CHAPTER XII
THE LOST JEWEL
A pleasant hour was spent in the library as Mr. Forbes told the girlsanecdotes connected with his treasures, and also catechised them onwhat they had learned from their afternoon in his museum.
Dolly had taken the greatest interest in it, though Bernice soon provedthat she had the best memory of them all, for she could tell dates anddata that her uncle had informed them, and which the others more oftenforgot.
"I haven't any memory," sighed Dolly. "But I do love to see thesethings and hear about them. It's lots of work, isn't it, to get themall properly catalogued and labelled?"
"Yes, it keeps Fenn pretty busy, and often I bring in an assistant forhim. But Fenn is a clever chap, and a quick worker."
Their chat was interrupted by Geordie Knapp and Ted Hosmer, who cameover to call on the girls.
"Come right in, boys, glad to see you," was Mr. Forbes' heartygreeting. "I shouldn't wonder if our young friends here would be gladtoo. They've spent the whole afternoon with my old fogy talk and I'llwarrant they'll be glad of a change."
"You, stay with us, Uncle, and enjoy the change, too," laughed Alicia,as Mr. Forbes was leaving the room.
"No, no; it doesn't seem to occur to you that I'd like a rest from acrowd of chatter-boxes!" His merry smile belied his words, and he wentoff leaving the young people together.
Mrs. Berry looked in, and hospitably invited the boys to stay tosupper, which they willingly agreed to do.
Also, they stayed an hour or more after supper, and when at last theydeparted, the four girls remained in the library talking things over.
To their surprise, Mr. Forbes came to the room, and without a word satdown facing the group. Something in his expression caused the girls tostop their laughter and chatter, for the old gentleman looked decidedlyserious.
"Well, my dears," and he looked from one to another, "have you had apleasant day?"
"Yes, indeed," spoke up Alicia, and they all added words of assent.
"Well, I haven't," said Mr. Forbes, and they looked up at him with astartled air. "That is, I have just made a discovery that makes to-dayone of the most unfortunate of my life."
"What is it, Uncle? What is the matter?"
Alicia spoke solicitously, as if she feared her uncle had becomesuddenly ill.
"I have met with a loss."
"A loss?" queried Bernice. "What have you lost?"
"One of my dearest possessions. I went to my museum just now, to thatrear room which we were in last, and I discovered that one of myvaluable pieces of jewellery is gone."
The girls stared at him blankly, and at last, Bernice said, "Which one?"
"The Byzantine earring, the gold filigree piece."
"Oh," cried Alicia, "that lovely piece! Why, where can it be?"
"I don't know," replied her uncle, slowly. "I searched everywhere, andas I couldn't find it, I came down here to ask if you girls had takenit as--as a joke on me."
"No, indeed!" exclaimed Alicia. "I'd scorn to do such a mean trick!None of us would think of such a thing, would we, girls?"
"No, indeed," said they all, and then a silence fell. Where could thejewel be? As always, in moments of excitement, Dolly turned very palewhile Dotty flushed furiously red. Alicia, sat, her big eyes staringwith dismay and Bernice nervously picked at her handkerchief.
"Come now," said Mr. Forbes, "if any of you girls did take it, in jest,give it up, for it isn't a funny joke at all."
"Oh, we didn't! I'm sure none of us did!" and Dolly almost wailed inher earnest denial.
"Of course, we didn't!" declared Dotty, angrily. "You ought to knowwe're not that sort of girls! It must have been mislaid, or pushedbehind something that conceals it from view."
"Probably you're right," and Mr. Forbes looked at her intently. "That'sprobably the solution of its disappearance. I'll have Fenn make searchto-morrow. I'm sorry I bothered you about it. Good-night."
With his funny abruptness he left the room, and the girls sat lookingat each other in amazement.
"Did you ever hear anything like that!" demanded Dotty, furiously. "Theidea of thinking we would do such a thing! I hate practical jokes,unless among a lot of school chums. I wouldn't think of playing a jokeon a grown-up!"
"Uncle Jeff hasn't had much experience with young folks," put inAlicia, by way of excuse for their host. "You know he always livesalone, and he doesn't know what girls would or wouldn't do."
"But how awful for that thing to be lost," mused Bernice. "Suppose itfell down behind a case, or somewhere, and he NEVER finds it!"
"Oh, his secretary will find it," said Dolly, hopefully. "It MUST besomewhere around. Don't let's talk about it. If we do, I shan't sleep awink all night! I never do, if I worry."
