"That's the word. I was in your house that night; I was there as surely as I am here to-night." "Nell, am I crazy, or is it Jack?" "Sometimes," said Mrs. Sandford, "when you put the chauffeur in the tonneau, I'm inclined to think that it is you." Hillard looked straight into the placid grey eyes of his hostess. Very slowly one of the white lids drooped. His heart bounded. "But really," continued Sandford seriously, "unless you bribed the caretaker, you could not possibly have entered the house. You have been dreaming." "Very well, then; it begins to look as if I had." It was apparent to Hillard that Sandford was not in his wife's confidence in all things. He also saw the wisdom of dropping the subject while at the table. To take up the thread of that romance again! He needed no wine to tingle his blood. They took coffee and liqueur in the glass-inclosed balcony. All Naples sparkled at their feet, and the young moon rose over the Sorrentine Hills. Sandford and Merrihew and the other two ladies began an animated exchange of experiences. Hillard found a quiet nook, not far from the lift. He saw that Mrs. Sandford's chair was placed so that she could get a good view of the superb night. He sat down himself, sipped his liqueur meditatively, drank his coffee, and, as she nodded, lighted a cigarette. "Well?" she said, smiling into his brown eyes. She was rather fond of Hillard; a gentleman always, and one of excellent taste. There was never any wearisome innuendo in his wit nor suggestion in his stories. "You deliberately winked at me," he began. "I deliberately did." "Sandford is in the dark; I suspected as much." "Regarding the wink?" "Regarding the mysterious woman who occupied your house by your express authority, and who rode the hunter in the park." "Was there ever a more beautiful picture?" sweeping her hands toward the city. "The beauty of it will last several hours yet. Who and what was she?" "I wish I could find you a wife; you would make a good husband." "Thank you. I am even willing, with your assistance, to prove it. Who was she, and how came she in your house?" "She wished that favor, and that her presence in New York should not be known. Now, describe to me exactly what happened. I am worrying about the plate and the silver." He laughed. "And you will meet me half-way?" "I promise to tell you all I ... dare." "There is a mystery?" "Yes. So begin with your side of it." He was a capital story-teller. He recounted the adventure in all its color; the voice under his window, the personals in the paper, the interchange of letters, the extraordinary dinner, the mask in the envelope. She followed him with breathless interest. "Charming, charming!" She clapped her hands. "And how well you tell it! You have told it just as it happened." "Just as it happened!" confounded for a moment. "Exactly. I have had a letter, two, in fact. You did not see her face?"