"And, of course, nothing is more natural than that he should take the money."
"But the drawer was locked."
"He had some keys in his pocket, very likely. Most boys have keys."
"Oh, most boys have keys. Have you, perhaps, keys, Master Harold?"
"It seems to me you are asking very foolish questions, Felicie. I have the key of my trunk."
"But do newsboys have trunks? Why should this boy, Luke, have keys? I do not see."
"Well, I'll go upstairs," said Harold, who was getting tired of the interview, and rather uneasy at Felicie's remarks and questions.
As Felicie had said, Mrs. Merton discovered her loss almost as soon as she came home. She had used but a small part of the money he took with her, and, not caring to carry it about with her, opened the drawer to replace it in the pocketbook.
To her surprise the pocketbook had disappeared.
Now, the contents of the pocketbook, though a very respectable sum, were not sufficient to put Mrs. Merton to any inconvenience. Still, no one likes to lose money, especially if there is reason to believe that it has been stolen, and Mrs. Merton felt annoyed. She drew out the drawer to its full extent, and examined it carefully in every part, but there was no trace of the morocco pocketbook.