words to me?" cried
Hilary, all the more furiously because the objectionable words contained
a sting of truth. "And your things, indeed! I suppose you will say next
that this is your necklace and your miniature?"

"Certainly I will," said Margaret with spirit, and without seeing at
first whither this admission would lead her. "That is a miniature of my
mother; and if you will read the inscription you will see that she gave
it to me."

"A fine story," said Hilary contemptuously; "only your name doesn't
happen to be Margaret, nor does your surname begin with an 'A.' Ah! you
forget that, I think, when you said that your mother gave it to you."

Truly, Margaret had forgotten that, and she met Hilary's triumphant gaze
with an expression akin to dismay. She had got herself suddenly into an
awkward corner. If she persisted in saying that the miniature and pearls
were hers, Hilary would find out that she was passing under an assumed
name; whereas, on the other hand, if she did not assert her ownership of
them, she would lay herself open to the charge that she had stolen them.
It was a perplexing situation, and she hardly knew whether to be relieved
or not, when she found, as she speedily did, that Hilary had quite made
up her mind that she was a thief.

"You are discovered, I tell you," said Hilary. "I know you belong to the
gang of burglars that have been robbing people's houses here during the
last six weeks. Come into the dressing-room, and you will see how useless
it is to brazen matters out like this."

The fact that Margaret was totally unprepared to see her trunk, that she
believed to be empty and pushed away beneath the bed, standing out in the
middle of the room, half full of silver, had of course been anticipated
by Hilary, who enjoyed her surprise to the full. But the anger that was
mingled with Miss Carson's astonishment was, of course, a sham, and
Hilary treated it with the contempt she was so convinced that it
deserved.

"Did you put all those things in my trunk?" Margaret said indignantly.
"What does it mean? Those are the things that were stolen from Colonel
Baker's house. I recognise the description of the Indian tablecloth."

"Of course you do," said Hilary with a sneer, "seeing that you stole it
to wrap the things in, thief and burglar that you are!"

"Do you really mean that you seriously believe I am a burglar?" Margaret
said, and, to Hilary's intense disgust, who felt that this flippant
conduct r