"Um-hm. The band that was round it had come off, then?"
"Band? What band?"
"Why, the paper band with '$400' on it. That had come off when it fell out of my pocket, I presume likely."
"Yes. . . . Yes, I guess likely it did. Must have. . . . Er— Sam, let me show you that gull vane. I got it so now that—"
"Hold on a minute. I'm mighty interested about your findin' this money. It's so—so sort of unexpected, as you might say. If that band came off it must have broke when the money tumbled down behind the boards. Let's see if it did."
He rose and moved toward the pile of boards. Jed also rose.
"What are you goin' to look for?" he asked, anxiously.
"Why, the paper band with the '$400' on it. I'd like to see if it broke. . . . Humph!" he added, peering down into the dark crevice between the boards and the wall of the shop. "Can't see anything of it, can you?"
Jed, peering solemnly down, shook his head. "No," he said. "I can't see anything of it."
"But it may be there, for all that." He reached down. "Humph!" he exclaimed. "I can't touch bottom. Jed, you've got a longer arm than I have; let's see if you can."