while we were in the midst of it I had to pinch myself to make sure
that I was awake and the things around me were real. But the events
that followed were real enough for anyone to know that they were not
dreaming. There came an intermission in the dancing at last, and we
five found ourselves in the glassed-in sun parlor opening from the
ballroom while somebody was going for ices for us. As it happened we
were the only ones in that little room, for the bigger conservatory
next to it was a more popular resting-place. Sitting there waiting we
began to talk about the scarab and the queer effect it seemed to have
had on the chauffeur.

"Let me look at it again," said I. I was utterly fascinated by the
thing.

Nyoda put her hand in the pocket of her coat where she had put the
scarab for safe keeping, and drew out, not the odd-looking beetle, but
something that flashed in the light like a thousand rain-drops in the
sunshine. It was a diamond necklace, with a diamond pendant at the end,
the stones arranged in the form of a cross. The thing blazed in Nyoda's
hand like liquid fire running down over her fingers, and we fairly
blinked as we looked at it. We were too astonished to say a word and
simply stared at it as if we were hypnotised.

"Girls," said Nyoda in a horrified tone, "there's something queer going
on here and we're mixed up in it. The sooner we get out of this house
the better. There's a gang of thieves at work at this ball--there
usually are at these big affairs--and unless we want to find ourselves
drawn into a net from which we can't escape easily we'll have to run
for it."