Mr. Stanmore, who began to recover his presence of mind, and his thoughts reverting to the casket, and its strange contents of shavings, rags, and leads, said—
“Now, Lieutenant O’Loughlin, that that peppery Baronet is gone—he quite bewildered me,” added the solicitor, “let us think about this strange affair. The poor little girl is now actually left without her natural protectors.”
“Natural! do you call them?” replied O’Loughlin, who kept pacing the room to cool himself, whilst William Thornton was examining the casket and the lock. “I call him the most unnatural beast I ever met with; a dead match for a crocodile I once saw on the banks of the Nile, making a breakfast off half-a-dozen of his own progeny.”
“But, O’Loughlin,” said William Thornton, “there is something very mysterious in all this. I am perfectly convinced that the Duchesse de Coulancourt never gave me this casket, knowing it to contain those articles on the table; but, indeed, Mr. Stanmore, we ought to beg your pardon for thus giving way to our hasty tempers.”
“Why, so we ought,” said the Lieutenant; “but, tare and ouns, William, was I to stand silently by, hearing that Baronet calling you the son of a—hem—and I knowing you to be the son of Sir Oscar de Bracy.”
Mr. Stanmore looked up amazed at hearing William Thornton called the son of Sir Oscar de Bracy; he, however, merely said—
“Let us calmly look into this mysterious affair. I am satisfied myself that the original contents of that casket have been removed, and that rubbish substituted.”
O’Loughlin started, saying—
“That is not possible; you saw the seal unbroken.”
“Yes, yes,” said the solicitor; “there are more ways of opening caskets than with the key,” and then he rang the bell, and ordered the servant who answered the summons to tell his housekeeper to send up wine and refreshments. “Now, I beg you, Mr. Thornton,” continued the solicitor, addressing our hero, “I pray you to recall every circumstance that occurred after receiving the casket, for it may be quite possible that the contents might have been extracted previous to your receiving it from her hands.”