"You would have to go downstairs, to pa.s.s within a few yards of the strong-room door--they might see you--and if they did?--No, no! I cannot let you go. Poor child, poor child! Your safety is of more value than anything they can take. It is too great a risk."

"Dear Lady Sarah, I am not afraid. I will creep along so quietly that they will never hear me, and once down, it will not take me a minute to run along the pa.s.sage. Don't try to prevent me, I must go--I must! I couldn't stay quietly here while Mrs Faucit was being robbed. See!

here is the key, Cecile left it in the lock. Get up and fasten yourself in, and don't open the door until I come back. You won't be nervous?"

"Not for myself--no, no!--but for you, Mildred. No, you shall not go, I will not allow it! Your mother--"

"Mother would go herself. She is the bravest little creature in the world. I am not afraid. If they see me I will make a dash for it, and scream at the pitch of my voice. You will hear, the others will hear, the whole house will be in a tumult, and they will be glad to escape and let me alone. But I want to take them by surprise, and not let them get away. I'm going now. There is not a minute to waste. Be careful how you shut the door. Don't be frightened. If you hear no noise you will know all is well."

Mildred drew the folds of her gown round her, and stepped out into the pa.s.sage. The lamps were out, but the moonlight poured in by the long windows, and saved her from all danger of stumbling. Round the corner, past the door of her own room, along to the head of the staircase she crept, so far with nothing more than consciousness of excitement and enterprise; but here the dangerous part of her mission began, and she paused for a moment to draw breath and consider how she had best proceed. The staircase descended in flights of six steps at a time, during two of which only she would be within sight from the hall beneath. One of the steps, she knew, creaked. Which was it? In which flight? Stupid not to remember when she had noticed it so many, many times! There was only one thing for it; to tread each step as lightly as possible, and to trust that the thieves might be so busily engaged that they would not notice such a gentle sound. She bent down to fasten the woollen slippers more closely, then slowly, cautiously began the descent. No step creaked beneath her feet, but when she reached the bottom of the second flight of stairs, it was not relief but disappointment which she felt, for she realised that the dangerous point must now be pa.s.sed, while she was in sight of anyone who might be standing in the hall beneath.

Suppose Cecile had stationed one of her accomplices outside the door of the strong-room, to guard against possible discovery? Suppose with the next step forward she found herself confronted by a burly rascal, ready to spring forward and silence her cries with a heavy hand pressed over her lips? Mildred set her teeth with the old obstinate expression, and stepped determinedly forward. She had known from the outset that there was a certain amount of danger in her mission; she was not to be dismayed by the first alarm. Another moment and she was within sight of the strong-room, to discover, with a thrill of relief, that the thieves were too busily engaged getting together their spoil to have time to play sentry. A faint light shone from within the half-closed door; Mildred held her breath, and could hear a murmur of voices, an occasional clicking, as of steel instruments upon a hard substance.

In the rush of indignation which the sound brought with it she trod less carefully than before, and the creak which followed filled her with dismay. Good heavens! how loudly it sounded in the stillness! She dared not move a step, but stood crouched against the wall, her gown gathered up in her hand, ready at the first sign of an alarm to rush back to the upper floor and rouse the servants by her cries; but there was no cessation of work within the strong-room, the voices still whispered together, the click, click went on as before. What had sounded so sharply in Mildred's ears had in reality been a very faint sound, scarcely perceptible at a distance of a few yards, and the noise made by their own movements prevented it from reaching the ears of the thieves.

The fact that it had not been noticed gave the girl fresh courage, so that she almost ran down the few steps that remained, her little padded feet falling noiselessly upon the carpet. She stood now in the hall itself; a sharp turn to the right would take her towards James's bedroom, but before moving forward she turned with instinctive curiosity to cast another glance at the door of the strong-room. It was half-closed,--more than half-closed; the moonlight shone on the polished handle, and on the great bra.s.s bolts above and below. If these were once slipped into position it would be an impossible task for those inside the room to make their escape, for the window was small, and protected by iron bars. If the bolts were fastened the thieves would be caught like rats in a trap!

