repudiated as being utterly absurd. They all felt that it had been removed by some one: on that point they had not the slightest doubt; the only question with them was, who had removed it? Various were their conjectures, and, as is customary in such cases, very conflicting; but those which appeared to them to be most probable, were at length reduced to two: one being, that it was a trick of one of the servants, and the other, that the thing had been done by the man whom the policeman saw the previous night on the parapet. The latter was suggested by Sylvester himself.
"For," said he, "although it is clear that had he jumped straight down from the window he would have been caught in the trap himself, it is also clear that, by going on one side, or even over the trap, he must necessarily have escaped it. I have no doubt that he did either one or the other, and that, subsequently finding the trap set for him, he placed the skeleton in it, and made it assume the position in which it was found."
"Well," said the doctor, "that certainly appears to be reasonable, as far as it goes; but what could be the man's object in coming here? That is the point which puzzles me."
"It might be idleness merely," said Sylvester; "or what, perhaps, he would call fun. He is clearly a fanciful fellow. The position in which he placed the figures before, and especially that in which this is now, tend to prove that if his object be not purely fun, he imagines he has some fun in him."
"If I catch hib," said Tom, "I'll show hib a little bore fud. He shall hibself look fuddy, before I've dode with hib."
"Well," said the doctor, "we have come to this point, and it appears to be the most reasonable at which we can arrive. We must endeavour now to prevent a recurrence of these tricks, and I think that we shall at once attain that object by having the window barred."
"Doe," said Tom, "dod't bar the widdow yet. I wadt to catch hib; add that I shall catch hib, I'll bet ted to wud."
"Well," said the doctor, smiling, "if you should happen to catch him, and you find that fun is his only object, you must, in the administration of your justice, be merciful."
"Oh! I'll be berciful," replied Tom. "Dothidg that he ever had id the shape of bercy shall surpass it. I'll give hib such ad out-add-out dose of bercy, that a bile off people shall hear hib proclaib how peculiarly berciful I ab."
The doctor smiled, and left the study, when Tom and Sylvester replaced the male skeleton in its former position, and busied themselves about the bones of the female, until they were summoned to dinner.
As usual, the dinner went off flatly: for although the doctor chatted—and that sometimes gaily too—no one else did; Mrs. Delolme would not; Aunt Eleanor could not; and while Tom dared not, Sylvester thought he ought not. When, therefore, the ladies had retired, not only Tom and Sylvester, but the doctor himself, felt much relieved, and, after a pleasurable and profitable discussion—profitable especially, in a professional point of view—Tom and Sylvester left to attend that evening's lecture.
