rough, and the maid had immediately succumbed to sea-sickness and gone into her mistress's state-room to lie down. Mrs. Allerton-Staire had walked for a few minutes on deck, then seated herself in a deck-chair. Growing suddenly ill she had gone to her cabin, assisted by a gentleman who had been sitting next her. She had the satchel containing the jewels in her hand at the time. Immediately on reaching her state-room she had fallen in a syncope from which she could not be roused on reaching Calais. It was then discovered that the bottom of the satchel had a long incision, the jewel-case being gone. Suspicion was at once directed against the man who had been sitting beside the unfortunate woman on deck, and who was described as a gentlemanly looking person with a square black beard. In assisting the lady he had been heard to remark that he was a physician. It was supposed that he had given her some powerful hypnotic, probably asserting it to be a remedy for sea-sickness. This was, however, mere surmise, as the victim was still unconscious and in a very low condition. When the theft was discovered, this man was not to be found, either aboard the boat nor in Calais, where a thorough search was made for him by the police. It was thought that he had left the town in an automobile—and there was the usual amount of speculation, and theories.
Reading the article through I regretted more than ever my failure of the afternoon before. It was really unnecessary to poison the poor woman, and I could think of nobody but Chu-Chu who would have been apt to do so. The doctors, however, hoped for her recovery.
