Was the man a clairvoyant? How could he know that Vicky had done this very thing? But I realized at once, that he knew it, not from cognizance of facts, but from his prescience of what would necessarily follow in such a case. "She has her keys, of course?" he asked. "The police have charge of the keys," I said, a little lamely. "I know," Stone said, impatiently, "but there are doubtless more keys than the ones they have. I should say, that Miss Van Allen took at least the key of one door with her, however hurried her flight." "It may be so," I conceded. "But, granting she has been back and forth on the errands you suggest, it is not likely she will keep it up." "No, it is not. And especially if she learns I am on the case." "How could she know that?" Ruth Schuyler asked. "I'm sure Miss Van Allen is a most clever and ingenious young woman," Stone replied, "and I feel sure she knows all that is going on. She gets information from the papers, and, too, she has that dependable maid, Julie. That woman, probably disguised, can do much in the way of getting information as to how matters are progressing. You see, I've followed the case all the way along, and the peculiarities and unique conditions of it are what induced me to take it up." "Shall we offer a reward, Mr. Stone, for the discovery of the hiding place of Miss Van Allen?" asked Rhoda, eagerly. "I want to use every possible means of finding her." "Not yet, Miss Schuyler. Let us try other plans first. But I must enjoin utter secrecy about my connection with the matter. Not the fact that I am at work on it, but the developments or details of my work. It is a most unusual, a most peculiar case, and I must work unimpeded by outside advice or interference. I may say, I've never known of a case which presented such extraordinary features, and features which will either greatly simplify or greatly impede my progress." "Just what do you mean by that last remark, Mr. Stone?" asked Ruth Schuyler, who had been listening intently. "I mean that the absolutely mysterious disappearance of the young woman will either be of easy and simple solution, or else it will prove an insoluble mystery. There will be no half-way work about it. If I can't learn the truth in a short time, I fear I never can." "How strange," said I. "Do you often feel thus about the beginning of a case?" "Very rarely, almost never. And never have I felt it so strongly as in this instance. To trace that girl is not a matter of long and patient search, it's rather a question of a bit of luck or a slight slip on her part, or--well--of some coincidence or chance discovery that will clear things at one flash." "Then you're depending on luck?" exclaimed Rhoda, in a disappointed tone. "Oh, not that," and Stone smiled. "At least, I'm not depending entirely on that. If luck comes my way, so much the better. And now, please let me see the notes Miss Van Allen has written."