Witch Hazel; or, The Secret of the Locket — page 256: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

“Yon foolish child! no thief would sell itas itis; he would pry out the stones and dispose of them, one by one, and then melt the gold,” her mother repHed, wearily. “Mamma,” said Helena, suddenly, and speaking somewhut hervously, ‘suppose we do not send for a detective for a ttle while; let us do ourown search- ing ina quiet way, and then if wedo not find it you can aie the matter into an officer's hands.” “No, that would only be time wasted,” Mra. Stew- art said, decidedly; “for we would not think to look in half the places that an expertenced detective would search, und while we were about it the thief might get out of the country, and I should never see my jewels again, Ishall telegraph immediately for on officer. She arose and went to the library to pen the tele- gram that would summon hin, A teeling of deep sorrow andsympathy came over Hazel as she Hstened to Mrs. Stewart's story of her loss, but no shadow of fearon her own aceount eu- tered her mind, until she spoke of sending for a de- tective to search for the stolen jewels. Then a terrible shock went quivering through her nerves, and her heart sank like lead in her besoin; @ mist seemed to rise before her sight, and » faintness nearly deprived Ler of sense aud motion for a few moments, Bhe thought of her own necklace, up stairs in her tronk. As far asshe had been able to determine it was an exact duplicate of the one that Mra. Stewart had lost, nnd there was no.mark upon hers to dis- tinguish it. If a detective came to search the house, she knew that it would be found, and she would be regarded as the thief; she would ve publicly dis- | graced, her character ruined, and she could not help herself. pe “Oh, if Percy were only here!” she thought, with a feeling akin to despair. Al! now, more than ever, she realized that she had made a fatal mistake in refusing to allow him to recognize her aud explain their relations, when he tlest catue to Brighton; she had done very wroug to insist upon this secrecy, It wouldall have to be ex- plained now, for she could never be exonerated from guilo without appealing to him; and the very tact that she had made any concealment would be re- gawee by itself, us a suspicious circumstance, per- apsit might even- implicate dim in this dreadful | affair, Too late she saw how foolish she had been to eo ae ae and sensitiveness to lead ber into