"Ugh!" exclaimed the girl, dropping the parcel with horror.
"Ah, you may well say that." And Mrs. Jent nodded her head. "I don't know what possesses Mr. Neil to give it to Master George. It is true my dear boy loves it. But think of the history! He has forgotten it. He carried that toy with him when his poor mother ran away into the night. All through his illness he held to it, and when we took it away he cried so much that we had to give it back. The nasty thing!" finished Mrs. Jent with energy. "Throw it into the fire."
"No, no," cried Geoffrey, picking it up. "Neil would never forgive us if we did that. I'll keep it here and not give it to George at all."
"Give it to me," and Ruth took the parcel from him. "I won't let George have it, but I'll take it down with me to Hollyoaks."
"What for?" asked Geoffrey, uneasily. "It has disagreeable associations."
"For that very reason," said Ruth. "There is a clairvoyant near our place, a lady I know very well. If you put a thing into her hands she can tell you all about it."
"Nonsense!" cried Geoffrey, laughing, while Mrs. Jent held up her hands and muttered something about the Witch of Endor.
"It is not nonsense," Ruth said, energetically. "Mrs. Garvey tells the most wonderful things. At all events I'll try her with this. Who knows but she may see in her vision--which this will bring to her"--said Ruth in parenthesis--"the face of the murderer looking through the window."
"I don't believe a word of it," laughed Geoffrey, with the scepticism of a man of the world. "It is ridiculous. However, if you like you can try, but don't ask me to be present at your hanky-panky."
"I won't," laughed Ruth. "But I'll make a convert of convert of you by getting Mrs. Garvey to say who killed Neil's father."