mixed up in her
narrative.

"This is what she told us: When she had been in the sitting-room about a
minute she turned toward the bedroom and saw the door slowly shutting.

"She was surprised at this, for she had locked the other door of the
bed-room, and it did not seem possible for anybody to be in there.

"In fact, such a thing did not come into her mind. She supposed that a
draught of air was swinging the door.

"She hastened toward it, but it closed before she got there.

"She turned the knob and tried to open the door, but was unable to do
so. It did not seem to resist firmly, as it would if it had been
fastened. Instead it gave slightly, as if some person had been holding
it.

"If that was the case, he was stronger than she was, for she didn't
succeed in opening the door.

"Then she screamed. Such a yell I never heard a woman utter. I was in my
own room, which is over hers, and I jumped nearly out of my skin, it
startled me so.

"I was dressing, and was in my underclothes, so it took me a minute, I
should say, to get a pair of pantaloons on.

"Then I ran out into the hall and down the stairs. At the same moment
my uncle ran up from the ground floor.

"I mention these facts, because they seem to me to be important. You
see, we approached that room by two ways--by the only two ways except
that by which Mrs. Pond came.

"Just as I got to the hall door of her bed-room she opened it, and fell
into my arms in a faint.

"She lost consciousness only for a moment, and, on coming to herself,
she cried out that a thief had been in her room.

"By this time there were three or four servants in the hall below. One
of them staid there by my uncle's orders. The others went outside and
made a circuit of the house.

"We led Mrs. Pond back into her room, and she pointed to her
dressing-table.

"There lay two or three rings and a pin, but the most valuable ring that
she had put there was gone.

"It was a queer, old-fashioned ring in the form of a snake, and in its
mouth was a ruby worth about two hundred and fifty dollars. The eyes
were made of small diamonds.

"She declared that she had left the ring there. She told us how the door
between the two rooms had closed.

"It appears that after she had struggled to open it for several minutes
it suddenly yielded, and she almost fell into the room.

"Of course, she expected to rush straight upon the thief. He had been
holding the door, and naturally he couldn't h