"Only some man returning to his home," said Florence. "This place gets on your nerves."

"Perhaps," said Lucile.

As they reached the street before the cottage of many mysteries they were pleased to see lights streaming from the rent in the shade.

"At least we shall be able to tell whether they have the book of Portland charts," sighed Lucile as she prepared to make a dash for the shadows.

"Now," she breathed; "there's no one in sight."

Like two lead-colored drifts of fog they glided into a place by the window.

Lucile was first to look. The place seemed quite familiar to her. Indeed, at first glance she would have said that nothing was changed. The old man sat in his chair. Half in a doze, he had doubtless drifted into the sort of day-dream that old persons often indulge in. The child, too, sat by the table. She was sewing. That she meant to go out later was proved by the fact that her coat and tam-o'-shanter lay on a near-by chair.

As I have said, Lucile's first thought was that nothing had changed. One difference, however, did not escape her. Two books had been added to the library. The narrow, unfilled space had been narrowed still further. One book was tall, too tall for the space which it was supposed to occupy, so tall that it leaned a little to the right. The other book did not appear to be an old volume. On the contrary its back was bright and shiny as if just coming from the press. It was highly ornamented with figures and a title done all in gold. These fairly flashed in the lamplight.

"That's strange!" she whispered to herself.

But even as she thought it, she realized that this was no ordinary publishers' binding.

"Leather," she told herself, "rich leather binding and I shouldn't wonder if the letters and decorations were done in pure gold."

Without knowing exactly why she did it, she made a mental note of every figure which played a part in the decorating of the back of that book.

Then suddenly remembering her companion and their problem, she touched her arm as she whispered:"Look! Is that tall book second from the end on the shelf with the vacant space the Portland chart book?" Florence pressed her face to the glass and peered for the first time into 

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