The farmer's wife showed them her bedroom on the first floor, as is the case in many old-fashioned country houses.
"I always put my box of jewelry on the table at the head of my bed," Mrs. Brown explained. "That's so I can run out quickly with it in case of fire."
"And it's also very easy for some one to reach in from the outside and take it," said Daddy Bunker. "Was this window open?" he asked, pointing to the one at the head of Mrs. Brown's bed.
"Yes," she answered. "It was a hot night, so I left the window open."
Mr. Bunker looked at the ground beneath the window.
"That's how it happened," he said. "Some one has been walking around under the window. I can see the footmarks in the ground, which is still soft from the rain. Whoever it was, came here, reached in through the open window from outside, and took the jewelry."
"It must have been that boy Tad!" said the farmer.
"Let's have a look at the footprints in the dirt," suggested Captain Ben.
All of them, including the four little Bunkers, went out under the window. Daddy Bunker allowed no one to walk too near, as he said he wanted to see how many footmarks there were. After he had looked he said:
"There was only one person here in the night. Whether it was the boy Tad or not, I can't say. The footprints aren't very big, and might have been made by a boy with large feet or a man with small feet."