"Not so very. If I am half the comfort to you that you are to me, Aunt Ri, I am very glad."
"So we are mutually satisfied; that is good. Lie down there on the sofa till dinner is ready, and I'll tell you what I've been doing."
Linda obeyed, and Miss Ri gave an account of the pursuit of clues, ending up with, "Now, what do you think of it?"
"I think it is very remarkable, to say the least, and I am inclined to believe with you that the trunk Berk bought is really Mr. Jeffreys'. Aunt Ri, do you suppose Berk could have found that out? I don't see why he shouldn't have made the discovery as soon as he opened it, in which case I think he ought to have notified Mr. Jeffreys at once."
"My dear, I don't for a moment think that of Berk. He is too honest and straightforward, and besides, what would be his object?"
"I don't know; yet, if he removed the papers, how could he help seeing whose they were? They must have been marked in some way to identify them."
"I don't believe he noticed them at all."
"Wouldn't you have done so?"
"I am a woman, and a woman always notices details more quickly than a man. Don't be suspicious, Verlinda."