As to Willitts, he was some boy! They found out that he was wanted in England, well-known there as an expert safe-cracker and notorious jewel thief. That’s where he’s gone, to live in a quiet little cell which will be his home from this time forth. He said he hadn’t been in New York long before he heard of the Janney jewels and went into Mr. Price’s service. But he couldn’t do anything while the family were in town. The safe was right off the pantry—too many people about—and anyway it was a new one, the finest kind, that would have baffled even his skill. He would have left discouraged but one day Dixon let drop that the safe at Grasslands was old-fashioned, put in years before by the former owners, so he stayed on devoted and faithful. At Grasslands he had lots of time to try his hand on the ancient contraption in the passage. He worked on it until he found the combination and then he lay low for his opportunity. When the row came and Mr. Price left, he stayed on with him. It was the best thing to do as he could run in and out from Cedar Brook seeing the servants, with whom he was careful to be friendly. Before this he’d got wise to the fact that something was up between Miss Maitland and Mr. Price. He said it was his business to snoop and his profession had got him into the way of doing it instinctive, but I’d set it down as coming natural. Anyway he’d found out that there was a secret between them; he’d surprise them murmuring in the hallways and the library, quieting down quick if any one came along. He made the same mistake as the rest of us, thought it was an affair of the heart and grew mighty curious about it. He didn’t explain why he was interested, but if you asked me I’d say he had blackmail in the back of his head. On the afternoon of July the seventh he biked down from Cedar Brook to take a look round and see how things were progressing. Familiar with the ways of the house, he knew the family would be out and stole round past Miss Maitland’s study. No one was there, and, curious as he was, he slipped in to do a little spying—Miss Maitland and Mr. Price separated would be writing to each other and a letter might throw some light on the darkness.