The excitement was now intense, and seemed to be shared by everybody in the house. Grice had come in through the swing-door and stationed herself in the background, Sampson and the groom were peeping through the window, and even old Atterleigh, attracted by the sound of the hammering, had strolled aimlessly in.
“What can it be?” said Eva, with a gasp.
Slowly Jeremy extracted the cabinet from its leaden coverings and set it on the table.
“Shall I open it?” he said; and, suiting the action to the word, he lifted the latch, and placing the chisel between the edge of the little door and its frame, prised the cabinet open.
The smell of spices became more pronounced than ever, and for a moment the cloud of dust that came from them, as their fragments rolled out of the cabinet on to the table, prevented the spectators, who, all but Dorothy, were crowding up to the case, from seeing what it contained. Presently, however, a large whitish bundle became visible. Jeremy put in his hand, pulled it out, and laid it on the top of the box. It was heavy. But when he had done this he did not seem inclined to go any further in the matter. The bundle had, he considered, an uncanny look.
At that moment an interruption took place, for Florence Ceswick entered through the open door. She had come up to see Dorothy, and was astonished to find such a gathering.
“Why, what is it all about?” she asked.
Somebody told her in as few words as possible, for everybody’s attention was concentrated on the bundle, which nobody seemed inclined to touch.
“Well, why don’t you open it?” asked Florence.
“I think that they are all afraid,” said Mr. Cardus, with a laugh.