This brings us to the present moment.

You have now the whole story, and I shall be very pleased to listen to any suggestions you are good enough to offer." The girl sat where she was for a few moments and pondered over the situation.

The detective, resting his elbow on the table and his chin in his hand, regarded her with eager anticipation.

The more Jennie thought over the matter, the more she was amazed at the man before her, who seemed unable to place two and two together.

He had already spoken of the account of the ball which had appeared in the _Daily Bugle_; of its accuracy and its excellence; he knew that she was a member of the _Bugle_ staff, yet it had never occurred to him to inquire who wrote that description; he knew also that she had been a guest at the Schloss Steinheimer when the invitation to the ball must have reached the Princess.