d fled
from the chance of being peppered by a revolver.

It was found in the morning that nothing was missing except the
servants' watches, their few small trinkets that were lying on the
dressing-table, and Mary's rings. The extraordinary silence with
which he had perpetrated the theft, his skill in taking the rings
off Mary's hand as it lay outside the coverlet, were not at all
unprecedented--the natives were known to be silent and subtle as
snakes in their doings.

Mrs. Orban sent Eustace down to the plantation as soon as she knew
every one would be astir. Mr. Ashton, the field manager, was
suffering from fever, so that it was useless to go to him; but on
hearing the story, Robertson, the chief engineer, returned with the
boy to look into the matter.

Investigations were in vain; the man had left no tracks around the
house, no footprints on the veranda.

The servants were so terrified that they declared they would not
stay another night in the house. They wanted to be sent to Cooktown
immediately--a five days' journey by sea. Robertson, a big burly
Scotsman, roughly told them that such a thing was impossible. They
could not get away for another week, when the schooner might be
expected to bring provisions. He lectured them on their cowardice
in wanting to run away and leave their mistress alone at such a
time, but the girls would not listen to reason; they said they
would hire horses and ride all the way to the first civilized place
they could find.

Then Mrs. Orban tried persuasion. Had they not better wait at least
to see whether anything could be heard of their lost possessions?
She would offer a reward to any one finding the thief or restoring
the stolen goods to their owners--the offer should be made known
all over the plantation.

The suggestion carried the day, and the bargain was made. Mrs.
Orban felt that at all costs she must keep the maids until Mr.
Orban's return, for the work and the solitude would have been too
much for her to stand, brave as she had proved herself to be.

The offering of a reward was greatly against Robertson's advice. He
pointed out that it would only prove an incentive to further
robbery. The plantation hands were an unprincipled lot, and if
they discovered that they could get money by stealing things and
bringing them back, as if they had discovered them in the
possession of some one else, there would be no end to the thefts,
and no tangible means of getting hold of the t