"Now, David," continued Mrs. Gray, firmly, "be kind enough to give me that pistol."
David obeyed her, wondering if she meant to shoot her own nephew.
Mrs. Gray pointed the pistol at the thief with as steady a hand as if she had been shooting at targets all her life.
"Untie the cords," she commanded.
They cut the cords with a carving knife.
"Now, go!" said the old lady, still pointing the pistol at his head. "Leave my house quickly. I shall not punish you, because a thief is always punished sooner or later."
Tom Gray looked immensely relieved, Grace thought, in spite of his crestfallen, hangdog air. They followed him down the hall, Mrs. Gray in the lead, until he slammed the front door after him and disappeared in the night.
Then, turning with her old, sweet manner, she continued:
"My dear children, I want to thank you for helping me rid my house of this man. I know I can depend on all of you never to mention it to anyone. It would have been a great blow to me if I had not been so angry; but now let us all go to our beds and forget this horrid episode. To-morrow we shall be as happy as ever. I am determined it shall not interfere with our good time."