"I think it's something to worry about," said Alicia. "It's the worstblow Uncle Jeff could have. You know how he adores his treasures. Why,he'd rather lose everything from these downstairs than one specimen outof those fourth story rooms. And that gold earring, of all things!"
"I tell you stop talking about it!" and Dolly clapped her hands overher ears. "Please, humour me in this," she added, smiling a little,"truly, it will keep me awake, if I get to worrying over it."
"All right, girls, let's drop the subject. Also, let's go to bed." Itwas Alicia who spoke, and she seemed under great excitement. Her eyeswere unnaturally bright, and her cheeks were pink, and she movedjerkily, as if nervous.
So the four went up to their rooms, and saying good-night, they closedthe door of communication between.
"What's the matter, Dollums?" asked Dotty, as she saw tears in the blueeyes.
"Nothing, Dot, only don't talk about that gold thing, will you? I justsimply can't stand it if you do!"
"'Course I won't if you don't want me to, only what DO you s'pose DIDbecome of it?"
"There you go! I think you're too mean for anything!"
"Oh, pshaw, I didn't mean to. I forgot. All right, no more talk 'boutthat old rubbish. What shall us talk about?"
"Don't talk at all. I'd rather go to sleep."
"Go, then, old crossy! But I s'pose you don't mean to sleep in yourclothes!"
"No," and Dolly laughed a little. "I know I'm an old bear, and acrosspatch, and everything horrid,--but I'm nervous, Dotty, I AM."
"I know it, old girl, but you'll get over it. I believe this city lifeis wearing you out! I believe it's time you went home."
"Oh, I think so, too. I wish we could go tomorrow!"
"Well, we can't. What has got into you, Dollyrinda? I believe you'rehomesick!"
"I am, Dotty! I'd give anything to see mother now.--I wish I was homein my own room."
"You'll be there soon enough. I s'pose we'll go Wednesday."
"Wednesday! that seems ages off!"
"Why, Dollums, to-morrow, you can say Wednesday is day after to-morrow!That's what I always do if I want to hurry up the days. But I don'twant to hurry up our days in New York! No sir-ee! I love every one of'em! _I_ wish we could stay a month!"
"I don't!" and then there were few more words said between the two thatnight. Soon they were in bed, and if Dolly lay awake, Dotty didn't knowit, for she fell asleep almost as soon as her dark curly head touchedits pillow.
Meantime in the next room, the other two were talking.
"I do hope Uncle Jeff will find his old jewel," Bernice said,pettishly. "We won't have a bit more fun, if he doesn't." "That's so,"agreed Alicia, "but he won't find it."
"How do you know?"
"Oh, 'cause. It's very likely fallen down some crack or somewhere thatnobody'd think of looking. Why, once, a photograph was on our mantel,and it disappeared most mysteriously. And we never could find it. Andafter years, there was a new mantelpiece put in, and there was thepicture! It had slipped down a narrow mite of a crack between themantel-shelf and the wall back of it."
"Tell Uncle Jeff that to-morrow. Maybe it will help him to find thething."
"All right, I will. But of course, Mr. Fenn will look everywher
epossible. I don't believe anybody'll ever find it."
"Then Uncle will be cast down and upset all the rest of the time we'rehere."
"Well, I can't help that. What do you suppose, Bernice, he asked ushere for, anyway?"
"You ask me that a hundred dozen times a day, 'Licia! I tell you Idon't know, but I think it was only a whim. You know how queer he is.He forgets we're in this house from one evening to the next. If to-dayhadn't been Sunday, we wouldn't have seen him this afternoon. I wish wewere going to stay another week."
"So do I. But I don't like to ask him outright, and he hasn't saidanything about it lately. The others couldn't stay, anyway."
"Oh, I don't know. I think if they were invited their mothers would letthem. And anyway, I'd rather stay without them, than to go home."
"Yes, I would, too. Dot likes it better than Dolly."
"Yes, Dolly's homesick. Anybody can see that. But they like it when wego to places, and see sights."
"Who wouldn't? We're really having fairy-tale times, you know."
"I know it. I shall hate to go back to school."
"Well, I don't hate to go home. I have good enough times in Berwick;but I'd like to stay here one week more. I think I'll ask Uncle Jeff tolet us, if he doesn't ask us himself."
"Wait till he finds his lost treasure. He'll be pretty blue if hedoesn't get that back."