Mildred stood like a figure carved in stone, staring fixedly at the door; her heart was beating like a sledge-hammer, the blood tingled to her finger ends. Supposing she went on and tried to awaken James! His door might be locked; he was an old man, probably a heavy sleeper; by the time he was aroused and had put on his clothes the thieves might have escaped! They were hard at work; at any moment they might come out,--_but if those bolts were slipped_!--A sudden impulse leapt into the girl's brain and refused to be shaken off. A dozen steps to the right, a leap forward, one hand on the k.n.o.b, another raised to shoot the bar of bra.s.s into its place, a swift, impetuous movement, and the thing would be done, the thieves caught red-handed, and Mrs Faucit's treasures saved! "And I can do it," said Mildred to herself, "as well as James or anyone else; better perhaps, for I am small and light, and they are busy now and unsuspicious. It is the right time, perhaps the _only_ time. I can do it--I _will_ do it, before I get too nervous,-- before I have time to think!"

She was nervous enough as it was, poor child, for the fear of failure was in her heart, and a terrible dread of those wicked men; but she had enough self-possession left to know that it must be now or never, and to allow herself no time for wavering.

Cecile and her two accomplices, rifling the safe of its treasures and packing the spoil together in convenient fashion for carrying away, were all unconscious of the white figure in the hall stealing forward step by step, the white face looking out from the veil of golden hair, the outstretched hands creeping nearer and nearer to those two strong bra.s.s k.n.o.bs. A little gurgling sob of emotion swelled in Mildred's throat at that last crucial moment, her teeth gleamed between her parted lips, then with a spring like that of a wild animal she pounced upon the handle, and with strength born of excitement slammed the door against the lintel, and shot the big bra.s.s bar into position. A howl of rage sounded from within as the thieves threw themselves against the door with desperate force, but it was too late. Mildred bent downwards, secured the second fastening, and flew off to awaken James, secure in the knowledge that, rage and struggle as they might, the strong oak door shut them out from escape as surely as the barred window itself.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN.

AFTER THE ROBBERY.

There was no sleep for the inhabitants of The Deanery during the remainder of that exciting night. The sudden banging of the strong-room door, with the babel which immediately followed from within, would in themselves have been enough to alarm the household; but Mildred was determined to leave nothing to chance.

She arrived at James's room just in time to meet that faithful servant hurrying forth with a greatcoat fastened over his night attire, and while he rushed across the garden to arouse the coachman, she turned back into the hall, and began to beat a wild tattoo upon the gong.

When Bertha came rushing downstairs a moment later, followed by a flock of terrified women-servants, she was horrified by the sight which she beheld. There stood Mildred in her white dressing-gown, her hair hung round her face in wild confusion, her eyes gleamed, her long arms swung the sticks through the air, and brought them down upon the gong with a fierceness of triumph, which had in it something uncanny to the gentle onlooker. She looked strangely unlike Mildred Moore--pretty, merry Mildred, so ready to tease and plague, to kiss and make friends, and tease again all in a moment. She was so carried away by the terrible excitement of the moment that she had no eyes for what was going on around, and seemed perfectly oblivious of the fact that her friends were standing by her side.

It flashed through Bertha's mind that Mildred was going mad, and she seized hold of the swinging arms in an agony of appeal.

"Mildred, Mildred--don't! Oh, what are you doing? We are all here; I am here--Bertha! What has happened? what is the matter? Don't stare like that, you frighten me! You understand what I am saying, don't you, Mildred, dear?"

