"I suppose so," answered the president. "I will examine more carefully presently."
"Then you don't wish me to stay?" inquired Carver.
"No; there is no occasion to do so."
Ephraim Carver left the bank in a state of stupefaction.
"What can it all mean?" he asked himself. "The man must be blind as a bat if he didn't discover that the package contained no bonds. I don't believe he opened it at all."
So Carver was left in a state of uncertainty. On the whole he wished that the substitution had been discovered, so that the president could have had it out with him. Now he felt that a sword was impending over his head, which might fall at any time. This was unpleasant, for he did not know what to expect.
He went back to Portland by a late train, however, as he had arranged to do.
At the depot he met Colonel Johnson. He was puzzled to find that Johnson did not look as jubilant as he anticipated, now that their plot had succeeded. On the other hand, he looked grave and stern.
"Well, colonel, how goes it?" he asked.