"There, don't worry; I'll see you have much better ones; those you wore were in awful condition," replied Mr. Chittenden.
"But—but what became of what was in the pockets?" Mark asked the question with a visible effort to appear calm.
"All safe, nothing disturbed. I gave orders that nothing should be touched until we saw whether you lived or died."
Mark looked relieved, but he only said: "There is nothing to worry about; but I had a little money in my pockets, and it might have been taken from me while I was wandering, not myself."
"We will see," said Mr. Chittenden, and he got the articles which had been taken from Mark's clothing.
Mark hastily glanced them over and said, "It's all right. I am glad there is money enough here to pay you, in part, for your trouble."
"None of that, Mark. I will throw you out of the house if you ever say pay again. In fact, I would take it as an insult," said Mr. Chittenden.
Mark said no more, but, glancing over the articles, he abstracted two or three papers, and handed the rest back to Mr. Chittenden, asking him to keep them for him. No sooner was he gone than Mark called Tilly and handed her the papers he had kept, asking her if she would not burn them. "Don't let anyone see them, Tilly, and burn them right away."
"Dat what I will," said Tilly, taking them.
"And, Tilly, don't say anything about it to anyone."