The Burglar and the Blizzard: A Christmas Story

								

the house had been carefully gone over, and although only a few objects
seem to be missing, these are of the greatest value. The thief
apparently had plenty of time, and probably occupied the whole night in
his search. This is the more remarkable because the watchman asserts
that he spent at least an hour on the piazza during the night. How the
thief effected an entrance by the second story is not clear. During the
past five weeks the houses of L. G. Innes, T. Wilson and Abraham
Marheim have been entered in a manner almost precisely similar. There
was a report yesterday that some of the Marheim silver had been
discovered with a dealer in Boston, but that he could not identify the
person from whom he bought them further than that she was a young lady
to whom they might very well have belonged. The fact that it was a
young lady who disposed of them to him suggests that the goods must
have changed hands several times. The Marheim family is abroad, and the
servants....”
Here a waiter touched his elbow.
“Mr. and Mrs. Vaughan have come, sir,” he said.
“Send up to my apartment and tell Mrs. May we are sitting down to
dinner,” returned Holland promptly, and advanced to meet the prosperous
looking couple approaching.
“I’m afraid we are late,” said the lady, “but can you blame us? Have
you heard? We have been telegraphing to Hillsborough all the afternoon
to find out what has gone.”
“You are not late. My sister has not come down yet. I was just reading
about your robbery. Have you lost anything of value?”
“Oh, I suppose so,” said Mrs. Vaughan cheerfully, sitting down and
beginning to draw off her gloves. “We had a Van Dyke etching, and some
enamels that have gone certainly, and Charlie feels awfully about his
wine.”
“Yes,” said Mr. Vaughan gloomily. “I tell you he is going to have a
happy time with that champagne. It is the best I ever tasted.”
“Upon my word,” said Geoffrey, “they are a nice lot of countrymen up
there. Four robberies and not so much as a clue.”
“You need not be afraid,” said Mrs. Vaughan rather spitefully. “In
spite of all your treasures, I don’t believe any thief would take the
trouble to climb to the top of your mountain.”
Holland’s selection of a distant hilltop for his large place pleased no
true Hillsboroughite. As an eligible bachelor he was inaccessible, and
as a property-holder he was too far away to increase the value of
Hillsborough real-estate by his wonderful lawns and gardens.
Mrs. Vaughan’s irritation did not appear to disturb Geoffrey, for he
laughed very amiably, and replied that he could only hope that the
thief was as poor a pedestrian as she seemed to imagine as he should
not like to lose any of his things; and he added that in his opinion
Vaughan ought to be starting for Hillsborough at once.
“Pooh,” said that gentleman, “I can’t go with the market in this