"I didn't muss up——"

"Oh, pshaw, give the floor and the office a rest! I want you to own up without further words."

By this time I was more bewildered than ever. What in the world was my uncle driving at?

"What do you want me to own up to?" I asked.

"You know well enough."

"No, I don't."

"Yes, you do."

"I don't."

"I'll give you five minutes to make a full confession," he cried, in a perfect rage. "At the end of that time if you are still obdurate I will hand you over to the police."

This was certainly alarming news. Surely something serious had happened.