seems to me 'twas on the floor."

"Don't you KNOW 'twas on the floor?"

"Why . . . why, yes, sartin."

"Then what made you say 'seems as if' it was there?"

"Oh, . . . oh, I don't know. Land sakes, Sam, what are you askin'
me all these questions for?"

"Just for fun, I guess. I'm interested, naturally. Tell me some
more. How was the money--all together, or kind of scattered 'round?"

"Eh? . . . Oh, all together."

"Sure of that?"

"Course I'm sure of it. I can see it just as plain as day, now I
come to think of it. 'Twas all together, in a heap like."

"Um-hm. The band that was round it had come off, then?"

"Band? What band?"

"Why, the paper band with '$400' on it. That had come off when it
fell out of my pocket, I presume likely."

"Yes. . . . Yes, I guess likely it did. Must have. . . . Er--
Sam, let me show you that gull vane. I got it so now that--"

"Hold on a minute. I'm mighty interested about your findin' this
money. It's so--so sort of unexpected, as you might say. If that
band came off it must have broke when the money tumbled down behind
the boards. Let's see if it did."

He rose and moved toward the pile of boards. Jed also rose.

"What are you goin' to look for?" he asked, anxiously.

"Why, the paper band with the '$400' on it. I'd like to see if it
broke. . . . Humph!" he added, peering down into the dark crevice
between the boards and the wall of the shop. "Can't see anything
of it, can you?"

Jed, peering solemnly down, shook his head. "No," he said. "I
can't see anything of it."

"But it may be there, for all that." He reached down. "Humph!" he
exclaimed. "I can't touch bottom. Jed, you've got a longer arm
than I have; let's see if you can."

Jed, sprawled upon the heap of lumber, stretched his arm as far as
it would go. "Hum," he drawled, "I can't quite make it, Sam. . . .
There's a place where she narrows way down here and I can't get my
fingers through it."

"Is that so? Then we'd better give up lookin' for the band, I
cal'late. Didn't amount to anything, anyhow. Tell me more about
what you did when you found the money. You must have been
surprised."

"Eh? . . . Land sakes, I was. I don't know's I ever was so
surprised in my life. Thinks I, 'Here's Sam's money that's missin'
from the bank.' Yes, sir, and 'twas, too."

"Well, I'm much obliged to you, Jed, I surely am. And when you
found it-- Let's see, you found it this mornin', o