She then uttered a series of piercing screams, and rushed back into her room in a state of abject terror.
Peace made for the bottom of the stairs, and fired one chamber of his revolver.
He did not aim at the receding figure, his object being only to frighten.
In this he succeeded, as far as the inmates were concerned.
Mr. Wrench came out in his night shirt, pale as a parsnip. Brickett made his appearance in the passage, and exclaimed, in a loud voice—
“For mercy’s sake, tell me what’s the matter! Are there robbers in the house, or what?”
“It be missus’s ghost, that’s what it be!” exclaimed the servant girl, from her bedroom. “Ah, woe is me that I should live to see such a dreadful sight!”
“You little fool,” cried Peace, “hold your cursed tongue, will you? Ghost, indeed!—more like a robber.”
“I’ve lost the jewels; they’ve been stolen!” said the detective. “Lost them! Don’t let anyone leave the house.”
He returned to his bedroom, slipped on his trousers and boots. Meanwhile Peace turned to Brickett, and said—