"Sam Perkins at one end of the road and Uncle Aaron at the other,"
brooded Teddy. "I sure am up against it!"

But the confession of failure had to be made. The boys had cherished a
faint hope that somebody in town might have found the papers, and that
when they got back at noon, Uncle Aaron might have recovered them. But
although he had been downtown most of the morning and had inquired
everywhere, there had been not the slightest trace of them, and he had
returned tired and angry.

"Rampagin' roun' like de bery Ole Nick," was the way Martha described
him, when she had a moment alone with Teddy. "It sho duz beat all, how
de good Lo'd lets people like him cumber de earf."

His greeting was about as genial as Teddy had expected. But he had
steeled himself for that and could stand it. What disturbed him much
more was the distress his mother felt and the chilly disapproval of his
father.

The latter had settled with Jed Muggs that morning for the damage caused
by Teddy. Jed had named an excessive price, but Mr. Rushton had been in
no mood to haggle and had paid him what he asked. But it was not this
that kept him silent and preoccupied.

He was seriously debating with himself whether he would do well to take
Aaron's advice. The boarding school idea had set him thinking. He wanted
to do the very best thing for the boys, and he was worried by the
thought that perhaps he had been too easy and indulgent.

Several days passed, while he was pondering the matter. Gradually the
atmosphere cleared, and the household began to go on as usual. Even
Uncle Aaron lost some of his crankiness and seemed at times to be
"almost human."

And then, just as things were going along nicely, Teddy, once more, as
Fred sorrowfully put it, had to "spill the beans."

It was a very warm morning, and most of the family were out on the porch
trying to get what air there was. Teddy had occasion to go upstairs, and
had to pass the door of his uncle's room.

The latter had an appointment to meet a little later on, and, as it was
an important one, he had arranged to dress with more care than usual.
His clothes, including a new white vest, were laid out neatly on the
bed, near his writing desk.

But what especially caught Teddy's eye, was a sheet of fly-paper, laid
on a small table close beside the desk.

Such things were a novelty in the Rushton home. There was no need for
them, because every window and door was carefully screened during the
ho