The Argosy — page 72: what you’re looking at

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

Lady Ennerdale’s Fewels. 59 and she knew that in the present case he would not hold her blame- less. He would say that she ought to have given Piper a special caution not to leave the room while the jewel-case was about. “See whether you can find Lord Ennerdale,” she said to Piper, ‘and say that I should like to see him as quickly as possible.” Away went Piper in fear and trembling. There was only one man in the world of whom she stood in awe, and that man was the Earl. She found him in the library alone, immersed in some rare folio, and delivered her message. He answered her with a nod—being a man of few words—and shutting up his book at once, proceeded up stairs in a leisurely way, whistling under his breath, and jingling the loose change in his pocket as he went. Piper followed, quaking at heart. The Earl found his wife with a shawl thrown round her, pacing the cold corridor. ‘I want to get into my dressing-room,” she said to him, with a little impatience in her tone. ‘‘ Be good enough to open the door. I shall hardly be dressed in time for dinner.” The Earl looked at her and tugged at his whiskers. “Open the door of your dressing-room?” he said. ‘And pray what is the matter with the door that I should be fetched all the way from the library to open it ?” “As if you did not know! It is locked, of course, as is also the bed-room door and that of your dressing-room. But do make haste and open it. Of course it was excessively careless of Piper to leave the room while my jewel-case was in it, and J am ——” “What!” almost shouted the Earl. ‘‘ Your jewel-case left in the room and the doors found locked! ‘Then, as sure as you live, it has been stolen !” “But it was you who locked the door, was it not?” asked the Countess, with a sudden tremor in her voice. The Earl made no answer in words, but dashing into the nearest bed-room that was open, he issued therefrom next moment, poker in hand. Using this implement as a lever, for insertion between the door and the jamb, the Earl, after half a dozen powerful wrenches, contrived to burst open the door of his wife’s dressing-room. He rushed in, followed by the Countess, and, at a more modest distance, by Piper. ‘The tale told itself in a moment. One of the two windows was wide open. ‘The candles in the sconces were all blown out save one. An overturned chair, a shattered vase, and Lady Ennerdale’s jewel-case nowhere to be seen. “Robbed, by Jove! Just as I thought,” cried the Earl with a groan. Jor the first time in her life Lady Ennerdale fainted. Her husband was just in time to catch her, or she would have fallen. Piper showed symptoms of coming hysterics. ‘Hold your tongue, you idiot!” cried the Earl sternly, “ and attend to your mistress. It is all through your carelessness that this has happened.” While Piper attended to the Countess, the Earl lighted another conniclooolkks (C(O)