Thus passed the days, filled to overflowing with fun and excitement. Katherine, thoroughly uncomfortable in a crisp new white dress and blue sash, tripped blithely along the elm-shaded avenue in the glow of the late June sunset. It was the night of the class banquet, and her mind was intent on the speech she was to make. Thus absorbed, she did not watch where she was going, and a sprawling root from a big tree tripped her unexpectedly and brought her to her knees on the soft lawn. Brought into such close contact with the ground, she spied something lying at the foot of the giant oak beside which she had fallen. It was a black leather bill fold, with a heavy elastic band around it.
“Daggers and dirks!” said Katherine, borrowing the Captain’s favorite expression. “What’s this?” She slipped off the elastic band and opened the bill fold. Across the inner flap there was a name printed in gold letters. Katherine squinted at the name and explored the inner recesses of the wallet. She took one look and hastily bound the wallet together again with its elastic and dropped it gingerly into her hand bag, as if it were red hot. Then she proceeded on her way, more absorbed than ever, but the thing her brain was intent on now was not her banquet speech.
Crossing the little park-like square, which lay on the way to school, she came upon Veronica walking slowly up and down the sidewalk, intently searching for something on the ground. She was very pale and showed signs of great agitation. It was the first time Katherine had met her face to face since she had left the group.
“Have you lost something?” asked Katherine abruptly.
“No,” said Veronica, straightening up and flushing deeply, “that is, nothing much, I—I just dropped a—something out of my purse along here somewhere.”
“What was it?” asked Katherine.
Veronica gave a last frantic look along the walk.
“It was a—” She hesitated, and then burst out:
“Oh, Katherine, it was my bill fold, and it had five hundred dollars in it!”
“Five hundred dollars!” echoed Katherine faintly.