“I was never so astonished in the whole course of my life!” said Philip; and he spoke the honest truth.
“You, my son, are entitled to great credit for your vigilance, and you apprising me that the boy was prowling about the house on the evening in question. I shall make you a present of ten dollars.”
“Oh, thank you, father,” said Philip, his eyes expressing his delight, as his father drew from his pocketbook two five-dollar bills and placed them in his hand.
“At any rate, it has turned out pretty lucky for me,” he thought to himself. “All the same, it is a puzzle where those bonds came from. Congreve wouldn’t go and give them to Harry? No, of course not! Well, the best I can do is to keep mum.”
“There is one circumstance that rather puzzles me,” said the Colonel, reflectively.
“What is it, father?”
“I only miss two hundred-dollar bonds, and I found in the boy’s possession a fifty-dollar bond in addition. That is certainly singular.”
“So it is,” said Philip, showing his own surprise.
“He must have stolen that from some other party,” continued the Colonel.
“As like as not,” chimed in Philip, glibly. “Have you got the bonds with you?” he asked, after a pause. “Did you bring them back?”