r ears:

'Not a word out of your head about Gretchen, but try and act as if you
were not crazy.'

'I'll do it, Cherry. Don't you worry,' he said to her, with a little
reassuring nod, as he descended the stairs.

And he kept his promise well. There was no word out of his head about
Gretchen, and no one ignorant of the fact would ever have suspected that
his mind was unsettled as he moved among the guests, talking to one
another with that pleasant, courtly manner so natural to him. A very
close observer, however, might have seen his eyes dilate and even flash
with some sudden emotion when his brother's wife passed him and her
brilliant diamonds, his gift, sparkled in the bright gaslight. The
setting was rather peculiar, but Mrs. Tracy liked it for the
peculiarity, and had never had it changed. She was very proud of her
diamonds, they were so large and clear, and she had the satisfaction of
knowing that there were no finer, if as fine, in town. She seemed to
know, too, just in what light to place herself in order to show them to
the best advantage, and at times the gleams of fire from them were
wonderful, and once Arthur put his hand before his eyes as she passed
him, and muttering something to himself moved quickly to another part of
the room. This was late in the evening, and soon after he excused
himself to those around him, saying it was not often that he dissipated
like this, and as he was growing tired he must say good-night.

The next morning Charles found him looking very pale and worn, with a
bad pain in his head. He had rested badly, he said, and would have his
coffee in bed, after which Charles was to leave him alone and not come
back until he rang for him, as he might possibly fall asleep.

It was very late that morning when the family breakfasted, and as they
lingered around the table, discussing the events of the previous night,
it was after eleven o'clock when at last Mrs. Tracy went up to her room.

As she ascended the stairs to the upper hall, she caught a glimpse of
Harold disappearing through a door at the lower end of the hall,
evidently with the intention of going down the back stairway and making
his exit from the house by the rear door, rather than the front. Mrs.
Tracy knew that he was sometimes sent by his grandmother on some errand
to Arthur, and giving no further thought to the matter went on to her
own room, which her maid had put in order. All the paraphernalia of last
night's toilet were