about it; and the sick man will have it
that some one has stolen the book. I laughed at him, and told him no one
would steal such a thing, for it was worth nothing to anybody but
himself. But go up and see him, Leopold."

The young man hastened to the room of the sick man. Harvey Barth was
certainly very miserable on account of the loss of his diary. He spoke
of it as he would have done if it had been some dear friend who had been
taken away from him by death; but then he was sick and rather childish,
and the people about the hotel pitied and sympathized with him.

"Where did you put it?" asked Leopold, when he had heard all the
particulars the steward could give in relation to his loss.

"There isn't any cupboard in this room, and I hadn't any good place to
keep it; so I just tucked it into the flue of that fireplace," drawled
Harvey, with the frequent hacking which impeded his utterance.

"That was a queer place to put it," added Leopold.

"I know it was; but I hadn't any better one. I thought it would be safer
there than in any other place."

"Are you sure that you put it there?"

"Am I sure that I am a living man at this moment?" demanded Harvey.
"That diary is worth more to me than all the rest I have in the world,
and I shouldn't forget what I did with it."

But Leopold searched the room in every nook and corner, in spite of the
protest of the sick man that it was useless to do so, for he had looked
everywhere a dozen times himself. The young man was no more successful
than others had been who had looked for the diary.

"Though you value it very highly I suppose the diary is not really worth
very much," suggested Leopold.

"There are secrets written out in that book which might be worth a great
deal of money to a bad man," replied Harvey, in a confidential tone.

"Well, what do you suppose has become of it?"

"I'll tell you. I think some one stole it," added the sick man
impressively.

"Did any one know about the secrets written down in it?"

"Not that I know of. Some one may have taken it in order to get my
account of the wreck of the Waldo. It may affect the insurance on the
vessel, or something of that sort, for all I know. I think I know just
who stole it too;" and Harvey related all the particulars of the tipsy
man's visit to the chamber the night before. "He pretended to be drunk,
but I think he knew what he was about all the time, just as well as I
did. In my opinion he took that book."