Her chum turned the key in the door. Thank heaven, it was still there! Blinded by the light from the flash, Mary Louise staggered out.
“What happened?” demanded Jane, her face deathly pale with terror.
Mary Louise stumbled towards the bed. “No bones broken, thank goodness!” she exclaimed, sitting down carefully upon the bed. But she jumped up immediately.
“What’s happened to this bed?” she demanded. “It’s full of pins and needles!”
Her chum turned the flashlight upon the ugly piece of furniture, and Mary Louise perceived at once the explanation of the ripping sound she had heard. The bed clothing was literally torn to pieces; the mattress was cut in a dozen places, and straw strewn all over the floor. No wonder it felt sharp to sit down on!
“So the ruby necklace was hidden in the bed!” she muttered.
“What ruby necklace?” demanded Jane.
“That’s what the gypsy said Miss Grant was treasuring so carefully. She probably just made a guess at it—to seem wise. It may be a diamond ring, for all I know.... Anyhow, somebody stole it. Who could it have been?”
“Tell us exactly what happened,” begged Jane.
Briefly Mary Louise told the grim story. Elsie had lighted the lamp, and the girls sat about on chairs, listening intently. Silky, who had stopped barking now, climbed into his mistress’s lap.