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EN days passed eventless to Victoria until the morning of the eleventh, which was marked by a letter from Sonia. In this, her friend wrote affectionately of everything and of every one in their old circle, and concluded with a request for information concerning the Auray robbery, she having been notified to hold herself in readiness to identify the criminal if caught. The long and rambling epistle closed with a bit of information that set Victoria thinking.

"The strange thing is," wrote Sonia, "that our inky countess has disappeared, so the official, a very chatty and sociable individual, informed me. She suspected the maid—you remember her—of being in collusion with the thief. Unfortunately, this did not dawn on her till the said Abigail had departed for parts unknown, which she did shortly after the burial of the child. The
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