"Caroline and I had just finished our dinner," continued Miriam, "when mistress's bell rang, and Caroline went up to answer it. She was away for some time, hunting in every nook and corner, as I heard afterwards, for a silver paper knife which mistress had missed from the drawing-room table. I knew nothing, of course, to what she was about, and was quietly washing up the dishes, when down came Caroline to the kitchen, looking as red as your uniform, and, to my great surprise, who should come with her but mistress. Mrs. Mellor looked grave and uneasy, and told me of the loss of the paper cutter, keeping her eyes fixed on my face as she spoke. "'I have not been in the drawing-room, ma'am, since I helped to clean it in the morning,' said I, 'but I remember that the silver knife was then all right in its place.' "Mistress seemed more uneasy than before, and then said, glancing first at Caroline, then at me, that my fellow-servant thought—fancied that she had seen that paper knife in my box when I had chanced to open it in the forenoon, while we were up in the attic together." "I say!" exclaimed Hamil, indignantly. "Did you tell her that you would as soon have swallowed the knife as have stolen it?" "Not exactly—though I said something like it—and I demanded that the box should be instantly brought down, and thoroughly searched." "Right, perfectly right!" cried Hamil Macbean. "I called Caroline a viper, a sneak, and I don't remember what names besides; I bade her go and fetch down the box; indeed, I scarcely knew what I was saying, I was in such a thundering passion." Hamil thought, "Wrong, quite wrong," but he made no observation aloud. "So the box was brought down from the attic, and mistress opened—I cannot say that she searched it. One of the first things on which her eye fell was your gift; you remember my beautiful paper cutter, made in the shape of a dagger?" "Ah! Caroline must have mistaken it for the silver one!" cried Hamil. "She owned that she had done so," said Miriam; "they are really a good deal alike." "Do you suppose," inquired Hamil, gravely, "that this Caroline had actually herself taken the silver knife from the table?" "No," replied Miriam, quickly; "to do her justice, she is not bad enough for that. We soon found what had become of the knife. Master had taken it to cut the leaves of some book that he was reading while he was out walking. He chanced to return home in the midst of the business, and everything was explained." "And so the whole matter ended, I hope," said Hamil. "No, I gave warning to mistress. She wanted me to stay, but I would not. I can never speak to Caroline again, so how could I stop in that house?" "Why could you never speak a word to Caroline again?" inquired Hamil Macbean. "There is at least one word which you should speak—you should ask her pardon for calling her a viper."