Ruby's Reward — page 262: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

thorough work after once gaining an entrance to the house, ; Mr. Carpenter was written to, and asked to come out and try to suggest some explanation and some way to recover the missing property. Bunt he was out of town, and did not make his appearance until two days later, when he seemed as much astonished and porplexed as any one by the singular circum- stances. 3 The matter was then given into the hands of a de- tective, though with but little hope on the part ot Mrs, Gordon of recovering the lost articles. On Thursday morning, however, as she was pass- ing through the upper hall, she espied Mrs, Coxon in Walter’s old room, setting it to rights and changing the sheets, she having been unusually busy during the early portion of the week. and unable to attend to the work before. “Why,” exclaimed Mrs. Gordon, stopping and peep- ing in, ‘did any one sleep here last night?” “No, mna’am; but Mr. Walter was caught in the rain lust, Sunday night, and I wouldn’t let him go back to the city when there were plenty of beds in the house,” the housekeeper explained, not dreaim- ing what mischief she was doing. “Walter Richardson! did he sleep here last Sunday night 2” demanded Mrs. Gordon, with a start. “Yes, ina’am, didn’t you know it?” questioned Mrs, Coxon, but her face had grown suddenly scarlet, for she knew in an instant what thought had suddenly taken possession of her boarder’s mind. “No; I did—not—know—it,” replied Mrs, Gordon, with deliberate thoughtfulness; and then the two women stood and looked into each other’s faces for a full minute—the housekeeper's expressive of anxiety and something of defiance; her companion's indicat- ing astonishment and conviction, “At what time did he go away in the morning ?t" Mrs. Gordon demanded, at leneth breaking. the op- pressive silence. comichookss