"It would, indeed," cried the colonel, with sparkling eyes.
Nick, with his usual tact, had hit upon exactly the right course.
"You believe, of course," he said, "that the spirits of the dead cannot be stopped by bolts and bars."
The colonel smiled, and nodded assent.
"The most of the jewels in dispute are, I believe, in the vaults of a safe deposit company," Nick continued. "Very well; my test is this: Name some article of the collection which you are sure is there, and see whether your aunt will transfer it to Miss Stevens' possession.
"It should be as easy for a ghost to take anything from the vaults of a safe deposit company as from that dressing-table upstairs. Will you consent to the test?"
The colonel stood irresolute.
"Consent," said a voice, as of a woman standing beside them.
Yet the three men were the only human beings in that room.
"The voice came from that screen!" cried Patsy, and he leaped toward the old fire-place.