Five Children and It E. Nesbit (uplifting books for women TXT) đ
- Author: E. Nesbit
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Mother came back to her bedroom, very much interested and pleased about the ring. But, when she opened the dressing-table drawer and found a long case containing an almost priceless diamond necklace, she was more interested still, though not so pleased. In the wardrobe, when she went to put away her âbonnet,â she found a tiara and several brooches, and the rest of the jewellery turned up in various parts of the room during the next half-hour. The children looked more and more uncomfortable, and now Jane began to sniff.
Mother looked at her gravely.
âJane,â she said, âI am sure you know something about this. Now think before you speak, and tell me the truth.â
âWe found a Fairy,â said Jane obediently.
âNo nonsense, please,â said her mother sharply.
âDonât be silly, Jane,â Cyril interrupted. Then he went on desperately. âLook here, mother, weâve never seen the things before, but Lady Chittenden at Peasmarsh Place lost all her jewellery by wicked burglars last night. Could this possibly be it?â
All drew a deep breath. They were saved.
âBut how could they have put it here? And why should they?â asked mother, not unreasonably. âSurely it would have been easier and safer to make off with it?â
âSuppose,â said Cyril, âthey thought it better to wait forâ âfor sunsetâ ânightfall, I mean, before they went off with it. No one but us knew that you were coming back today.â
âI must send for the police at once,â said mother distractedly. âOh, how I wish daddy were here!â
âWouldnât it be better to wait till he does come?â asked Robert, knowing that his father would not be home before sunset.
âNo, no; I canât wait a minute with all this on my mind,â cried mother. âAll thisâ was the heap of jewel-cases on the bed. They put them all in the wardrobe, and mother locked it. Then mother called Martha.
âMartha,â she said, âhas any stranger been into my room since Iâve been away? Now, answer me truthfully.â
âNo, mum,â answered Martha; âleastways, what I mean to sayâ ââ
She stopped.
âCome,â said her mistress kindly, âI see someone has. You must tell me at once. Donât be frightened. Iâm sure you havenât done anything wrong.â
Martha burst into heavy sobs.
âI was a-goinâ to give you warning this very day, mum, to leave at the end of my month, so I wasâ âon account of me being going to make a respectable young man happy. A gamekeeper he is by trade, mumâ âand I wouldnât deceive youâ âof the name of Beale. And itâs as true as I stand here, it was your coming home in such a hurry, and no warning given, out of the kindness of his heart it was, as he says, âMartha, my beauty,â he saysâ âwhich I ainât and never was, but you know how them men will go onâ ââI canât see you a-toiling and a-moiling and not lend a âelping âand; which mine is a strong arm and itâs yours, Martha, my dear,â says he. And so he helped me a-cleaninâ of the windowsâ âbut outside, mum, the whole time, and me in; if I never say another breathing word itâs the gospel truth.â
âWere you with him the whole time?â asked her mistress.
âHim outside and me in, I was,â said Martha; âexcept for fetching up a fresh pail and the leather that that slut of a Eliza âd hidden away behind the mangle.â
âThat will do,â said the childrenâs mother. âI am not pleased with you, Martha, but you have spoken the truth, and that counts for something.â
When Martha had gone, the children clung round their mother.
âOh, mummy darling,â cried Anthea, âit isnât Bealeâs fault, it isnât really! Heâs a great dear; he is, truly and honourably, and as honest as the day. Donât let the police take him, mummy! oh, donât, donât, donât!â
It was truly awful. Here was an innocent man accused of robbery through that silly wish of Janeâs, and it was absolutely useless to tell the truth. All longed to, but they thought of the straws in the hair and the shrieks of the other frantic maniacs, and they could not do it.
âIs there a cart hereabouts?â asked mother feverishly. âA trap of any sort? I must drive in to Rochester and tell the police at once.â
All the children sobbed, âThereâs a cart at the farm, but, oh, donât go!â âdonât go!â âoh, donât go!â âwait till daddy comes home!â
Mother took not the faintest notice. When she had set her mind on a thing she always went straight through with it; she was rather like Anthea in this respect.
âLook here, Cyril,â she said, sticking on her hat with long sharp violet-headed pins, âI leave you in charge. Stay in the dressing-room. You can pretend to be swimming boats in the bath, or something. Say I gave you leave. But stay there, with the landing door open; Iâve locked the other. And donât let anyone go into my room. Remember, no one knows the jewels are there except me, and all of you, and the wicked thieves who put them there. Robert, you stay in the garden and watch the windows. If anyone tries to get in you must run and tell the two farm men that Iâll send up to wait in the kitchen. Iâll tell them there are dangerous characters aboutâ âthatâs true enough. Now remember, I trust you both. But I donât think theyâll try it till after dark, so youâre quite safe. Goodbye, darlings.â
And she locked her bedroom door and went off with the key in her pocket.
The children could not help admiring the dashing and decided way in which she had acted. They thought how useful she would have been in organizing escape from some of the tight places in which they had found themselves of late in consequence of their ill-timed wishes.
âSheâs a born general,â said Cyrilâ ââbut I donât know whatâs going to happen to us. Even if the
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