is children
followed their mother's lead, except that they buried their faces in
his coat-tail pockets. 'What has happened?'

"'Mary!' gasped Mrs. Bradley."

"The jewel?" asked Bessie.

"The same," returned Thaddeus, with a smile. "She was the jewel,
alas! now deprived of her former glorious setting.

"'What's the matter with Mary?' asked Bradley.

"'She's been behaving outrageously. I found her this morning,' said
Mrs. Bradley, 'rummaging through my escritoire, throwing things all
over the floor; and when I remonstrated she said she was looking for
a sheet of paper on which to write a letter. I told her she should
have asked me for it, and she replied impertinently that she never
asked favors of anybody. I told her to leave the room, and she
declined to do it, picking up a sofa-pillow and throwing it at me.
I was so overcome I nearly fainted.'"

"I should think she would have been overcome! Such impudence!" said
Bessie.

"Humph!" said Thaddeus. "That isn't a marker to what followed.
Why, according to Mrs. Bradley's story, that escaped Koh-i-noor
called her all sorts of horrible names, threw an empty ink-pot at a
photograph of Bradley himself, that stood on the mantel, and then,
grabbing up a whisk-broom, literally swept everything else there was
on the mantel off to the floor with it. This done, she began to
overturn chairs with an ardor born of temper, apparently; and,
finally, Mrs. Bradley got so frightened that she ran from the room,
and the jewel started in pursuit. Straight to the nursery ran the
lady of the house--for there was where the children were, playing
house, no doubt, with little idea that jewels sometimes
deteriorated. Once in the nursery, Mrs. Bradley slammed the door
to, locked it, and then, still fearful, rolled before it the bureau
and the children's cribs. After that the actions of the jewel could
only be surmised. The door was pounded and the atmosphere of the
hall was rent with violent harangues; then a hurried step was heard
as the jewel presumably sailed below-stairs; then crashings were
heard--crashings which might have indicated the smashing of windows,
of picture-glass, of mirrors, chairs, and other household
appurtenances, after which, Mrs. Bradley observed, all became
still."

"Mercy! what a trial!" said Bessie. "And was she locked up in the
nursery all day?"

"From twelve until we rescued her at a little after six," said
Thaddeus. "Then Bradley and I started out