Gloria smiled incredulously. She didn’t believe it, that was evident. But she was more mystified than ever about the giver of the necklace and the owner of the trunk, for there was no doubt of it, she who owned the trunk had given the necklace in reward for the finding of the big red stone. And all this had come about from that simple incident of Gloria’s first mistake. And even Maggie, the voluble, had innocently contributed, for it was she who found “the bead” and left it carefully upon Gloria’s pin tray. But there the mystery stood. Now the great question was:
Who gave Gloria the necklace?
Jack, suspected at first, was, according to Mrs. Corday’s story, entirely eliminated. Yet no other girl seemed a plausible possibility. Could Jack have so deceived her stepmother? Would her dislike for the circus lead her to ignore the hidden gems that the old Arab, chief of the troupe, had trailed from his own country?
“That old Turk,” said Mrs. Corday, as if she had been following Gloria’s thoughts, “made a dash to get the jewel box one night, and only for the quick work of a couple of Jap jugglers he would have got it. That was why Philip hid it, and he covered every trace of the spot so cleverly (he was such a smart man) that it can’t be found except by following the directions given in a paper to Mr. Gilbert, the lawyer. These directions are pointed out by veins in a moss agate, and that agate was put in a necklace for Jack. It disappeared somehow about a year ago, and I’ve followed up every one who could possibly have come in touch with it. I believe it was shown to one or two of the women, but they were honest as the sun. They never took it intentionally. Yvette Duval was one of them but she died a little later. She had a daughter. That just gives me an idea! You haven’t a girl at Altmount named Yvette, have you?”
“No,” replied Gloria. “I’m sure we haven’t, for I helped one of the teachers make the list for the year book. There wasn’t any such name.”
“Because her mother’s things were taken from the tent when I was attending to my sick husband. I always insist on each article being doubly checked up so that there can be no mistake, but while I was away Stella, my assistant, had the wardrobe in charge. Dear me!” she exclaimed suddenly, “that hack is gone and look at the time!”
She held out her hand and displayed a very pretty wrist watch.
It was almost noon!
With a little gasp Gloria realized that her morning was gone, and with it the prize essay faded further and further away from becoming even a possibility. The young girl in the commercial department who was to type it for her, would probably have given up expecting the “copy,” which was to have been handed her in installments during the morning. And this was the very last day! There was no hiding her disappointment, and Jane quickly discerned it.
“What is it, Glory?” she asked. “Missed your classes or something?”