“It is very peculiar indeed,” returned Miss Deveen.
“I should have said—I should feel inclined to say—that the culprit is some one in the house——”
“It’s the most unlikely thing in the world, that it should have been any one in the house,” struck in Miss Deveen, not allowing him to go on. “To suspect any of the young people who are visiting me, would be simply an insult. And my servants would no more play the trick than I or Miss Cattledon would play it.”
“Failing indoors then, we must look out,” said Mr. Stone, after listening patiently. “And that brings up more difficulty, ma’am. For I confess I don’t see how they could get the windows and shutters open from the outside, and leave no marks of damage.”
“The fact of the window and shutters being wide open each morning, shows how they got out.”
“Just so,” said Mr. Stone; “but it does not show how they got in. Of course there’s the possibility that they managed to secrete themselves in the house beforehand.”
“Yesterday I thought that might have been the case,” remarked Miss Deveen; “to-day I do not think so. It seems that, after what occurred, my servants were especially cautious to keep their doors and windows not only closed, but bolted all day yesterday, quite barring the possibility of any one’s stealing in. Except, of course, down the chimneys.”
Mr. Stone laughed. “They’d bring a lot of soot with ’em that way.”
“And spoil my hearthrugs. No; that was not the way of entrance.”
“Then we come to the question—did one of the servants get up and admit ’em?”