“Let me see it, then. I won’t finger it.”
He held it out for her inspection and she examined it minutely.
“It is the Talisman!”
She thought for a time, while Westenhanger watched her in silence.
“Oh, now I see it, I think. There are two Talismans? Or there’s a Talisman and a replica. Mrs. Caistor Scorton stole this one. The other one’s up at the house now. She must have got a shock when she heard the Talisman had come back again. Is that it?”
Westenhanger’s reply seemed irrelevant.
“Mrs. Caistor Scorton’s not a very clever person like you.”
“Ah! now I see what it means. She stole this one; and when she saw the other one in the case she was absolutely puzzled. She never thought of a replica. And so she thought she’d come up against magic and spells. Is that it? No wonder she was so staggered. I was completely puzzled myself for a moment or two, and I expect her conscience—if she has one—must have upset her a bit.”
“That’s how I explain it myself,” said Westenhanger. “But proceed. What else do you make of it?”
The girl considered for a time; then at last she hit on a solution.