“Is he dead?” asked Teddy softly.
“Well, I’m afraid he is by this time,” said Mrs. Ransom. “You see, my brother is a sailor. He went off on a voyage a good many years ago, and I haven’t heard from him since. I guess he was shipwrecked. He gave me that box just before he went away for the last time, and his picture was in it. That’s why I thought so much of it, and why I feel so sorry that the burglars took it. They could have my spoons, the money and everything else, if they’d give me back the queer box with the puzzle top. Nobody knows how to open it, except the man who made it, my brother John and myself.”
Mrs. Ransom could not tell how the burglars got in. There was no sign of a door or a window being broken, and Constable Juke, who came over to look at the store, said he guessed the robbers (or robber, if there was only one) must have sneaked in when Mrs. Ransom was out for a little while, and so have taken the things.
“But I’ll keep my eyes open for the robber,” he promised, “and if I see him around I’ll arrest him and get back your spoons, Mrs. Ransom.”
“Get back Brother John’s queer box,” begged the storekeeper. “I want that more than anything else.”
She went back to her little shop, the constable went home, and Ted, Janet, and Baby William sat down to supper.
“How is the sick man?” asked Daddy Martin, when he came home.
“Much better,” answered Mother Martin. “Dr. Whitney says he’ll soon be sitting up.”
“May we go in and see him?” asked Teddy.
“Yes, I think so,” answered their mother.