very of the papers. Of course, the
money was hidden more than thirty-five years ago."

"And do you mean to say that you people are living here, in your own
house, and your own money is hidden here somewhere, and you can't find
it?"

"Exactly as you state it."

"Well! _I'd_ find it, if I had to tear the whole house down."

"Wait a minute, Miss Impetuosity. We don't think it's in the house."

"Oh, out of doors?"

"You're good at puzzles, I know, but just wait until you hear the
directions that came with the package, and I think you'll admit it's a
hopeless problem."

"May she see them, Mother?" said Mabel. "Will you get them out for us?"

"Not to-night, dear. I'll show the old papers to Patty, some other time;
but now Sinclair can tell her the lines just as well."

"Of all the papers in the books," Sinclair went on, "only two seemed to
be directions for finding the money, although others vaguely hinted that
the fortune was concealed. And still others gave the impression that
Uncle Marmaduke meant to tell mother all about it; but as his death came
upon him so suddenly, of course he could not do this. On these two papers
are rhymes, which we children have known by heart all our lives. One is:

"'Great treasure lieth in the poke
Between the fir trees and the oak.'

"You see uncle was a true poet."

"What does the poke mean?" asked Patty.

"Oh, a poke is a pocket; or a hiding-place of any sort. Of course, this
information sent father to digging around every fir tree and oak tree on
the place. As you know, there are hundreds of both kinds of trees, so the
directions can't be called explicit."

"But," said Patty, wrinkling her brow, "it says 'between the fir trees
and the oak,' as if it meant a clump of firs and only one big oak."

"Yes; that's what has been surmised. And many a separate oak tree that
stands near a group of firs has been thoroughly investigated. But wait;
there's another clue. On a separate paper these words are written:

"'Above the stair, across the hall,
Between the bedhead and the wall,
A careful searching will reveal
The noble fortune I conceal.'

"There, could anything be plainer than that?"

"Then the money is _in_ the house!" exclaimed Patty.

"Take your choice. There are the two declarations. It may be he concealed
the money in one place, and then transferred it to anot