"Yes, indeed he will. Let's hope the Fenn man will spy it out. It mustbe in that room somewhere, you know."
"Of course it must. The secretary will find it. That's what secretariesare for."
And then silence and sleep descended on that room also.
Next morning, Mr. Forbes appeared at the breakfast table. This was thefirst time they had ever seen him in the morning and the girls greetedhim cheerily.
"Very nice," he said, affably, "to come down and breakfast with a flockof fresh young rosebuds like you," and he seemed so good-natured, thatAlicia decided he had taken his loss more easily than she had feared.
But toward the end of the meal, Mr. Forbes made known the reason of hisearly appearance.
"We can't find that earring," he said, suddenly. "Mr. Fenn and I havebeen looking since six o'clock this morning. Now I'm going to ask yougirls to help me. Will you all come up to the museum and hunt? Youryoung eyes may discern it, where we older seekers have failed. At anyrate, I'd like you to try."
The four expressed ready willingness, and they rose from the table andfollowed Uncle Jeff up the stairs to the rear room where the loss hadoccurred.
The sun shone in at the southern windows, and flooded the room withbrightness. It seemed impossible to overlook the treasure, and surelyit must be found at once.
A youngish man was there before them, and he was introduced as thesecretary. Lewis Fenn was a grave looking, solemn-faced chap, who, itwas evident took seriously the responsibility of his position astabulator and in part, custodian of valuable treasures. He bowed to thegirls, but said nothing beyond a word of greeting to each.
"You see," said Mr. Forbes, "I locked this room myself, after you girlslast evening, and nobody could get in to take the earring.Consequently, it would seem that a close search MUST be efficacious.So, let us all set to, and see what we can do in the way of discovery."
"Let's divide the room in four," suggested Mr. Fenn, "and one of youyoung ladies take each quarter."
"Good idea!" commented Uncle Jeff, "and we'll do just that. Alicia, youtake this west end, next the door; Bernice, the east end, opposite;Dotty, the north side, and Dolly, the south side. There, that fixes it.Now, to work, all of you. I've exhausted my powers of search, and sohas Fenn."
The two men sat down in the middle of the room, while the girls eagerlybegan to search. They were told not to look in the cases, but merely ontables or any place around the room where the jewel might have fallenor been laid.
"Who had it last?" asked Mr. Fenn, as the girls searched here and there.
Nobody seemed to know, exactly, and then Alicia said, suddenly, "Why,don't you know, Dolly hooked it onto the front of her dress, and saidit would make a lovely pendant."
"But I took it off," said Dolly, turning white.
"Where did you put it then?" asked Mr. Fenn, not unkindly, butcuriously.
"Let me see," faltered Dolly, "I don't quite remember. I guess I laidit on this table."
"If so, it must be there now, my dear," said Mr. Forbes, suavely. "Lookthoroughly."
Dolly did look thoroughly, and Dotty came over to help her, but theearring was not on the table.
Nor was it on other tables that were about the room; nor on any chairor shelf or settee or window-sill.
"Where CAN it be?" said Dotty, greatly alarmed, lest Dolly's havingfastened it to her dress should have been the means of losing it.
"Are you sure you removed it from your frock, Miss Fayre?" asked Fenn,and at that moment Dolly took a dislike to the man. His voice was lowand pleasant, but the inflection was meaning, and he seemed to implythat Dolly might have worn it from the room.
"Of course, I am," Dolly replied, in a scared, low voice, whichtrembled as she spoke.
"There's an idea," said Mr. Forbes. "Mightn't you have left it hookedinto your lace, Dolly, and it's there still? Run and look, my dear."
"I'll go with you," said Dotty, but Fenn said, "No, Miss Rose, you'dbetter stay here."
Dotty was so astonished at his dictum that she stood still and staredat him. Dolly ran off to her room on the second floor and carefullyexamined the dress she had worn the day before.
"No," she said, on her return, "it isn't on my dress. I knew itcouldn't be,--I should have seen it when I undressed. Besides, I know Itook it off here, only a moment after I tried it on. I merely looked atit an instant, and then I unhooked it and laid it on this table."
"But at first, you weren't sure that you did place it on that table,Miss Fayre," came the insinuating voice of Fenn once more.
"Yes, I did, I'm sure of it now," and Dolly's white face was drawn withanxiety.
"Think again." counselled the secretary.
"Maybe you took it off, and absent-mindedly slipped it in your pocket."