u good for nothing fellow. You must wait here; don't you know
you should not leave the house unguarded at this time?"

"Oh!" thought Madam Imbert, "danger in leaving the house, eh! So there
are two more in the secret,--Josh. and his wife!"

Josh. said he would only step down the road, and would soon return.

Nine o'clock came, but no Mrs. Maroney or De Forest. Madam Imbert did
not know what to make of it, and began to think something unusual was
under way. She arose to leave, but Mrs. Cox said: "Please don't leave me
alone. Josh. will soon be back. Won't you stay down and watch the house,
while I put the children to bed? Flora is asleep, and I am lonesome. I
do wish that shiftless fellow would come home."

"I am very tired," remarked Madam Imbert, preparing to leave, "and am
afraid the tavern will be closed, as it is getting late; but I will see
if I can find Josh., and send him home."

"If you don't find him, please come back," pleaded Mrs. Cox.

"Well, I'll do that," said she, going out. She walked to Stemples's, and
without going into the bar-room, where she knew she would find Josh.,
went to her room and instructed Miss Johnson to find Rivers and tell him
to keep Josh. for an hour. She then returned to Cox's.

Miss Johnson found that Rivers was with Josh., Barclay and Horton, in
the bar-room. She walked by the door, and, unobserved by the others,
gave Rivers a signal to come out. He slipped out, and as he passed her
she said: "Rivers, keep Cox for an hour," and in a second he was back
calling for more drinks, and getting off jokes which brought down roars
of laughter.

_CHAPTER XXIV._

Mrs. Cox was very much pleased when Madam Imbert returned, and started
up stairs to put the children to bed. There was not a moment to lose. As
soon as they left the room Madam Imbert rushed to the outer door and
listened. She was satisfied. No one was coming, and so, grasping a lamp,
she went down into the cellar. Her quick eye took in every thing at a
glance, but she could discover nothing out of the way. The floor was a
common earthen one, but no signs of recent digging were to be seen. She
pitched in, and for a few moments worked like a Trojan; she removed and
replaced all the barrels, crocks, dishes, everything under which
articles might possibly be concealed, but found nothing. She again
searched carefully over the floor, and in the centre of the cellar saw
slight signs of where the ground might have been lately