in of
the situation. The feeling of stunned surprise began to leave her.
She found herself thinking coherently again.

The relief was but momentary. Why was Jimmy in the room at that
time? Why had he a torch? What had he been doing? The questions shot
from her brain like sparks from an anvil.

The darkness began to tear at her nerves. She felt along the wall
for the switch, and flooded the whole room with light.

Jimmy laid down the torch, and stood for a moment, undecided. He had
concealed the necklace behind him. Now, he brought it forward, and
dangled it silently before the eyes of Molly and his lordship.
Excellent as were his motives for being in that room with the
necklace in his hand, he could not help feeling, as he met Molly's
startled gaze, quite as guilty as if his intentions had been
altogether different.

His lordship, having by this time pulled himself together to some
extent, was the first to speak.

"I say, you know, what ho!" he observed, not without emotion.
"What?"

Molly drew back.

"Jimmy! You were--oh, you can't have been!"

"Looks jolly like it!" said his lordship, judicially.

"I wasn't," said Jimmy. "I was putting them back."

"Putting them back?"

"Pitt, old man," said his lordship solemnly, "that sounds a bit
thin."

"Dreever, old man," said Jimmy. "I know it does. But it's the
truth."

His lordship's manner became kindly.

"Now, look here, Pitt, old son," he said, "there's nothing to worry
about. We're all pals here. You can pitch it straight to us. We
won't give you away. We--"

"Be quiet!" cried Molly. "Jimmy!"

Her voice was strained. She spoke with an effort. She was suffering
torments. The words her father had said to her on the terrace were
pouring back into her mind. She seemed to hear his voice now, cool
and confident, warning her against Jimmy, saying that he was
crooked. There was a curious whirring in her head. Everything in the
room was growing large and misty. She heard Lord Dreever begin to
say something that sounded as if someone were speaking at the end of
a telephone; and, then, she was aware that Jimmy was holding her in
his arms, and calling to Lord Dreever to bring water.

"When a girl goes like that," said his lordship with an insufferable
air of omniscience, "you want to cut her--"

"Come along!" said Jimmy. "Are you going to be a week getting that
water?"

His lordship proceeded to soak a sponge without further parley; but,
as he carried his