"The child remained there four years, and the Mother Superior had some

reason to believe that 'Madame Dubois' spent a good part of that time in

San Francisco. She came at irregular intervals to see the child--always

in vacation, when there were no pupils in the convent, and always at

night. The Mother Superior, however, thought it best to make no

investigations, for the child throve, they were all daffy about her, and

the money came promptly on the first of every month. When the mother came

she always brought a trunk full of fine underclothes, and left the money

for a new uniform. Then, one day, Madame Dubois arrived in widow's weeds,

said that her husband was dead, leaving her quite well off, and that she

was returning to France."

"And Madame Delano's story is that he died on the way to Japan--if it is

the same woman--"

"Haven't a doubt of it myself. I did a little cabling before I left last

night to a man I know in Paris to find out just when Madame Delano

returned with her child to live with her family in Rouen. He got busy and

here is his answer--just fifteen years ago almost to the minute."

"Then who was her husband?"

"There you've got me--so far. He was no 'scientist, who later accepted

a high-salaried position.' A decent chap of that sort would have

written to his child, paid her board himself, most likely taken it away

from the mother--"

"But she may have kidnapped it--"

"People are too easy traced in this State--especially that sort. Nor do

I believe she was an actress. There never was any actress of that

name--not so you'd notice it, anyhow, and that woman would have been

known for her looks and height even if she couldn't act. Moreover, if

she was an actress there would be no sense in giving the nuns a false

name, since she had admitted the fact. No, it's my guess that she was

something worse."

"Well, I've prepared myself for anything."

"I figure out that she was the mistress of one of our rich highfliers,

and that when he got tired of her he pensioned her off, and she made up

her mind to reform on account of the kid, and went back to Rouen, and

proceeded to identify herself with her class by growing old and shapeless

as quickly as possible. She must have adopted the name Delano in New York

before she bought her steamer ticket, for although I've had a man on the

hunt, the only Delanos of that time were eminently respectable--"




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