"One morning just after luncheon, when I was alone in my little boudoir and my husband and the young man were having their coffee and cigarettes on the veranda outside, the girl walked in, made sure that no one was within hearing, and held out her hand. In the palm was my lost topaz. "'Here is your jewel,' she said calmly; 'I stole it, and now I have brought it back.' "'You!' I gasped. 'Why?' "'To disgust him and make him hate me so that he will never see me again. I love him too much to give myself to him. In my madness I thought of this.' "'And you want him to know it!' I cried out. I could hardly get my breath, the shock was so great. "'Yes--_here!_--NOW!' She stepped to the door. 'Monsieur,' she called, 'I have something to tell you. I have just brought back her jewel--I stole it! Now come, madame, to my room and I will tell you the rest!' "I followed her upstairs, leaving the horror-stricken young man dazed and speechless. She shut the door, locked it, and faced me. "'I have lied to both of you, madame. I did not steal your jewel; nobody stole it. I found it a few minutes ago under the edge of the rug where it had rolled; you dropped it in my room the night you wore it. In my agony to find some way out I seized on this. It came to me in a flash and I ran downstairs clutching it in my hand, knowing I would be lost if I hesitated a moment. It is over now. He will never see me again!' "I stood half paralyzed at the situation; she erect before me, her eyes blazing, her figure stretched to the utmost, like an animal in pain. "'And you deliberately told him you were a thief!' I at last managed to stammer out. 'Why?' "'Because it was the only way to escape--it was the only way out. I never want him to think of me in any other light--I want to be dead to him forever! Nothing else would have done; I should have yielded, for I could no longer master my love for him. Look!' "She was fumbling at her dress, loosening the top buttons close under her chin; then she ripped it clear, exposing her neck and back. "'This is what was done to me when I was a child!' "I leaned forward to see the closer. The poor child was one mass of hideous tattoo from her throat to her stays! "'Now you know the whole story,' she sobbed, her eyes streaming tears; 'my heart is broken but I am satisfied. I could have stood anything but his loathing.' "With this she fastened her dress and walked slowly out of the room, her head down, her whole figure one of abject misery." Madame leaned forward, picked up her goblet of water, and remarking that walking in the wind always made her thirsty, drained its contents. Then she turned her head to hide her tears. "A most extraordinary story, madame. Did the young fellow ever speak of the theft?" asked Herbert, the first of her listeners to speak.