quick with 'is meals an'
wants 'is boots put in 'is room so as he may get out immediately. Mr
Laidlaw 'as no luggage, sir, only a shoulder-bag, an' it was lyin' open
on the table, so me an' Mary looked into it just to--to--"

"To see that nothing had tumbled out," suggested Mr Dean. "I
understand."

"Just so, sir," assented Martha; "and there was nothink in it but a
spare shirt rolled up, and a pair of socks, and a small Bible--no money
or watch or anythink that would break even if it did tumble out,--'is
shavin' things and all that being on the dressin'-table--so--"

"So your mind was relieved, Martha--well, go on."

"But as we was agoin' to close the bag," continued the girl, "we
observed an inner pocket, an' Mary says, p'raps there was a love-letter
in it! I laughed an' said, `Let's look an' see.' So we looked an' saw
nothink."

"You both looked and were quite sure of that?" asked Mr Dean.

"Yes, quite sure, for we both felt the pocket all round as well as
looked into it."

"Well, go on."

"Then we shut the bag, and after we had finished the room, we was just
goin' out, when master he ran up-stairs as if he was in a hurry. He
came into the room with a bit of paper in 'is 'and, somethink like a
bank note, but he started on seein' us, an' crumpled up the paper an'
stuffed it in 'is pocket. At the same time 'e got very angry, scolded
us for being so slow, and ordered us off to the other rooms. Not ten
minutes after that in comes Mr Lockhart, the lawyer, with two
policemen, an' seizes Mr Laidlaw, who was still at 'is breakfast. At
first he got very angry an' shoved one policemen over the sofa and the
other into the coal-scuttle, at the same time sayin' in a growly voice,
`I think--'ee've--aw--geen--mad--thee--gither'--oh, I can't speak
Scotch!" exclaimed Martha, bursting into a laugh.

"Better not try, my dear," said Dean, with a peculiar smile.

"Well, then," continued Martha, on recovering herself, "when the
policemen got up again Mr Laidlaw said he had no intention of running
away (only 'e said rinnin' awa'), and that he would go with them quietly
if they'd only be civil ('e called it seevil!), and assured them they
had made a mistake. They _was_ more civil after that, for Mr Laidlaw
'ad doubled 'is fists an' looked, oh my! like a Bengal tiger robbed of
its young ones. So they all went straight to the bedroom, and me an'
Mary followed with master and missis and the waiters, an' they searched
al