The Argosy — page 71: what you’re looking at

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

58 Lady Ennerdale’s Fewels. On trying the door of the dressing-room Piper found it locked. She gave a timid little knock, to which there was no response. ‘Then she knocked again, more loudly, and cried in her affected tones, “‘ My lady—are you there?” Still no answer. ‘Then she went to the next door in the corridor, which was that of the Countess’s bed-room. That also was locked, as was the third door she tried, which opened into the Earl’s dressing-room. Slightly puzzled, Piper went down again at full speed. Meeting another servant, she said, ‘‘ Have the ladies done tea yet?” but before she could be answered, the Countess came out of Mrs. Dawson’s boudoir. ‘“T was just coming down to look for your ladyship,” said Piper, glibly, but not without a guilty feeling at her heart. ‘“Coming to look for me, Piper ?” “To ask your ladyship for the key of the dressing-room. ‘The door’s locked and I can’t get in.” ‘“My dressing-room door locked! What do you mean 2” ‘‘T just ran down stairs to the housekeeper’s room to get a bit of camphor for my hollow tooth,” replied the ready-tongued Piper. ‘I was half distracted with face-ache, my lady. I had to wait while Mrs. Drabble found the camphor, though I couldn’t have been away more than five minutes, but when I got back upstairs I found the dressing-room door locked, and nobody answered when I knocked.” ‘““What became of my jewel-case while you were away from the room ?” “T left it unlocked on the dressing-table ready for your ladyship,” answered Piper, more timidly than she had yet spoken. | “Vou left my jewel-case on the dressing-table while you went down stairs, and did not even take the precaution to lock the door after you!” said the Countess, in a tone of high ig sn “What unpardonable carelessness !” “Tam very sorry, my lady,” returned Piper win for she was really alarmed at the responsibility she had incurred by leaving the room. ‘‘ But no doubt the jewel-case is quite safe.” “Safe!” echoed the Countess, turning cold at the bare idea of its being anything else. ‘“‘What do you mean, Piper? You really deserve a month’s warning for such imprudence.” They had been slowly ascending the stairs as they talked, and had reached the dressing-room by this time. Without further parley her ladyship turned the handle, but only to find that the door was really locked. Then she knocked and said, ‘‘ James, are you there?” but there came no response. Piper meanwhile had tried the two other doors and found that they also were still locked. ‘‘ This is Ennerdale’s doing,” said the Countess to herself. ‘He has found my jewel-case on the table, as Piper left it, and has locked the doors by way of teaching us to be more careful in future.” She was seriously annoyed. Nothing was more vexing to her than to be found fault with by her husband, Gomicbooks (CO)