Waterbury evening Democrat., 1888-04-25

file might have been a much worse
 burglar. all things considered, and there
 was quite touch of ch1valry-a suspic- ion of Claude Duval-in the fact of his
 making me a present or my own locket. ,' she says, still unable to refrain from turning the whole thing into ri5;cnle mist he confessed that I am the rrn,,, ,1 possessor of his heart. He left me that at 1east.'
 | ssThe coward!" says Nadine, claspinp her pretty hands, "to attack alone one l poor woman! But, Millicent, from what you tell me, I-I don't think the burglar | could have been quite a common man Was he tall-handsome? "Handsomel Why, I couldn't see q feature in his face. You don't suppose that that sort of person comes around with an open, ingenious countenance, ready for all mems inspection? If so, you are mistaken. My burglar came with a mask that prevented me from seeing the beneath it. Altogether, he was not of the common, every day lot that one meets. He was departure from the regular lines. He was strange to me! Strange And yet''-
 Suddenly the half mocking, wholly gay air she has used hitherto drops from her, and she turns upon Nadine a startled glance. She leans toward her, and lay ing her hand upon her shoulders, subjects her to an exhaustive scrutiny.
 "I must speak. must tell you," she says at last. ''It has weighed upon me ever since, and-and-the others would consider it in the light of nightmare, or else say the idea arose from feeling ~f T. L.
 "WhGt is it, Millicent? You forget I do not understand" says Nadine, little awed by the solemnity of the others glance.
 "Just this: that that terrible burglar, from the time he entered my room to the time he left it, seemed strangely famil- far. cannot account for it. His voice I never heard before. He was dressed in the clothes of a common workman, and l know no workman. His face, indeed, was hidden''-
 She stops abruptly as though oppressed by some hidden thought.
 "Yes, it was hidden,' she says at last. "Yet I am pursued by a hideous fear that if I co lid have removed that mask the features would have been familiar to mep'
 She sinks back in her chair, looking pale and exhausted.
 "It is mere nervousness, says Nadine tenderly. GA chimera arising from an overwrought sensibilty Do not think of him again, darling. Rest, and time will cure you of that foolish phantasy"
 Nothing will cure me of the certainty that face well known to me lay behind that humble mask,' returns Millicent with a shudder.
 She rallies little after a while and a swift smile curves her lips
 We are a doomed family,' she says gayly. "A prey to burglars First my aunt, Lady Valworth's, diamonds dis appear, not to be restored by all the de- tective power in England, and now, my sapphires! Poor Uncle Timothy. he gave much of his life to a contemplation Of those stones, and now a vulgar crimi- nal is the possessor of them. It is very cruel of me to laugh, is it not? Especially as I am the only one that can see a comical side of the affair Yes, am sorry that I am not more sorry because of their disappearance.
 ''Has MT. Boyle yet heard of their being stolen?''
 "Not yet. He was to have been here this morning, butt
 "He was here this morning, darling," says Mrs. Brand, who has just entered the room and heard the drift of the con- versatlon, ''but you were then so weak that of course I could not see him. He heard nothing, as I told Brown to be si- lent about our sensation to any caller so he merely left word that he hoped your headache would be better soon q suggested headache to Brown as gen. eral and safe sort of not at home), and that he would call again tomorrow 
 "Wonderfully attentive for him." says Millicent, smoothing down the faces of her loose gown.
 'Dear fellow! He is always all he ought to be! So like his good father" says Mrs. Brand effusively.
 "Inspector Dunn has just been here," goes on Mrs. Brand presently. "He seems clever man, and holds out great hopes of being able to capture the rob- Der and restore to you your sapphires. ran up at once to tell you. He seems to think it will be difficult to get rid of the sapphires, even should the robber go to Antwerp or some of those foreign places. All the shipping ports are being closely watched. Ee really gave me gre-t hope. Your uncle Timothy has been here on and off all day, but would not let him see you, he was so excited. Of course he feels the loss of the jewels. He thought a great deal of them. That is hardly to be wondered at, my dear Ma dine, considering their size and their purity. I assure you, people have been known to go out of their minds for far less cause. Are you going now, my dear? Well, suppose it is getting late. Such comfort it has been to me to know you were with Mili -ent while I was trying to explain things to those stupid De Laines. They would have it that my poor child had had her skull crushed in, and that the burglar had been discovered hiding behind the drawing room curtains-such nonsense, you know! We'll, good night, then, dear child. Be sure you come as early as you can on Thursday; Millicent is always so much better when she has had an hour with you.n
 Having kissed Nadine, of whom in- deed she is extremely fond, Mrs. Brand ushers her down the staircase and through the hall
 CHAPTER XI.
 ''The thing is how to discover him, Those fellows nowadays are so difficult to unearth, and our detective system is so painfully inefficient"
 ''I don't want him." says Millicent, yuh h0 ic fyor Ia