“You have one of those sealing machines here?” Mason asked.
“Yes. We put up a good deal of fruit and vegetables. Some we put up in jars, and some we put up in tins. We have a sealing machine which crimps the top on.”
“And this can was empty?”
“Just exactly as it came from the store,” Mrs. Gentrie said.
Rebecca said, “It wasn’t any such thing, Florence. The more I think of it, the more I realize there was something strange about that can. A can isn’t hermetically sealed when it comes from a store.”
“What did you do with the tin?” Mason asked.
“Tossed it in the box of old tins,” Mrs. Gentrie said, laughing.
“You didn’t open it to look inside?”
“Gracious, no. It was too light to have had anything in it. It was just an empty can.”
“But you didn’t look inside to make certain it was empty?”