"Because, ma'am," continued Ninety-nine," the man which entered the window above hasn't been seen to get out again, ma'am."
"Give me a candle," said Mrs. Delolme. "Archibald, you come with me." And, going direct to her servants' rooms, demanded immediate admittance, and obtained it; but found nothing to confirm the suspicion of Ninety-nine.
"You are mistaken in your conjecture," she observed, on her return, and Ninety-nine said it was merely a thought. "Thank heaven!" she added, "my servants, I believe, are all strictly virtuous."
"Well, I know he's somewhere about," said Ninety-nine; and when Ninety-nine had given expression to this conviction, they continued the search. They went into the drawing-rooms, but found no one there: they went into the parlours: the result was the same.
"Strange," observed the doctor, "very strange."
"If he be in the house," said the serjeant, "we'll find him."
"Are you perfectly certain," said Mrs. Delolme—are you sure—quite sure—that you saw a man enter this house?"
"Oh, quite, ma'am—quite," returned the serjeant. "We saw him cutting his capers on the parapet, for more than twenty minutes before we rang the bell."
"On the parapet! heaven preserve us!"
"How he did it I can't imagine. I know it made me tremble even to look at him. I expected every moment to see him fall and dash his brains out."
Another thought struck Ninety-nine!
"I don't think," said he, suddenly, making a dead stand as they were about to proceed to the kitchen—"I don't think we need go on with this here search. It strikes me," he continued, placing his hands upon his hips, and assuming an air of infinite importance—"I say, it strikes me, and that very forcibly too, that the person, the man, the individual, which was playing off his pranks upon that there parapet, and which we saw afterwards bolt into that there top window, aint very far off."
"What do you mean?" demanded the serjeant.
"Why, I mean as this," promptly replied Ninety-nine, cocking his head on one side, and looking at Tom with unexampled acuteness—"I mean to say that the man which we saw up there, now stands very near me. He had nothing but his shirt on!—very well, then!—Is there no one in this room with nothing but his shirt on?"
"Why, you igdoradt raw-bode wretch!" exclaimed Tom, with indignation, "if you bead to say that I ab the bad—"
"Tom! dear Tom!"—exclaimed Mrs. Delolme,—"pray, pray do not go on so: for my sake, dear Tom; for the sake of your own soul."
"I can pretty nigh swear to the shirt," said Ninety-nine to the doctor.
"Swear to the shirt!" cried Tom. "You adibal!—you doe-dothidg idcobprehedsible dodkey!"
"Don't be impetuous, Tom," said the doctor.
"Ibpetuous! Isd't edough to bake ady bad ibpetuous to hear such
