“Cousin Mayo!� Dick hardly had breath to speak. “I’ve been in the Old Sterling Mine and I found——�
“Silver!� his cousin interrupted, in humorous excitement.
“A mortar with broken glass in it. There were the pestle and some bottles.�
“What!� exclaimed Black Mayo, the fun leaving his face and voice.
“Some one had put a ladder in the hole. I found the mortar and pestle and bottles at the foot, covered with leaves. They weren’t there last week. Then I went down on my ladder.�
“You may have got on the track of something of far more importance than the silver in or out of that old mine,� Mr. Osborne said, frowning thoughtfully. “Have you seen or heard anything else that might mean mischief, at any time? Think! and think!�
“No, sir,� said Dick; then he exclaimed: “Oh, Cousin Mayo! I’d forgotten, but it was queer. The night before Broad Acres was burned, when Sweet William was undressing, mother asked him how he got oil on his blouse, and he said he reckoned it was from the little smelly sticks he got under the steps at Broad Acres. And that night, Emma—she was standing by me—let out a screech, ‘The devils—burning little Miss Anne!’�
“I wish you had told me these things before,� said Mr. Osborne. “Now, keep a still tongue and open eyes.�
“I certainly will,� promised Dick.