No one could go to bed, and before five o'clock Phoebe came down, dressed
for the day, and set to work with the butler and the inventory of the
plate to draw up an account of the losses. Not merely the plate in
common use was gone, but the costly services and ornaments that had been
the glory of old Mr. Fulmort's heart; and the locks had not been broken
but opened with a key; the drawing-rooms had been rifled of their
expensive bijouterie, and the foray would have been completely successful
had it included the jewels. There were no marks of a violent entrance;
windows and doors were all fastened as usual, with the single exception
of the back door, which was found ajar, but with no traces of having been
opened in an unusual manner, though the heavy bolts and bars would have
precluded an entrance from the outside even with a false key.

Early in the day, Mervyn returned with the superintendent of police. He
was still too much excited to rest, and his heavy tread re-echoed from
floor to floor, as he showed the superintendent round the house, calling
his sister or the servants to corroborate his statements, or help out his
account of what he had hardly seen or comprehended. Thus he came to
Phoebe for her version of the affair in the gallery, of which he only
knew his own share--the noise that had roused him, the sight of the
burglar, the sudden darkness, the report of the pistol; and the witness
of his danger--the bullet--was in the wall nearly where his head had
been. When Phoebe had answered his questions, he gazed at her, and
exclaimed--'Hallo! why, Phoebe, it seems that but for you, Parson Robert
would be in possession here!' and burst into a strange nervous laugh,
ending by coming to her and giving a hearty kiss to her forehead, ere
hurrying away to report her evidence to the policeman.

When all measures had been taken, intelligence sent back to the station,
and a search instituted in every direction, Mervyn consented to sit down
to breakfast, but talked instead of eating, telling Phoebe that even
without her recognition of James Smithson, the former footman, the
superintendent would have attributed the burglary to a person familiar
with the house, provided with facsimiles of all the keys, except those of
the jewels, as well as sufficiently aware of the habits of the family to
make the attempt just before the jewels were to be removed, and when the
master was likely to be absent. The appearance of the back do