"Pietro told me you have a gold charm that matches these little horses," she said. "I just couldn't resist the temptation to come and see if by chance it might be the one which is missing from this bracelet."

Lolita misunderstood. Frowning, she said, "Oh, my goodness! You don't think I stole it?"

Nancy was aghast. "No, no," she said quickly. "I'm sorry. I'm just interested in knowing whether you've ever seen my bracelet or heard anything about its history."

Lolita shook her head, but she fingered the exquisite little horses. Then, going to a bureau drawer, she brought out a dainty gold chain. Attached was a golden horse. The miniature animal, wrought exactly like those on Nancy's bracelet, was a duplicate of the cantering horse.

"Your bracelet may have belonged to my lovely mother," said Lolita sadly. "She died when I was only eight years old, but I remember very well how she looked."

"Perhaps she sold the bracelet," Nancy suggested.

Lolita agreed this was possible, but it would be difficult to determine the fact definitely. Whenever she asked Mr. or Mrs. Kroon about her parents, the couple changed the subject. The reason they gave was that they did not like to talk about the Flanders' terrible accident. Leaning close to Nancy, she whispered:

"Sometimes I wonder if it's true that my parents are dead."

"Would you like me to help you find out?" Nancy asked on the spur of the moment.

"Oh, could you?" Lolita exclaimed, giving Nancy an impetuous hug.

Nancy told the girl that she had solved a few mysteries and would be glad to find out what she could. She asked if Lolita could give her any clues at all, but the young aerialist shook her head.

"As I told you before, my foster parents are very closemouthed. Sometimes I think there must be a reason back of why they won't tell me anything."

Suddenly Lolita looked at a clock on the wall. The fifteen minutes were up!