too? Suppose the thief had got away by dropping from one of the upper
windows, how had he escaped the dogs? Had he come provided for them with
drugged meat? As the doubt crossed my mind, the dogs themselves came
galloping at me round a corner, rolling each other over on the wet
grass, in such lively health and spirits that it was with no small
difficulty I brought them to reason, and chained them up again. The
more I turned it over in my mind, the less satisfactory Mr. Franklin's
explanation appeared to be.

We had our breakfasts--whatever happens in a house, robbery or murder,
it doesn't matter, you must have your breakfast. When we had done, my
lady sent for me; and I found myself compelled to tell her all that I
had hitherto concealed, relating to the Indians and their plot. Being a
woman of a high courage, she soon got over the first startling effect
of what I had to communicate. Her mind seemed to be far more perturbed
about her daughter than about the heathen rogues and their conspiracy.
"You know how odd Rachel is, and how differently she behaves sometimes
from other girls," my lady said to me. "But I have never, in all my
experience, seen her so strange and so reserved as she is now. The
loss of her jewel seems almost to have turned her brain. Who would have
thought that horrible Diamond could have laid such a hold on her in so
short a time?"

It was certainly strange. Taking toys and trinkets in general, Miss
Rachel was nothing like so mad after them as most young girls. Yet there
she was, still locked up inconsolably in her bedroom. It is but fair to
add that she was not the only one of us in the house who was thrown out
of the regular groove. Mr. Godfrey, for instance--though professionally
a sort of consoler-general--seemed to be at a loss where to look for his
own resources. Having no company to amuse him, and getting no chance
of trying what his experience of women in distress could do towards
comforting Miss Rachel, he wandered hither and thither about the house
and gardens in an aimless uneasy way. He was in two different minds
about what it became him to do, after the misfortune that had happened
to us. Ought he to relieve the family, in their present situation, of
the responsibility of him as a guest, or ought he to stay on the
chance that even his humble services might be of some use? He decided
ultimately that the last course was perhaps the most customary and
considerate course to take, in such a