steries. We laughed at the Squire's dissertation; for how
should he know all these things, being nothing better, and indeed much
worse than a mere Northmolton blacksmith? He took our laughter with much
good nature; having Annie to squeeze his hand and convey her grief at
our ignorance: but he said that of one thing he was quite certain, and
therein I believed him. To wit, that a trinket of this kind never could
have belonged to any ignoble family, but to one of the very highest and
most wealthy in England. And looking at Lorna, I felt that she must have
come from a higher source than the very best of diamonds.

Tom Faggus said that the necklace was made, he would answer for it, in
Amsterdam, two or three hundred years ago, long before London jewellers
had begun to meddle with diamonds; and on the gold clasp he found some
letters, done in some inverted way, the meaning of which was beyond him;
also a bearing of some kind, which he believed was a mountain-cat. And
thereupon he declared that now he had earned another glass of schnapps,
and would Mistress Lorna mix it for him?

I was amazed at his impudence; and Annie, who thought this her business,
did not look best pleased; and I hoped that Lorna would tell him at once
to go and do it for himself. But instead of that she rose to do it with
a soft humility, which went direct to the heart of Tom; and he leaped up
with a curse at himself, and took the hot water from her, and would not
allow her to do anything except to put the sugar in; and then he bowed
to her grandly. I knew what Lorna was thinking of; she was thinking all
the time that her necklace had been taken by the Doones with violence
upon some great robbery; and that Squire Faggus knew it, though he would
not show his knowledge; and that this was perhaps the reason why mother
had refused it so.

We said no more about the necklace for a long time afterwards; neither
did my darling wear it, now that she knew its value, but did not know
its history. She came to me the very next day, trying to look cheerful,
and begged me if I loved her (never mind how little) to take charge of
it again, as I once had done before, and not even to let her know in
what place I stored it. I told her that this last request I could not
comply with; for having been round her neck so often, it was now a
sacred thing, more than a million pounds could be. Therefore it should
dwell for the present in the neighbourhood of my heart; and so could