The adventures of Dora Bell, detective

by Mrs. George Corbett

“Be that as it may, he withdrew from all society, and by degrees even ceased to walk about in his own grounds. Then he made an arrangement with his solicitor, whereby we were all put on board wages, and very liberal they were, too. Jenny came in for them as well, as she was supposed to be the master’s laundress now that she was married, though it’s mighty little washing he ever gave her to do. There was henceforth no interference in anything we did, there being certain rules prescribed by the master, and as long as we conformed to these rules we were all to keep our comfortable places.

“For two or three years Mr Milsom lived on like that, never going out, and never seeing anybody. At last he wouldn’t even take his meals in the dining or breakfast-rooms, but had one end of the house disconnected from the other part, that we could only approach his rooms by one door. These rooms were very comfortably furnished with all sorts of beautiful things collected by the master’s orders, from other parts of the house. The room that he called his library had thousands of books in it.

“The first room that we entered from the corridor was the one in which he took all his meals, and after a time we were forbidden to go any further. We would enter this room, clean it, set out his food very elaborately on the table, and then retire, only returning when we heard his bell ring for us to clear the things away. There would always be a paper on the table containing various orders. But the master himself no longer appeared to give them in person. In fact for several years not one of us was permitted to see him, and he always kept his door locked when he was in his dining-room.

“At first these eccentricities caused a deal of comment. But by-and-by the neighbourhood found new sensations to talk about, and the ‘Recluse of Hallow Hall,’ as Mr Milsom came to be called, was by lots of people entirely forgotten.

“But although we were not permitted to look upon the master’s face, he did not allow us to forget his presence, for he was very particular about the food he ate. He liked several courses to each meal. And they had to be beautifully cooked, or he would tell us his opinion pretty plainly. The fruit I raised for him had to be of the very finest, too, or he would threaten to dismiss me. This, however, did not often happen, for we all knew that we would never get such another comfortable place, where we all did pretty nearly as we liked, and we were careful to see that the master had as little cause for complaint as possible.

“If any of us had an apology to make, or anything to ask him, we would write what we wanted to say on a piece of paper each. These papers would be put on the table with the master’s meals, and we would receive our answers soon after.

“The only body that ever seemed inclined to grumble at this queer state of affairs was Mr Wright, the butler, and he was never satisfied. First he growled about one thing, then about another, and he was altogether so ill-tempered that the rest of us threatened to complain of him in a body.

“‘I think the best thing you can do, Mr Wright, is to clear out. You have got too big for your place, to my thinking.’ This was what the housekeeper said to him one day, and you should have seen the evil look he put on his face as he shook his fist at her, and shouted, ‘Maybe I will leave the place mighty soon, and in a way you little expect, too.’

“And sure enough he disappeared that very night, and everything went to prove that it was a deliberately planned flight. None of us felt sorry at losing him. But we were all considerably dismayed to find that the greater part of the family plate had disappeared with him. He must have had enough to do to carry it away unnoticed and unheard. At first we didn’t know what to do. Then I suggested going for the police. But the housekeeper said, ‘No, we must do nothing without asking the master’s advice first.’

“To this we agreed, and an account of the butler’s disappearance, together with a list of things he had stolen, was written and taken in with the breakfast. Presently there was a furious peal at the bell, and the housekeeper asked me to fetch the note we felt sure the master had been writing.