"by this time the whole house was astir, for i had raised my voice in my anger. mary was the first to rush into my room, and, at the sight of the coronet and of arthur’s face, she read the whole story and, with a scream, fell down senseless on the ground. i sent the housemaid for the police and put the investigation into their hands at once. when the inspector and a constable entered the house, arthur, who had stood sullenly with his arms folded, asked me whether it was my intention to charge him with theft. i answered that it had ceased to be a private matter, but had become a public one, since the ruined coronet was national property. i was determined that the law should have its way in everything.