ds to remain here," she
murmured. "She said she should return within a fortnight, but nearly that
time has expired already. I cannot understand her object in prolonging
her stay, since she was disappointed about coming with the party. I
believe I will ask her to-morrow how soon we are to go back."

Mona felt very weary after the unusual excitement of the evening; her
nerves were also considerably unstrung, and she resolved not to wait for
Mrs. Montague's return, but retire at once.

She arose and began to prepare for bed, but having sent some clothing
away to be washed that morning, she found that her night-robe had gone
with the other articles, and unlocking her trunk, she began to look
for another.

"I thought I put an extra one in the tray," she mused, as she searched
for but failed to find it.

This obliged her to remove the tray and to unpack some of the contents
beneath.

While thus employed she took out a box, and without thinking what it
contained, carelessly set it across a corner of the trunk.

She finally found the garment she needed, and then began to replace the
clothing which she had been obliged to remove during her search.

While thus engaged she turned suddenly to reach for something that had
slipped from her grasp, and in the act she hit her elbow against the box
setting on the corner of her trunk, and knocked it to the floor.

"Oh! my mirror!" she cried, in a voice of terror, and hastily gathering
up the box, uncovered it to see if the precious relic had been injured.

To her great joy she found that it had not been broken by the fall; but
as she lifted it from the box, to examine it still further, the bottom of
the frame dropped out, and with it the things which Mr. Dinsmore had
concealed within it.

"Mercy!" Mona excitedly exclaimed; "it looks like a little drawer, and
here are some letters and a box which some one has hidden in it! Can it
be that these things once belonged to Marie Antoinette, and have been
inclosed in this secret place all these long years?" she wonderingly
questioned.

"No, surely not, for they would be yellow with age," she continued, as
she began to examine them.

"Ah!" with a start, and growing pale, "here is a letter addressed to
me--_For Mona_--and in Uncle Walter's handwriting! He must have known
about the secret of this mirror, and put these letters here with some
special object in view. What can it mean?"

She grew dizzy--almost faint with the excitement o