Isabel lifted the inner lid, and, behold! the casket of ebony, inlaid with pearl, which Miss Mehetabel had given Brownie on that last day of her life, was within. There were also several packages of letters and papers, but to these she paid no heed. “I have found them,” she cried, and was about to seize the casket, when she caught the sound of a footstep outside the door. Her heart stood still with fear, and cold chills crept down her back. She had not dreamed that Miss Douglas would return so soon, for she had heard her tell Alma she would be gone for an hour or more. She would not be caught in this contemptible act for all the jewels in the queen’s crown, and she began to look about for some way of escape. A hand was laid upon the doorknob, and it turned. A moment’s silence, and it was tried again—this time with more force. Then a voice called: “Miss Douglas, please, may I come in a moment?” It was Viola’s; and Isabel grew faint with a sense of relief, but she stood silent, scarcely daring to breathe, lest she should be heard, and her sister insist upon coming in. Presently she heard Alma call out: “Viola, Miss Douglas is not there; she has gone out for a walk.” Then the steps moved away, and the guilty girl was obliged to sit down to gather strength, before she could continue her investigations. Cowardice and guilt are inseparable. She dare not wait long, however, and soon turned her attention to the ebony casket again. Fortunately for her, the little golden key, with its curious chain attached, was in the lock. Brownie had forgotten to clasp it about her neck again after replacing the jewels. As she was about turning the key she hesitated, while a feeling of her own meanness stole over her. “If I didn’t mistrust the girl, I wouldn’t do it,” she apologized to herself. Then she added: “If she is not what she pretends, of course, it is better for us to know it before the girls become contaminated; but if I do not discover anything, why, then it is all right.” With this bit of doubtful sophistry in her mind, she turned the key and lifted the lid. The sight which greeted her dazzled her, even as it had Brownie when she had first looked upon those treasures. There lay the coral cross and the butterfly hair ornament, for which she had been seeking, but she almost lost sight of them while gazing upon those others, of tenfold more value and beauty.