d it."

From the shadowy corner where Ruth Armstrong sat came a little gasp
and an exclamation. Charles whistled.

"Well, by George!" he exclaimed. "That certainly puts a crimp in
Jed's confession."

"Sartin sure it does. When Sylvester and I parted we was both
pretty hot under the collar, havin' called each other's politics
about every mean name we could think of. I grabbed up my gloves,
and what I thought was my money from the table and slammed out of
the house. Seems all I grabbed was the two five hundred packages;
the four hundred one was shoved under some papers and magazines and
there it stayed till Sylvester got back from his Boston cruise.

"But that don't answer my riddle," he added, impatiently. "What
made Jed act the way he did? Got the answer, Charlie?"

The young man shook his head. "No, by George, I haven't!" he
replied.

"How about you, Mrs. Armstrong? Can you help us out?"

Ruth's answer was brief. "No, I'm afraid not," she said. There
was a queer note in her voice which caused her brother to glance at
her, but Captain Hunniwell did not notice. He turned to go.

"Well," he said, "I wish you'd think it over and see if you can spy
land anywheres ahead. I need a pilot. This course is too crooked
for me. I'm goin' home to ask Maud; maybe she can see a light. So
long."

He went out. When Charles returned, having accompanied his
employer as far as the door, he found Ruth standing by her chair
and looking at him. A glance at her face caused him to stop short
and look at her.

"Why, Ruth," he asked, "what is it?"

She was pale and trembling. There were tears in her eyes.

"Oh, Charlie," she cried, "can't you see? He--he did it for you."

"Did it for me? Did what? Who? What are you talking about, Sis?"

"Jed. Jed Winslow. Don't you see, Charlie? He pretended to have
found the money and to have stolen it just to save you. He thought
you--he thought you had taken it."

"WHAT? Thought I had taken it? I had? Why in the devil should he
think--"

He stopped. When he next spoke it was in a different tone.

"Sis," he asked, slowly, "do you mean that he thought I took this
money because he knew I had--had done that thing at Middleford?
Does he know--about that?"

The tears were streaming down her cheeks. "Yes, Charlie," she
said, "he knows. He found it out, partly by accident, before you
came here. And--and think how loyal, how wonderful he has been!
It was throug