"I dunno when I 'ad such a turn." Eliza sat down heavily on a box as she spoke. "First thing his bed all empty and black as the chimley back, and him not in it, and then when I looks again he _is_ in it all the time. I must be going silly. I thought as much when I heard them haunting angel voices yesterday morning. But I'll tell Mam'selle of you, my lad, with your tricks, you may rely on that. Blacking yourself all over like a dirty nigger and crocking up your clean sheets and pillow-cases. It's going back of beyond, this is."
"Look here," said Gerald slowly; "I'm going to tell you something."
Eliza simply snorted, and that was rude of her; but then, she had had a shock and had not got over it.
"Can you keep a secret?" asked Gerald, very earnest through the grey of his partly rubbed-off blacklead.
"Then keep it and I'll give you two bob."
"That. About the two bob and the secret. And you keep your mouth shut."
"I didn't ought to take it," said Eliza, holding out her hand eagerly. "Now you get up, and mind you wash all the corners, Master Gerald."
"Oh, I'm so glad you're safe," said Kathleen, when Eliza had gone.
"You didn't seem to care much last night," said Gerald coldly.
"I can't think how I let you go. I didn't care last night. But when I woke this morning and remembered!"
"There, that'll do--it'll come off on you," said Gerald through the reckless hugging of his sister.
"It just happened when she called me--the ring came off."
"Tell us all about everything," said Kathleen.
"Where's the ring?" Jimmy asked after breakfast. "_I_ want to have a try now."
"I--I forgot it," said Gerald; "I expect it's in the bed somewhere."
"I'll swear there aint no ring there," she said. "I should 'a' seen it if there had 'a' been."
"SEARCH and research proving vain," said Gerald, when every corner of the bedroom had been turned out and the ring had not been found, "the noble detective hero of our tale remarked that he would have other fish to fry in half a jiff, and if the rest of you want to hear about last night...."
"Let's keep it till we get to Mabel," said Kathleen heroically.
"The assignation was ten-thirty, wasn't it? Why shouldn't Gerald gas as we go along? I don't suppose anything very much happened, anyhow." This, of course, was Jimmy.