Mr. Hatfield had turned to Jack. “This is all very interesting,” he whispered. “But you promised to show us something that might explain about the missing money box.”
“I can’t show you while he’s in there. But he’s got it.”
“Not the money?”
“Sure.” Jack thoroughly enjoyed his knowledge.
“How do you know this, Jack? Did you see the box?”
“Right from this very window. I was wandering through the woods late one afternoon when I came onto this shack. I was curious, so I sneaked up and looked in.”
“And this same tramp was living in there?” Dan asked. “When was that?”
“Oh, I didn’t find the shack until a couple of days ago. I don’t know how long it’s been here.”
“Tell us about the money box,” Mr. Hatfield urged.
“Well, as I looked through the window, I saw that tramp take it out from under his bed. While I watched, he counted the money. I saw a lot of bills in neat stacks.”