Produced by Charles Bowen from page scans provided by the Internet Archive (Library of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign) Transcriber's Notes: 1. Page scan source: The Internet Archive https://archive.org/details/underlockkeystor01spei (Library of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign) UNDER LOCK AND KEY. --------- VOL. I. UNDER LOCK AND KEY. A Story. BY T. W. SPEIGHT, AUTHOR OF "BROUGHT TO LIGHT," "FOOLISH MARGARET," ETC. IN THREE VOLUMES, VOL. I. LONDON: TINSLEY BROTHERS, 18, CATHERINE STREET, STRAND, 1869. [_All rights of Translation and Reproduction are reserved_.] LONDON: SAVILL, EDWARDS AND CO., PRINTERS, CHANDOS STREET, COVENT GARDEN. In justice to himself the author thinks it requisite to state that the entire plan of this story was sketched out, and several of the chapters written, before the first lines of Mr. Wilkie Collins's "Moonstone" had been given to the Public. He has further denied himself the pleasure of reading "The Moonstone" till after the completion of his own story, so as to preclude any possible charge of having derived the outline of his plot from the work of another writer. London, _February_, 1869. CONTENTS OF THE FIRST VOLUME. CHAP. I. MY ARRIVAL AT DUPLEY WALLS. II. THE MISTRESS OF DUPLEY WALLS. III. A VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY. IV. SCARSDALE WEIR. V. AT ROSE COTTAGE. VI. THE GROWTH OF A MYSTERY. VII. EXIT JANET HOLME. VIII. BY THE SCOTCH EXPRESS. IX. AT THE "GOLDEN GRIFFIN." X. THE STOLEN MANUSCRIPT. XI. BON REPOS. XII. THE AMSTERDAM EDITION OF 1698. XIII. M. PLATZOFF'S SECRET--CAPTAIN DUCIE'S TRANSLATION OF M. PAUL PLATZOFF'S MS. XIV. DRASHKIL-SMOKING. XV. THE DIAMOND. XVI. JANET'S RETURN. XVII. DUPLEY WALLS AFTER SEVEN YEARS. UNDER LOCK AND KEY. CHAPTER I. MY ARRIVAL AT DUPLEY WALLS. "Miss JANET HOLME, To the care of Lady Pollexfen, Dupley Walls, near Tydsbury, Midlandshire." "There, miss, I'm sure that will do famously," said Chirper, the overworked oldish young person whose duty it was to attend to the innumerable wants of the young-lady boarders of Park Hill Seminary. She had just written out, in a large sprawling hand, a card as above, which card was presently to be nailed on to the one small box that held the whole of my worldly belongings. "And I think, miss," added Chirper, meditatively, as she held out the card at arm's length and gazed at it admiringly, "that if I was to write out another card similar, and tie it round your arm, it would mayhap help you in getting safe to your journey's end."