After coffee she decided to retire, and bade Dennison good-night. Once in
her room she laid the beads on the dresser and sat down by the window to
recast the remarkable ending of this day. From the stars to the room, from
the room to the stars, her glance roved uneasily. Had she fallen upon an
adventure? Was Dennison's theory correct regarding the beads? She rose and
went to the dresser, inspecting the beads carefully. Positively glass!
That Anthony Cleigh should be seeking a string of glass beads seemed
arrant nonsense.
She hung the beads on her throat and viewed the result in the mirror. It
was then that her eye met a golden glint. She turned to see what had
caused it, and was astonished to discover on the floor near the molding
that poor Chinaman's brass hand warmer. She picked it up and turned back
the jigsawed lid. The receptacle was filled with the ash of punk and
charcoal.
There came a knock on the door.