“Indeed, no,” said Fessenden, grasping his friend’s hand in sincere sympathy. “It was a terrible experience, and the injustice of the suspicion resting on you makes it a hundredfold more horrible.”

“When I went back to the house next morning I watched for an opportunity, and managed, unobserved, to remove the reliquary from its floral hiding-place. I shall never use it now. There are some men fated not to know happiness, and I am of those.”

“Let us hope not,” said Fessenden gently. “But whatever the future may hold, let us now keep to the business at hand, and use every possible means to discover the evildoer.”