You understand?"
"Sure, sir!"
The young man hurried away. Duge was still stooping down, with his arm
around Virginia's waist. Gradually she began to recover herself. She
looked all round the room, as though in search of some one. Her uncle
asked her no questions. He saw that she was rapidly regaining
consciousness, and he waited. Smedley returned with the brandy. Together
they forced a little between her lips, and watched the colour coming
back into her cheeks. Then Phineas Duge withdrew his arm and walked to
the other side of the desk. On the floor were the broken fragments of
Virginia's locket. The carpet had been torn up. The steel coffer, with
the keys still in it, was there half open. He slid back the lid, and
taking out a few of the topmost papers, ran them through his fingers.
There was no doubt about it. The document was missing. He returned to
the chair to which he had carried Virginia.
"Are you well enough now," he asked, "to tell me about this?"
She raised herself in her chair, and looked with fascinated eyes toward
that spot in the carpet.
"Has anything gone?" she asked.
"Yes!" her uncle answered shortly. "I want to know how it was that any
one got into this room, and who it was.
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