"And we have been waiting lunch for you ladies. I did hope we
would not have a single visitor to-day, so that we might entertain
you properly," went on Adele, "but two horrid men called. Wanted
'tea'; but indeed I know what they wanted - just a quiet place to
talk about their old patent papers."

"Yes, and one broke a beautiful china cup," said Tillie.

"But he had his thumb gone," Adele hurried to say. "I saw him
directly I went to pick up the pieces. So I suppose we could not
exactly blame the man for dropping Tillie's real German cup."

"His thumb gone!" repeated Cora absently.

"Oh!" exclaimed Hazel. "The man we met after Paul's hold-up had
lost a joint of his thumb."

"And papa said the papers stolen were patent papers!" exclaimed
Bess, all excitement.

"Hush!" whispered Belle. "Bess, you know father particularly said
we were not to speak of that."

If, as is claimed, the mature woman has the wonderful advantage of
an instinct almost divine, then the growing girl has, undoubtedly,
the advantage of intuitive shocks - flashes of wireless insight
into threatening surroundings.

Such a flash was distinctly felt now through the Grotto - even the