After a short silence he added:

"Could Lady Sellingworth possibly have known who had stolen the jewels,
do you think?"

"What! And refrained from denouncing the thief!"

"She might have had a reason."

Miss Van Tuyn's keen though still girlish eyes looked sharply into
Craven's for an instant.

"I believe you men, you modern men are very apt to think terrible things
about women," she said.

Craven warmly defended himself against this abrupt accusation.

"Well, but what did you mean?" persisted Miss Van Tuyn. "Now, go against
your sex and be truthful for once to a woman."

"I really don't know exactly what I meant," said Craven. "But I suppose
it's possible to conceive of circumstances in which a woman might know
the identity of a thief and yet not wish to prosecute."

"Very well. I'll let you alone," she rejoined. "But this mystery makes
Lady Sellingworth more fascinating to me than ever. I'm not particularly
curious about other people. I'm too busy about myself for that. But
I would give a great deal to know a little more of her truth. Do you
remember her remark when I said 'I wish I had known you then'?"