The Tin Box Part 53

"Well, father," he said, eagerly, as the Colonel entered the room where he was seated, "what luck did you have?"

"I found the bonds," said his father, briefly.

Nothing could have astonished Philip more, knowing what he did as to the manner in which they had really been disposed of. He looked the picture of amazement.

"Found the bonds!" he e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.ed.

"Certainly! What is there remarkable about that?"

"And Harry Gilbert really had them?" said Philip, not knowing what to think.

"Of course!"

"Where were they found?"

"In the bureau drawer in his mother's room."

"What can it mean?" thought Philip, in a whirl of amazement. "I gave them to Congreve to carry to New York, and how in the world could Gilbert have got hold of them? There must be some mistake somewhere."

"What did Harry say when you found the bonds?" he asked.

"He denied that they were mine; said they were his."

"But where could he get them?"

"That is the question. He said they were given to him, or some such ridiculous nonsense, and his mother actually backed him up in this preposterous statement."

"I was never so astonished in the whole course of my life!" said Philip; and he spoke the honest truth.

"You, my son, are ent.i.tled to great credit for your vigilance, and you apprising me that the boy was prowling about the house on the evening in question. I shall make you a present of ten dollars."

"Oh, thank you, father," said Philip, his eyes expressing his delight, as his father drew from his pocketbook two five-dollar bills and placed them in his hand.

"At any rate, it has turned out pretty lucky for me," he thought to himself. "All the same, it is a puzzle where those bonds came from.

Congreve wouldn't go and give them to Harry? No, of course not! Well, the best I can do is to keep mum."

"There is one circ.u.mstance that rather puzzles me," said the Colonel, reflectively.

"What is it, father?"

"I only miss two hundred-dollar bonds, and I found in the boy's possession a fifty-dollar bond in addition. That is certainly singular."

"So it is," said Philip, showing his own surprise.

"He must have stolen that from some other party," continued the Colonel.

"As like as not," chimed in Philip, glibly. "Have you got the bonds with you?" he asked, after a pause. "Did you bring them back?"

"No. Rogers, the constable, said I could not take them till I had proved them to be my property. He is a stupid old countryman, and knows nothing about law. He was evidently prejudiced in favor of the Gilberts."

"Well, what did you do with Harry?"

"He ought to have been taken to the lockup, but the constable didn't want to do it, and I agreed that he might stay in the house, under guard of the constable, of course, for I apprehended the boy might make an effort to run away."

"Did he seem much frightened?" asked Philip, curiously.

"No; he seemed very indignant at being suspected. Of course, it was all put on. He was actually insolent, and defied me to take the bonds. I suppose he thought he could put me off the scent by his bravado."

"What are you going to do to-morrow?" asked Philip.

"I shall have him taken before a magistrate, and shall formally charge him with the theft."

"What did Uncle Obed say?" inquired Philip, suddenly.

"It really is of very little consequence what that old man said,"

returned Colonel Ross, stiffly. "Of course, he sided with the Gilberts, and he actually had the effrontery to say that the bonds had been in the house for several days."

"He couldn't have given the bonds to Harry, could he?"

"Of course not. The man is a pauper, or about the same as one. Every day I expect he will come to me to ask pecuniary a.s.sistance."

"Will you give him any money if he does?"

"Yes; enough to get him back to Illinois. He ought never to have left there."

Philip went to bed in a state of wonderment, but at the same time in a state of satisfaction. Suspicion had been diverted from him, the real culprit, and the boy whom he hated more than any other was likely to suffer for his misdeeds.

If he had had a conscience, this thought ought to have made him uncomfortable, but it did not. He thought, rather, that under cover of this charge made against another, he and Congreve would be free to use the proceeds of the stolen bonds, and he began even to plan in what way he would spend his portion.

Meanwhile, a very different scene took place in the cottage of the Gilberts, after the Colonel had taken his leave.

"I hope, Mr. Rogers," said Mrs. Gilbert to the constable, "you don't believe my boy guilty of this base deed which the colonel charges upon him?"

"I've always thought highly of Harry, ma'am," said the constable, "and I can't think now he'd take anything that wasn't his; but it is rather strange that them bonds should be found in this house now, ain't it?"

"No, indeed. Is the Colonel the only man in town that owns bonds?"

"I expect not; though, so far as my own experience goes, I know I ain't got any. I always thought--begging your pardon, Mrs. Gilbert--that you was poor, and now what am I to think?"

"You needn't think I am rich; but Harry owns those bonds, and they are the reward of his own good conduct. Would you like to hear how he came by them?"

"Yes, ma'am, if you don't mind telling me."

"I don't mind telling you, though I didn't choose to tell the Colonel."

Whereupon, Mrs. Gilbert related the story of the tin box secreted in the wood, and how, through Harry's prompt action, those who had purloined it had been brought to justice.

"You've got a smart boy, Mrs. Gilbert," said the constable, admiringly.

"I couldn't have done as well myself. There won't be any difficulty in clearing Harry now."