f course?"

"Eh? Why--why, how--what makes you think I found it this mornin'?"

"Oh, because you must have. 'Cause if you'd found it yesterday or
the day before you'd have told me right off."

"Yes--oh, yes, that's so. Yes, I found it this mornin'."

"Hadn't you thought to hunt for it afore?"

"Eh? . . . Land sakes, yes . . . yes, I'd hunted lots of times,
but I hadn't found it."

"Hadn't thought to look in that place, eh?"

"That's it. . . . Say, Sam, what--"

"It's lucky you hadn't moved those boards. If you'd shifted them
any since I threw my coat on 'em you might not have found it for a
month, not till you used up the whole pile. Lucky you looked afore
you shifted the lumber."

"Yes . . . yes, that's so. That's a fact. But, Sam, hadn't you
better take that money back to the bank? The folks up there don't
know it's been found yet. They'll be some surprised, too."

"So they will. All hands'll be surprised. And when I tell 'em how
you happened to see that money lyin' in a pile on the floor behind
those boards and couldn't scarcely believe your eyes, and couldn't
believe 'em until you'd reached down and picked up the money, and
counted it-- That's about what you did, I presume likely, eh?"

"Yes. . . . Yes, that's just it."

"They'll be surprised then, and no wonder. But they'd be more
surprised if I should bring 'em here and show 'em the place where
you found it. 'Twould surprise 'most anybody to know that there
was a man livin' who could see down a black crack four foot deep
and two inches wide and around a corner in that crack and see money
lyin' on the floor, and know 'twas money, and then stretch his arm
out a couple of foot more and thin his wrist down until it was less
than an inch through and pick up that money. That WOULD surprise
em. Don't you think 'twould, Jed?"

The color left Jed's face. His mouth fell open and he stared
blankly at his friend. The latter chuckled.

"Don't you think 'twould surprise 'em, Jed?" he repeated. "Seems
likely as if 'twould. It surprised me all right enough."

The color came surging back. Jed's cheeks flamed. He tried to
speak, but what he said was not coherent nor particularly
intelligible.

"Now--now--now, Sam," he stammered. "I--I-- You don't understand.
You ain't got it right. I--I--"

The captain interrupted. "Don't try so hard, Jed," he continued.
"Take time to get your steam up. You'll bust a b'iler if you puff
that way.