And as she spoke, and before Scott could answer, there was his step on the gravel, and he came in at the front door with his little black bag in his hand that I suppose he carried his stories in to see if people would like to buy them.

‘Hullo!  Scott,’ he says, ‘have you seen a ghost?’ And, indeed, she looked more dead than alive.  She gulped in her throat, but she could not speak.

‘Here, young woman,’ says Mr. Oliver to me, ’you haven’t lost your head altogether.  What’s it all about?’

So I told him as well as I could, and by this time master had come out and my Lady, and you never saw any one so upset as they were.  All the house was turned out of window, hunting for the necklace; though, of course, not having legs, it couldn’t have walked by itself out of Mrs. Oliver’s room.  All the servants was called up, even to the kitchen-maid; and those who were not angry, were frightened, and, what with fright and anger, there wasn’t one of us, I do believe, as didn’t look as they had got the necklace on under their clothes that very minute.  John was very angry indeed.  ’Do they think we’d take their dirty necklace?’ he said, as we were going up.  ’It’s enough to ruin all of us, this kind of thing happening, and leaving the doors open so that any one could get in and walk clear off with it without a stain on their character, and us left with none to speak of’

So when master had asked us all a lot of questions, and we were told we could go, John stepped out and said—­

’I am sure I am only expressing the feelings of my fellow-servants when I say that we should wish our boxes searched and our rooms, so that there shall be no chance for any one to say afterwards that it lays at any of our doors.’

And Mrs. Oliver began to cry, and she said ’No, no, she wouldn’t put that insult on any one.’  But Mr. Oliver, who hadn’t been saying much, though so talkative generally, but kept taking snuff at a rate that was dreadful to see, he said—­

‘The young man is quite right, my dear; and if you don’t mind,’ he says to master, ‘I think it had better be done.’

And so it was done, and I don’t know how to write about it now, though it was never true.  They came to my room and they looked into all my drawers and boxes except my little hat-tin, and when they wanted the key of that, I said, silly-like, not having any idea that they could think that I could do such a thing, ’I’d rather you didn’t look into that.  It’s only some things I don’t want any one to see.’

And the reason was that I’d got some bits of things in it that I’d got the week before in the town towards getting my things for the wedding ready, and I felt somehow I didn’t want any one to see them till James did.  And they all looked very queer at me when I said that, and my Lady said—­

‘Mary, give me the key at once.’