THE SUSPICIOUS JACKDAW.
because her thoughts were pre-occupied with her ill-gotten trinket.
This unhappy state of things went on for several days. At last, one evening, Madam Mortimer happening to look out at her hole in the blind, saw Patience slowly walking across the yard, and cautiously looking down into her apron, which she had gathered up into her hands. Madam Mortimer felt convinced that the poor child had got the necklace concealed there. One of the housemaids came up, but Patience ran away, and vould not let her see what she had got, and seemed so anxious to conceal it, that her mistress drew up the blind, opened the window, and said, in an awful voice, 'Patience, come here!' The little girl approached—there was a veranda outside the window, and some wooden steps led up to it. 'Come up to me,' said her mistress. The little girl said, 'Yes, ma'am;' and still holding her apron, turned to enter the door. 'No,' exclaimed her mistress; 'come up these steps; I do not want to lose sight of you.' Patience obeyed. Her mistress sat down, and the little maid stood opposite to her.
'Patience,' said her mistress, 'I have lost my red necklace.' The little girl glanced under the table, as if she thought the necklace might have dropped there.
'Do you know where it is, Patience?' was the next question, asked with great solemnity. Patience tightened the folds of her apron, looked earnestly at her mistress, and said, 'No, ma'am.'
'Poor child,' replied Madam Mortimer shaking her head; and Patience, not appearing to know what she meant, colored exceedingly, and looked as if she was
