“N-o.”
“Well, I’ll tell you. He was one of the most famous artists of France. He made etchings of the war. No one could surpass him. And unlike his fellow artists, who allowed a hundred copies to be made from each plate, he allowed but twenty. Then the plates were destroyed. He made these pictures. You have nearly all of them. And then he went away to the war, and was killed.
“Since that time his etchings have been much prized and have brought fabulous prices. Oh, Florence, tell me how you got them! Surely, surely you didn’t buy them!”
“I did,” said Florence unsteadily, hardly knowing whether to laugh or cry, “but I bought them in a strange way. I’ll tell you about it.” Then she told Lucile the whole story.
“And those pictures,” she said at the end, “are the reason that man dogged my footsteps. It had not been his bag. He had not owned the pictures, but some way he had learned that the pictures were in this bag. He had meant to buy the bag, but arrived too late.”
The hour was late. What did that matter? To-morrow was Christmas. Florence set about brewing some cocoa, and over the cups the girls engaged in such a talk fest as they had not enjoyed for months. Everything that had happened to Lucile during those eventful weeks, from the first night to the last, had to be told. The wonderful cape, with its white fox collar, must be displayed. The gold coins must be jingled and jangled. Meg’s story must be told all over again.
After that, problems yet unsolved must be discussed. Was the hawk-eyed man who had attempted to gain possession of Florence’s bag the same one who had attempted to kidnap Cordie?
“That question,” said Lucile to Florence, “can only be settled by you going down to the police station and looking at him.”
“In that case, it will never be answered,” said Florence, with a shudder.
Would a romance spring up between the rich girl Cordie and the gallant young policeman, Patrick O’Hara? Who could tell? So the conversation rambled on until early morning. At last Lucile hurried away and Meg and Florence prepared for three winks.