“Try again, Mary,” begged Katy, producing something from her pocket. “Here’s my folding button-hook.” Cautiously Mary thrust the hook up into the place where the brains of William S. would have been, were they not distributed about the library instead in the form of books.

Yes! There was something up in the head; something that was yielding to the touch of the steel; something that came out at last in her hand. It was a piece of soft chamois-skin, folded and tied with green silk cord like that on which hung the mysterious key.

“Oh, Mary!” cried Katy, holding her breath. “What is it?”

[66]“Sh!” said Mary, with shining eyes. Cautiously she undid the little packet; and there inside was another packet, wrapped in silver foil, very tiny, very hard. Mary squeezed it gently, but the feeling gave no clue as to the contents.

[66]

While Katy watched her with bulging eyes, Mary peeled off the silver paper, a bit at a time. First of all was revealed a pink bead; more pink beads; a whole necklace, strung on a pink thread, of the most beautiful coral.

“Miaou!” cried Caliban suddenly.

“Oh-h!” cried Katy. “I never saw anything so sweet!”

“‘Of his bones are coral made,’” quoted Mary. “Oh, clever Aunt Nan!— What else?” for the next quotation was running in her head, and she was very eager. With trembling fingers she unwrapped the rest of the package, and brought to light a tiny pasteboard box of not more than an inch in any dimension.

“I know what it is!” whispered Katy.

But she gasped when she saw what really came out—yes, a ring, on a white velvet bed. But such a ring! It had two big pearls in it, side by side, as big as the end of Mary’s little finger.

[67]“Oh!” cried Mary with delight. “What a beautiful ring! I do love pearls.—‘Those are pearls which were his eyes,’ Katy, do you see? And this is the ‘something rich and strange.’ What fun it is to find a treasure all by the aid of lovely quotations!”

[67]

“I think it is wonderful!” said Katy. “It is so poetic.”

“Come; let’s show these to Father and Mother,” said Mary, giving Caliban a big hug. And off the two girls ran to exhibit the treasures.

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