As Ben uttered this exclamation he was gazing intently at the floor close to one wall of the room and near the door.
“What’s what? I don’t see any thing,” said his uncle, looking at the floor.
“Neither do I,” replied Ben, “but I just trod on something that felt like paper under the carpet.”
“Of course,” broke in the landlord, “we always put paper under our carpets.”
“But this has a peculiar feeling, like an extra thickness of paper.”
“Why don’t you look under the carpet, then, and see what it is?” asked the superintendent.
“I would rather not, uncle. He is my friend, you know.”
“Nonsense! I hope he isn’t your friend if what we suspect of him is true. But step out of the way and let me see what wonderful discovery you have made. It is probably only a crease in the floor paper.”
So saying the superintendent stooped, inserted his hand beneath the edge of the carpet and drew forth the identical express envelope that the package of missing bills had come in.
The three looked at each other without a word, while Billings pretended to have resumed his writing.