“I ain’t used to the pesky thing. Mark always attended to it, and I’ll be dumbed if I can budge it.”
The sweat was pouring off his face as he got up from his knees and looked helplessly round.
“Let me try. You know I opened it once,” Jeff said.
No one objected, and the door was soon open, Uncle Zach and Jeff bumping their heads together to look in.
“Jerusalem crickets! They are gone!” Jeff said.
“So they be. That is,—one of the boxes; here’s t’other,” Uncle Zach rejoined in a choking voice, as he took out the box which contained the cross. “I feel like a thief myself. Yes, marm, I do. Can they arrest me as an——I dunno what you call it,—knowin’ to it is what it means? Where’s Dot? Seems ’sif the bottom had fell out; Mark gone off and got married and took the diamonds, too!”
The little man felt the need of some one to lean on in the calamity which had overtaken him and naturally turned to his wife. She was attending to Mrs. Tracy, who, when sure the diamonds were gone, went into a fit of hysterics worse than the first, and was taken to her room, where Mrs. Taylor, Celine and Sarah were busy fanning her, holding salts to her nose, bathing her face in alcohol and cologne and loosening her dress which was in danger of being ruined with all the liquids spilled upon it. Only Jeff was left to comfort Uncle Zach.
“’Rest you? No. I’d laugh. You’ve done nothin’. Sarah took up the letter when Miss Tracy was at the worst and read a few lines, and I heard her say Miss Helen told Mark to bring ’em ’cause they were hern. Nobody’s stole ’em, and if I’se you, or anybody, I wouldn’t talk about ’em. Who’s to be your clerk, sir, now Mark is gone?”
“Oh, land if I know. I can’t think of nothin’ but the trick Mark has served me, and I liked him as I would of liked Johnny if he had lived,” Mr. Taylor replied, while the tears rolled down his face.
“Don’t cry. Take my handkerchief and wipe up. We’ll get along. How would I do to help you till somebody turns up? I know what Mark did, and I’ll do my best,” Jeff said.