"I--I--I," began Mildred blankly. She turned her head and looked at the strong-room door, before which James stood on guard, waiting the return of the coachman with the policemen; then at the group of women-servants huddled on the stairs; last of all in her friend's face, white and anxious, and overflowing with sympathy. "You understand me, don't you, Mil?" Bertha repeated gently, and at that Mildred's tense att.i.tude relaxed. She put her hand to her head as one awakening from a dream, and clutching Bertha by the arms, burst into a flood of tears.

"Take me away!" she sobbed; "take me away!" and Bertha led her forward into the breakfast-room, followed by a murmur of sympathy from the onlookers.

James had found time to give a brief account of what had taken place to his fellow-servants, and they were filled with wonder and admiration.

"To come down all by herself, in the dead of night--that child! She is brave and no mistake! I always liked her--she has such pretty ways of her own,--but I never thought she would come out like this. She seemed so careless-like! Poor child, to see her beating that gong! She didn't know what she was doing. It's enough to upset anyone. To fasten that heavy door herself!"

Then the conversation took another turn, and busied itself in denouncing Cecile and her villainies.

"The deceitful, wicked creature! That's the end of her smooth tongue and her deceitful ways! Making excuses to poke about all the rooms in turn, and pretending to help when it was nothing else than curiosity and wicked scheming! I saw her with a letter of the master's in her hand one evening, and she said she had been sent to find it. So likely, when he had half a dozen servants of his own in the house! Now she will have a spell in prison for a change--not the first one either, or I'm mistaken. To think, if it hadn't been for Miss Mildred, she would have been off with the pick of the valuables in the house!"

So on and so on, while within the breakfast-room the heroine of the occasion was being soothed and petted to her heart's content, Miss Turner and the two girls hanging round her, and vieing with each other as to who could do most for her comfort. In spite of her agitation, however, it was Mildred who was the first to think of the old lady upstairs, and her quick "Who is with Lady Sarah?" made the governess start in compunction.

"Oh, my dear, I am so glad you reminded me! I am ashamed to say I forgot all about her. One is so accustomed to depend upon Cecile."

She hurried away, sending the motherly old cook to take her place beside the girls, while the cook in her turn despatched the kitchen-maid to provide refreshment for the household. So it came to pa.s.s that at three o'clock in the morning several tea-parties were being held in The Deanery, the guests thereat presenting a motley appearance in their anomalous garments.

When the policemen arrived, Bertha and Mildred refused to go out into the hall to see the capture of the thieves; but Lois could not restrain her curiosity, and came back with a thrilling account of the two big, wicked-looking men who were Cecile's accomplices, and of Cecile herself, looking "so white, so terrified, so,--so _old_, that I was obliged to be sorry for her, though I tried to be angry! I expect she wishes now that she had gone to bed, and slept quietly, like a good Christian!"

concluded Lois quaintly; and at that Mistress Cook lifted up her voice, and remarked that it would be a good thing if they were all to set about doing that without delay.

"It is nearly four o'clock," she said, "and to-morrow's work has to be done, thieves or no thieves. The mistress will get a telegram the moment the office is opened, and she will be home by the first train, or I'm mistaken. You young ladies had better get off to bed at once, or she will be more upset than ever if she finds you looking like ghosts!"

Miss Turner returned to the room at this moment, and warmly seconded the motion. She had left Mary, the pleasant-faced housemaid, in charge of Lady Sarah, who was nervous and unstrung after her fright, and she herself proposed to share Mildred's bed for the remainder of the night, the twins being left to keep each other company.

Mildred was thankful to accept the offer, for the strain upon her nerves had left her so weak that her legs trembled beneath her as she ascended the staircase. Even with Miss Turner lying beside her, sleep refused to come until the sun was high in the heavens, and the noises of the day rose from the garden beneath. Then at last, in the blissful sense of security brought about by light and sunshine, the tired lids closed, and she fell into a deep, restful slumber.

Miss Turner rose and crept softly from the room; Bertha and Lois peeped in at intervals of half an hour; Mary prepared two tempting breakfast-trays, one after the other, and carried them down untouched, for Mildred slept like the seven sleepers, and no one had the heart to shorten the well-earned rest.

