“You put his diamond ring away? Where?” asked Kurt faintly.
“It was like this. I couldn’t get to sleep last night because a window was rattling in the hall, so I got up and went out to fix it. When I passed by Mr. Hebler’s door, I saw his diamond ring on a table near the door. Ain’t it awful how careless folks are! I opened a drawer in the table and slipped it in, and I clean forgot all about it till a little while ago. Maybe he’s got it on by this time, though.”
“All right, Mrs. Merlin, I’ll tell him,” said Kurt, hastily going in and up to Hebler’s room. The diamond fairly blazed at him in accusation as he opened the drawer.
And yet Hebler had told him that he had the ring! He hadn’t been in the house after he had said the ring was missing. And why had Pen said she took it? Maybe she had taken that method of returning it.
He went downstairs, pondering over the mystery. This time Marta stopped him, excitedly.
“Oh, Mr. Walters, Jo and I have been looking for you! Miss Lamont didn’t take the ring.”
“I know she didn’t. I just learned, Marta, that Mrs. Merlin saw it on the table and put it away.”
“Find Miss Lamont and tell her!” cried Marta in distress. “You see she thought I took it. She had reason to think so—the way I acted. She was protecting me.”
“I see,” he said despairingly. “I made her think you had taken it.”
“Come outside and see Jo.”