"Perhaps I should not tell you," Mona said, with some hesitation, "and yet you must learn the fact sooner or later from some other sources; but Mrs. Montague appears to be growing quite fond of your father, who is very attentive to her, and she might not exactly like--" "She might not like to have the son of the man for whom she is angling to pay attention to her seamstress, is what you were going to say?" Ray interposed, laughing, yet with a look of annoyance sweeping over his fine face. "Something like it, perhaps," Mona responded, flushing again. "Well, I do not believe she is going to land her fish, if you will pardon the slang phrase," said the young man, confidently. "My father has successfully resisted the allurements of the gentler sex for too many years to succumb at this late day; so you and I need give ourselves no uneasiness upon that score. Does he know you as Ruth Richards?" "Yes, if indeed he knows me at all. I have received no introduction to him, and I only knew him from hearing Mr. Wellington greet him and inquire regarding the lost diamonds," Mona explained. Then she added: "Do you expect to recover them, Ray? have you any clew?" "Yes, we have a slight one, we think, and that is one reason why I am here to-night. The detective in our employ sent a telegram to my father yesterday mentioning the fact, but he thought it best for me to come up to-night and talk the matter over more fully with him, and hurry him back to New York early on Tuesday morning. A woman is being shadowed upon the suspicion of having committed a bold swindle in Chicago, and Mr. Rider thinks, without any doubt, that she is the same person who so cleverly did us out of our diamonds." "Hark! please," said Mona, as just then she caught the sound of voices in the distance, "the party is returning from evening service, and I must not be found here with you." "I am loath to let you go, my brown-eyed sweetheart," Ray tenderly responded. "And I to go," Mona answered softly, "but it is best that I should; we must both be judicious for a while--we must not be too exacting when we have had this great new happiness come to us so unexpectedly," and she lifted her luminous eyes to him. He clasped her to him again. "Good-night, my darling," he said; then with one lingering kiss upon her lips, he let her go, and she stole softly up stairs, with a joyous heart and step, while Ray drew a paper from his pocket, and was apparently deeply absorbed in its contents when the party entered the house. A good deal of surprise was expressed when his arrival was discovered, and he was accorded a warm welcome by the host and hostess as well as by every guest. CHAPTER XX. MR. RIDER MAKES AN ARREST. While the festivities were in progress at Hazeldean, some incidents of a somewhat singular character were occurring in New York.