The Curlytops at Silver Lake; Or, On the Water with Uncle Ben

by Howard Roger Garis

And then a funny thing happened. All at once, as Uncle Ben held the queer box, there was a click, and it opened. A small drawer shot out, and in it was a picture of a man, and also some little curiosities, pink shells, red sea beans and bits of coral.

“There you are, Mrs. Ransom!” said Uncle Ben. “I’ve opened the queer box for you.”

“Why, why, how did you do it?” cried the storekeeper. “I thought nobody but my brother and I and the Japanese man that made the box knew how to open it. How did you know?” and she looked in a strange way at Uncle Ben. “How did you know?” she asked again.

“Why, I—I don’t exactly know,” was his answer in a strange voice. “It seemed to come to me all at once. I just pressed on a secret spring, under this queer, carved flower, and the box opened. As soon as I had it in my hands I remembered that I had heard of this box once before.”

“Are you—no, it isn’t possible that you can be my lost brother!” said Mrs. Ransom. “You don’t look a bit as he used to look, though I suppose he has changed after all these years. But how did you know the secret of his box?”

“What was your brother’s name?” asked Uncle Ben.

“John Dowd,” was the woman’s answer. “Dowd was my name before I married. Yes, John Dowd was my brother. But I’m afraid I’ll never see him again. I’m glad to get back the box he gave me, but I suppose he has been dead many years.”

“No, he hasn’t, either!” suddenly cried Uncle Ben, springing to his feet. “It all comes back to me now! It all comes back! I know how I remembered the secret of the box, too.”

“But you aren’t my brother!” cried Mrs. Ransom.

“No. But I have seen your brother, and not less than a few months ago, in New York when I was sick there. He was sick in the same hospital; but he got better before I did, and he left to go on a ship. But before that he got to talking of different things, and he told me about a queer box he once owned. It was this same box, I’m sure, and he told me how to open it by pressing below the carved flower. He made a little picture of the box. It looked just like this.