"Never mind about them. Phew! That's better," said the voice, still small, but now quite clear and distinct.
The spider did not move. It still held the aquamarine, catching the light and shining, between its front legs.
On a sudden thought, Lydia leaned down and looked at the stone more closely. She was relieved to see that it was not one of her own.
"Pretty, isn't it?" said Arachne. "Not really my color, though. I rather kill it, I think. One of the emeralds would have been more suitable — even though they were smaller."
"Where did you get it?" Lydia asked.
"Oh, a house just near here. Next door but one, I think it was."
"Mrs. Ferris's — yes, of course, that would be one of hers."
"Possibly," agreed Arachne. "Anyway, it was in a cabinet with a lot of others, so I took it, and I was just coming through the hedge out of the garden, looking for a comfortable hole to enjoy it in, when I got caught. It was the stone shining that made him see me. A funny sort of man, rather like a spider himself, if he had had more legs."
Lydia said, somewhat coldly:
"He was smarter than you were."