"What is it?" asked Sahwah, finding her voice first.

"It's a scarab." answered Nyoda, "the ancient Egyptian figure of a
beetle. There are several in the museum at home."

We passed it from hand to hand with growing wonder and admiration. But
how came it into Nyoda's coat pocket? Was this also a part of the
witchcraft that had sent Gladys's trunk to us so mysteriously?

"Curiouser and Curiouser," said Sahwah.

"Are you sure you didn't pick it up somewhere without knowing it?" I
asked. "People sometimes do those things absent-mindedly, you know. I
came home from down-town once with a gold-handled umbrella and I hadn't
the slightest notion of where I got it. And the next day there was a
notice in the paper, 'Will the young lady who took the gold-handled
umbrella from the wash-room of Levy & Strauss's yesterday afternoon
please return same to the office? She was recognized and followed.' And
I couldn't remember being in the wash-room of Levy & Strauss's at all!"

Nyoda racked her brain. "It's impossible," she said. "I haven't been
anywhere since noon but up to that restaurant and Sahwah and I sat
alone at a table. There wasn't anything belonging to anyone else near
us."

"You didn't get it this morning when we were looking through the
stores?" I asked.

"No," said Nyoda, "I didn't. It wasn't there when I started up to