They examined the room and one of them approached the toilette table and began to transfer the jewels and silver ornaments which lay upon it to a capacious bag.  The other took a big cigar out of his pocket and lit it.  Then he stepped to Mrs. C.’s side and began to puff the smoke into her face.  She was sleeping upon her back and though she at first stirred uneasily she soon seemed to sink into a deeper sleep.  After a few minutes by her side, the Chinaman moved round to Ethel’s side of the bed; but seeing that her head was covered by a pillow and that she was apparently fast asleep, he turned to help his comrade.

At this moment Mr. C.’s voice sounded in the hall and he came running upstairs, whistling gaily.  The robbers exchanged alarmed looks and hastily hid themselves and their bag of booty behind a large almirah.  Charlie opened the door and came into the room, saying “Alice, where are you?” Approaching the bed he said “What, asleep!” and bent over his wife.  But she was in a deep slumber and oblivious of her husband’s presence.  He noticed Ethel’s form on the opposite side of the bed and, walking gently round, touched her arm and whispered:  “Are you asleep too?”

She lifted the pillow, stretched her arms, and then sat up on the bed.  He noticed her evening dress and was explaining his late arrival when she jumped up crossly from the bed and saying, “Look at your wife, is she not looking ghastly?” went out of the room.  Charlie returned to his wife’s side and looked closely at her.  Her face seemed strangely pallid and her hands were cold.  He endeavoured to wake her and was still trying to rouse her when Ethel returned to the room followed by several of the servants, who looked excited.

In answer to his question, “What is wrong with Alice?” Ethel said “There are two thieves hidden behind the almirah.  Let the servants help you to secure them and then you will know what is wrong with Alice.”

The two Chinamen were soon routed out from behind the almirah, captured and handed over to the police.  A doctor was summoned and Alice was brought out of the stupor, she had been thrown into by the fumes of opium smoke.

An Unfaithful Servant.

A rich zemindar named Bose lived in Lucknow, He had emigrated there from Bengal, acquired land there, and studied the language until he could speak Urdu like a Hindustanee.  He became so much a native of Lucknow that, when business took him down to Calcutta, he felt himself a foreigner and stranger in Bengal.

His wife was an invalid and, as the years told on her, he had frequently to take her to Calcutta for medical advice and treatment.  Their only child was a daughter who was the darling of their household.  The second favourite in the family was a boy called Ram, who though really a servant was treated like a son of the house and both Mr. and Mrs. Bose were very fond of him.