Shortly before one o'clock a cab drove up to the door, and the Dean and Mrs Faucit hurried into the house. They looked anxious and perturbed, and had a great many questions to ask--not about the silver, however,-- that seemed quite a secondary consideration,--but about the welfare of Mildred, Lady Sarah, and the children, and as to what had been done with that poor, unhappy Cecile. Miss Turner a.s.sured them in reply that the children were as happy and as naughty as ever; that Lady Sarah was rather nervous, but otherwise none the worse for her adventure, and that Mildred had been sound asleep since seven o'clock in the morning.

"I must go up and see her at once--the dear child! the dear, brave child!" cried Mrs Faucit warmly; and she hurried upstairs, the Dean following, shaking his head in meaning manner, and treading on tiptoe as he entered the room, and advanced to the bedside.

Mildred lay fast asleep, her hair falling over the pillow in shining golden tangles; while one arm was thrown over the counterpane, the other tucked under her head, so that her cheek rested in the hollow of her palm.

There were dark shadows beneath her eyes; and she looked so white and spent, so unlike her usual radiant self, that Mrs Faucit's eyes overflowed with tears, and she bent involuntarily to press a kiss upon her lips.

The scream with which Mildred started up in bed made the two hearers fairly leap back in amazement. The sudden awakening was too much for the disordered nerves, and the soft touch had brought with it a hundred nightmare dreads. When she saw who was standing beside her, she calmed down in a moment, and apologised in shamefaced manner.

"Oh, Mrs Faucit, I am so sorry I startled you! I had just shut my eyes, and I thought it was--something dreadful--I don't know what exactly! How did you get back? What time is it? Is breakfast ready?

Oh, I am so glad you are here! It is all right! I shut the door--they can't get out!--"

"Yes, dear, yes--I know! Don't think about it. We will have a long talk to-night when you are rested, but try to go to sleep again now. I am so vexed with myself for disturbing you!"

"I can't sleep. I've tried, but it's no good. I've been awake all night!" sighed Mildred pitifully. She believed that she was speaking the truth, but in reality she was so sleepy at the present moment that she hardly knew what she was saying. She raised pathetic eyes to the Dean's face, and inquired, with a yawn: "Wh-at did the Archbishop say about Cecile?"

"Bless me!" cried the Dean in alarm. "This is terrible--the child is wandering! She doesn't know what she is saying!" He laid his hand on Mildred's forehead, and backed out of the room, beckoning furtively to his wife as he went. Outside in the pa.s.sage he ruffled his hair in helpless misery.

"Her head is burning, Evelyn! the child is in a fever! Something must be done at once. I don't like to see her suffering. Er--er--what could you give her, dear? Aconite and belladonna? What do you say to aconite and belladonna--every half-hour?"

He looked so comical with his ruffled hair and distended eyes, that his wife could not restrain a smile.

"Oh, she will be all right, dear, after a day's rest!" she said rea.s.suringly. "I will keep her in bed, and not allow her to talk too much. You need not be anxious; Mildred is too healthy to be upset for more than a few hours!"

"But I should try the belladonna! I should certainly try the belladonna!" said the Dean urgently. He shuffled along the pa.s.sage, but before his wife had time to re-enter the room he was back again, his face alight with inspiration.

"Evelyn, I was thinking! A gold watch and chain--the same as we gave the girls at Christmas.--How would that do, eh? We might present them to her as a small--er,--acknowledgment of--er,--grat.i.tude! What do you think of that? Does it strike you as a good idea?"

"Capital, Austin! Much better than the belladonna!" cried Mrs Faucit.

She patted him approvingly upon the shoulder, and the Dean went off to his study rubbing his hands, and chuckling to himself, like a kindly, innocent child, which indeed he was, despite all the learning which had made him famous.