"Didn't go off?" she asked, peering into the tin.
"Not a go," replied Jack, "but look! What did I tell you! There's
an envelope marked for Laurel, and feel! Are they not stones?
Diamonds or pearls?"
"You romancer!" exclaimed Cora, as she felt the bulky envelope. "I
admit they do feel like stones, but they may be merely corals. But
oh, Jack! Do let me see!"
"Lets call Laurel," he suggested. "We cannot read any of those
papers. They are for her, or her father, to open."
"Oh, of course," and Cora looked rebuked. "I had no idea of reading
anything, but I thought we should make sure of what was in the can
before we got Laurel excited over it," and she slipped around the
side of the bungalow to beckon to Laurel.
The girl's face turned white when she saw why she was wanted. "I am
so afraid of disappointment," she murmured with a sigh.
"Well, there's something in here," Jack told her. "Look at this,"
and he handed her the heavy envelope.
She read her name--then she tore open the paper. A necklace fell
out on her lap!
"Mother's!" she exclaimed, pressing the golden chain to her lips
reverently. "Darling mother's!"
"And the stones are amethysts!" Cora exclaimed as Laurel held up the
gems.
"Yes, it was father's wedding present to mother," Laurel told them.
"Oh, I scarcely know how to tell him all this."
"Tony was a pretty decent robber after all," remarked Jack.
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