"But you can't make her believe that now," whispered Hammersmith.
"Then we must trick him into showing her his real feelings."
"How would you set to work? He's warned, she's warned, and life if not love is at stake."
"It don't look very promising," muttered Doctor Golden, "but——"
He was interrupted by a sudden sound of hubbub without.
"It's Quimby, Quimby!" declared Hammersmith in his sudden excitement.
But again he was mistaken. It was not the landlord, but his wife, wild-eyed, dishevelled, with bits of straw in her hair from some sheltering hayrick and in her hand a heavy gold chain which, as the morning sun shone across it, showed sparkles of liquid clearness at short intervals along its whole length.
Diamonds! Miss Thistlewaite's diamonds, and the woman who held them was gibbering like an idiot!
The effect on Jake was remarkable. Uttering a piteous cry, he bounded from their hands and fell at the woman's feet.
"Mother Quimby!" he moaned. "Mother Quimby!" and sought to kiss her hand and wake some intelligence in her eye.