“Early last evening,” began the youth, “I heard the woman in her room. I watched her through the peephole Miss Daring had prepared. She was gathering all the money from the hiding places. The bills and small change she made into packages; the gold she left in the bags. Then she went into another room—the room occupied by Mr. Eliot—and returned with an armful of papers.”
“What sort of papers?” inquired the lawyer.
“They looked like legal documents, bonds, deeds and such things, sir. All were neatly folded and tied in packages.”
“Ah! I wonder where they could have been hidden.”
“No telling, sir. They’ve been mighty clever, haven’t they? Well, sir, she made those papers into two separate parcels. Then she wrapped herself in a sheet which she took from her bed, hid the parcels under it, and left the house.”
“She took only the papers?”
“Only the papers that time, sir. I tried to follow her, but the only way I could get out of the house without noise was through the window. I tied some sheets and blankets together and let myself down that way; but I was too late. The woman had disappeared, and I could not tell in what direction.”
“Too bad, Toby.”
“But I knew she would return, for there was the money to be lugged away. So I hid by a hedge and waited till she came back. She went into the house by the outside stair and soon brought out two bags of gold, one in each hand. This time, I followed her. She went to the graveyard, and I knew why she had draped herself in the sheet.”
“Why?”