Jack glanced significantly at Percival, and said carelessly: 

“Gabrielle?  She was the nurse?”

“Yes, and I have been obliged to look after the baby, to help the maids with the cleaning and dusting, to assist the cook, to look after things generally and to keep father and mother from getting into the dumps.”

“Did Gabrielle do all these things?”

“Oh, no, but when one maid goes the others want to, and it has been a difficult matter to keep them all contented and busy.  Gabrielle was a good nurse, but a bit flighty and quite excitable.”

“But you don’t know that she has gone for good?”

“She took her boxes, and went away very unexpectedly.  It may have been on account of the fire, but we don’t know.  She has never gone away like this before, but I suppose an excitable person, such as she was, is liable to do strange things at any time.”

“It must be very awkward to be without help at such a time, and if we are any trouble—–­”

“Oh, no, don’t think of going,” said Margaret hurriedly.  “By the way, did you find an owner for the watch?”

“We have had several claimants, but no real owner,” said Jack.  “It is a very handsome one, and almost anybody might be excused for wanting it.”

“Yes, indeed.  I would like very much to have it myself.  How could it have been here when it does not belong to any one in our family?”

“There were strangers here last night, and we think that the man who stole it put it in Jack’s pocket by mistake when he saw that the police were watching him.”

“But we did not miss anything ourselves.  One would think that if thieves were about they would try to pick up something when there was so much excitement.  It seems very mysterious to me.”

“Yes, and to every one,” said Percival.  Mr. and Mrs. Van der Donk came in shortly, and for a time there was a very pleasant conversation, but at last the old gentleman got upon the subject of his family, and before long the boys were yawning, and the old lady fast asleep.

“You will have to excuse us,” said Percival, getting up, “but we boys had very little sleep last night, and we have to be back at nine o’clock in any event.”

The boys took their leave, and when once clear of the house Percival said with a grin: 

“I could not stand the old man and his genealogy, although we could have stayed an hour longer easily.”

“I saw that you were beginning to yawn, and I must confess that I felt a bit drowsy myself.”

“We won’t find out anything about the watch through that girl, Jack,” said Percival a little later.  “Our plans of being cautious and all that did not amount to anything.”

“No, and we are as much in the dark as before regarding the real owner.  We may never know who he is, Dick.”

“It looks like that,” said Dick.

CHAPTER XI