on his side. She stretched out both her hands and
advanced.

"Now isn't this the finest thing of you?" she said. "I am so glad that
you came. I'll tell you word for word what happened here."

"That will be fine," he said. "Which is your favorite chair?"

"You know," she said, "that is a joke. I am so unfamiliar with this room
that I haven't any favorite chair. I'll have to take the nearest, like
Thoreau selected his piece of chicken."

Then for a few minutes Linda talked frankly. She answered Eugene
Snow's every question unhesitatingly and comprehensively. Together they
ascended the stairs, and in the guest room she showed him the table
at which she and Marian had studied the sketches of plans, and exactly
where they had left them lying overnight.

"The one thing I can't be explicit about," said Linda, "is how many
sheets were there in the morning. We had stayed awake so late talking,
that we overslept. I packed Marian's bag while she dressed. I snatched
up what there were without realizing whether there were two sheets or
three, laid them in the flat bottom of the case, and folded her clothing
on top of them."

"I see," said Mr. Snow comprehendingly. "Now let's experiment a little.
Of course the window before that table was raised?"

"Yes, it was," said Linda, "but every window in the house is screened."

"And what about the door opening into the hall? Can you tell me whether
it was closed or open?"

"It was open," said Linda. "We left it slightly ajar to create a draft;
the night was warm."

"Is there anyone about the house," inquired Mr. Snow, "who could tell us
certainly whether that window was screened that night?"

"Of course," said Linda. "Our housekeeper, Katherine O'Donovan, would
know. When we go down we'll ask her."

On their return to the living room, for the first time in her life Linda
rang for Katy. She hesitated an instant before she did it. It would be
establishing a relationship that never before had existed between them.
She always had gone to Katy as she would have, gone to her mother. She
would have gone to her now, but she wanted Katy to make her appearance
and give her information without the possibility of previous discussion.
Katy answered the bell almost at once. Linda went to her side and
reached her arm across her shoulders.

"Katy," she said, "this is Mr. Eugene Snow of San Francisco He is
interested in finding out exactly what became of that lost plan of
Marian's that we ha