spectfully as I could have
said it myself, and he touched his peaked cap to his mistress with a
kind of side-effect of "Cheery O, Vi," to the brilliant figure standing
gasping with astonishment upon the top step.

CHAPTER XXXIII

MISS MILLION HAS AN IDEA!

"WHATEVER in the wide world is young Jim up to now!" exclaimed London's
Love, when at last the heavy hall door was closed upon the motoring
ladies, the rectory party, and the two girls from across the valley.

Miss Million's face was rather more serious than usual.

"'Ere! I have an idea about that, Vi," she said. "And you, Smith,
listen. It's just occurred to me." She glanced about the darkened hall
with the stags' heads and the suit of armour.

"You know I shall never be able to trust that Mr. Burke again. He let me
down. Now what if he's lettin' all of us down?

"F'rinstance, a young man like that, with heaps of friends with plenty
of money, and always able to do as he likes up to now, what's he mean by
suddenly taking on a situation as a common shoveer?"

"Ar!" responded England's Premier Comedienne, who has often made the
stalls rock with laughter over the concentrated meaning which she can
infuse into that one monosyllable long-drawn-out.

"Ar!" She turned upon me the wink that delights the gallery, then said
dryly: "What's _your_ idea, Nellie?"

"Why, I believe he's no more nor less than a common robber and burglar!
A sort of Raffles, like in that play," declared Miss Million in a soft,
excited whisper.

"'Twouldn't surprise me a bit if he'd disguised himself like that, and
gone into service with that frosty-face, stuck-up Miss Davis that was
calling just because he wanted to get his footing in a wealthy house
where there was heaps of valuables, and cetrer.

"Here's this Miss Davis got more than a bit of her own, evident! And did
you notice the string o' pearls? She'll have more of those sort of
things at home, I bet you," said Million, adding with impressive
hoarseness, "I believe that's what he's after. Jewels!!"

"What? Jim?" Miss Vi Vassity gave a slow, enjoying laugh. "Him?
Likerly!"

"Ah, he's got round you, Vi. I believe you've got a soft corner for him
in your heart still, however much of a rotter the man is, but I'm off,
dead off.

"More than that, it wouldn't surprise me," continued my mistress, still
in her impressive tone, "if I'm not far off guessing who took the
Rattenh