Hardly had he formed the thought when, glancing down, he saw a short wax end on the floor. He picked it up.
“This is the light Noddy had,” reflected Jerry.
He lighted the wick, and the illumination somewhat dispelled the gloom. With eager eyes he scanned the place. Moving about he held the candle up where it would give a good light. But nothing rewarded his search. From side to side he went. Then he held the light close to the floor. He had gone over almost every foot of surface and found nothing.
“I guess it’s a wild-goose chase,” thought Jerry. “But I’m sure Noddy did not go out of this room. I watched the light. Hello! What’s that?”
He had suddenly struck his foot against a board that projected somewhat above the others in the floor.
“Queer I didn’t notice that before,” said Jerry. He lowered the candle carefully. “Looks as if it had been moved lately,” he went on.
Thrusting his fingers beneath the edge of the board Jerry gave a strong pull. The plank did not budge. He tried again without success. At the third attempt, however, his strength availed, and he felt the piece of flooring suddenly yield. So quickly did it come from its place in fact that Jerry fell backward, knocking out his candle and leaving himself in utter darkness.
Quickly searching in his pocket the boy found his matches, struck a light and ignited the candle end. Then, with swiftly beating heart he peered down into the hole he had disclosed. He was rewarded by seeing a small wooden box, half covered with dirt and rubbish. With trembling fingers Jerry drew it forth and held it close to the light. It was a square wooden receptacle with a hinged cover.
“It’s the box that was stolen from the mill with the thousand dollars in it!” exclaimed Jerry.
He raised the cover. If he had had any doubts about his find they were dispelled when he saw the contents of the box. It was half filled with papers, seemingly of no value, but bearing the name of Amos Judson. There were receipts, notes, bills and memoranda. But there was no trace of the money.