at
the conclusion of her testimony. Then she related the incident of the
train to the chief, while the prisoner glowered at her as though he
would enjoy tearing her in pieces.

When examined, he gave his name as Jones, denied ever having seen Grace
before, but under rigid cross-examination finally admitted the truth of