She had come into the deputy-surveyor’s office with an agreeable curiosity regarding a present sent her from Paris. But the longer she stayed, the less certain did she feel concerning this hard-faced man opposite her, who had the strangest manner and made the most extraordinary propositions. What business was it of his that her jewels had been stolen? “But there were some things he could not understand,” Taylor went on. “May I ask,” she cried, “what Mr. Bronson’s inability to understand has to do with you?” “Simply,” said Taylor with an appearance of great frankness, “that he happens to be a very good friend of mine and often consults me about things that puzzle him. The theft of those jewels of yours mystified him greatly.” “Mystified him?” the girl retorted. “It was perfectly simple.” “Perhaps you won’t mind telling me the circumstances of the case.” “Really,” she returned sub-acidly, “I don’t quite understand how this concerns the Customs.” “It doesn’t,” he agreed readily, “I am acting only as Bronson’s friend and if you’ll answer my questions I may be able to recover the jewels for you.” The girl’s face cleared. So far from acting inimically, Mr. Taylor was actually going to help her. She smiled for the first time, and resumed her seat. “That will be splendid,” she exclaimed. “I did not understand. Of course I’ll tell you everything I know.” “The first feature that impressed Bronson,” said the deputy-surveyor, “and me, I’m bound to add, was that the theft seemed to be an inside job.” “What does that mean?” Miss Cartwright queried, interested. “That there was no evidence that a thief had broken into your home.” “But what other explanation could there be?” she inquired. “Our family consists of just my mother, my sister and myself, and two old servants who have lived with us for years, so of course it wasn’t any of us.” “Naturally not,” Taylor agreed as though this explanation had solved his doubts. “But how did you come to discover the loss of the diamonds?” “I didn’t discover it myself,” she told him. “I was at Bar Harbor.” “Oh,” said Taylor with the confidential air of a family physician. “You were away. I see! Who did find out?” “My sister. It was she who missed them.” “Oh, your sister missed them, did she?” he said. He pushed the buzzer and wrote something on a slip of paper. “So of course,” the girl continued, “it must have been some thief from the outside.” Taylor looked thoughtful. “I suppose you’re right,” he admitted, and then asked quickly: “I wonder if you’d mind telephoning your sister to come down here now?” “Why, she came with me,” Miss Cartwright returned. “She’s outside.” “That’s fine,” he said brightly. “It makes it easier.” He pushed the buzzer again. “Perhaps she’ll be able to help us.” “She’ll come if I wish,” said the elder sister, “but she knows even less about it than I do.”