Witch Hazel; or, The Secret of the Locket — page 273: what you’re looking at

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

that she would dare to take so valuable a-piece of jewelry from you, and, least of all, conceal itin her trunk where it must inevitably be discovered. If she had been a person of such doubtful character she would have been far more likely to have taken it with her this morning when she went to the island and concealed it there. “There is amystery—a romance connected with her life; and doubtless she belonged to a wealthy family atthe time she was rescued from that sinking ship. The clothing you have déscribed goes to prove that; and, strange as it may appear, that necklace that you hold in your hund may have been a duplicate of your own and belonged to her mother as she says. I am strongly impressed, Mrs. Stewart, that some other person has stolen your necklace, and this rightly be. longs to Miss Gay.” Mrs. Stewart flushed hotly and her eyes flashed with anger at this. “In that event you make it out that I have pur- loined valuable: property from her,” she remarked, with considerable asperity. “Not willfully, of course. Tknow that you would not intentionally wrong her, but [feel thata great wrong will be done if Miss Gay is arrested and this case allowed to come to trial,” the young man said, respectfully, but boldly speaking his convic- tions. “T cannot help it,’ Mrs. Stewart retorted,. obsti- nately. ‘tf claim this necklace and I shall retain it until its duplicate—if there is a duplicate—is found.” | ‘‘And it is too late to interfere in the matter now,” the officer here interposed, ‘‘for Miss 7 has -al- ready been arrested aud the law will ace teey Kony