"I wish I knew who 'Madame M.' was, and 'Lady Blank,'" put in Margaret. "How mysterious she is—never writing out their full names!"
"Perhaps she didn't dare," said Corinne. "You see, she says she's in danger. But, oh!—listen to what she says next!—'There is something which weighs right heavily on my conscience. 'Tis the matter of the sapphire signet. But of that I will speak later.'"
"The sapphire signet!" breathed the twins in a tone of hushed awe. "Doesn't it sound rich and gorgeous and—and mysterious! What's a 'signet,' anyway?"
"I think," explained Corinne, "that it's another name for a seal—something with a monogram or crest or coat-of-arms, used to stamp on sealing-wax. Father has one set in a ring—not a sapphire though—just some ordinary stone with his monogram on. He never uses it, but he told me once that in former times they were used a great deal when letters were only sealed with wax. Oh! what do you suppose this matter of the sapphire signet is all about! Isn't it wildly exciting? But, goodness!" glancing at her watch, "it's awfully late again, and I must get home. The time goes so fast, and it takes so long to puzzle all this out!"
"I have an idea!" began Margaret, hesitatingly. "Suppose I do the puzzling out and write it down, now that Corinne has discovered the way. I have so much time that I don't know what to do with, and this would be so interesting! Then, when we meet again in a couple of days, I could read it right off to you without any trouble. We could get on so much faster!"
"I think that's splendid!" agreed Corinne. "And much as I'm crazy to find out right away what happens, I'd rather wait and hear a lot of it read at once. Wouldn't you all?"
"Yes, that's a good scheme," admitted Bess, "except for one thing. How about Sarah? You'd have a hard time hiding this from her, Margaret, and you know she simply mustn't find out!" For a moment they all looked "stumped." The obstacle seemed almost insuperable, when Jess had a brilliant idea.
"Tell you what! We'll hide the thing in the bookcase, way back here behind these old encyclopedias,—the account-book, the paper, and a brand-new fat blank-book that I'll give you to do all the copying in. You can tell Sarah to wheel you over to the bookcase because you want to read. Then, when she's out of the way, you can work to your heart's content. But do hide everything whenever you hear her coming!"
"Oh, good! Just the thing! Sarah'll never suspect in the world!" laughed Margaret. "And there's no difficulty about hearing her coming—she weighs two hundred and fifty pounds!"
"Well, that's settled then," said Corinne, "and I'll have to go. But I'm coming day after to-morrow, if I can manage to wait. It's better than the loveliest book I ever read! Good-by!"