They all trooped down into the basement to re-examine the coal bin. The Cub leader could find no clue as to the person who might have hidden the box.
True, he pointed out several large-size shoeprints visible on the dusty basement floor. But he agreed with Dan and Brad that they likely had been made by workmen who had repaired the furnace.
“Say, maybe one of the workmen hid the box!” Red exclaimed.
Mr. Hatfield said he considered the possibility an unlikely one. However, he would not venture even a guess as to who might have left the box in the coal bin.
“For all we know, it might even be stolen money,” he commented.
Dan, who had stood near the foot of the basement stairs, had heard an unusual sound overhead.
“Listen!” he commanded.
The Cubs became quiet. Distinctly, they could hear a rattling noise.
“Sounds like someone trying to raise a window,” Brad said. “That box of money on the table—”
Mr. Hatfield started up the stairs, but without undue haste.