When Carl had opened the door and thrown the two packages of laundry from the seat into the bottom of the car, the boys picked the man up again and heaved him into the tonneau.
While he was being lifted something else dropped out of his pockets and fell on the foot-board with a muffled thump.
"Iss dot anoder gun?" puffed Carl, who was in the tonneau and fixing the man on the seat.
"Not exactly," answered Matt, taking the object from the running-board and holding it up.
It was a small green bag.
"See vat iss inside alreaty," suggested Carl. "Meppy it vill gif us a line on who der feller iss."
The bag was of heavy silk, and its mouth was closed with a silken cord. To open the bag took only a moment, and Matt thrust in his hand and drew out several small spheres about the size of so many peas. They were dark in color and cast off a lustrous gleam in the sun's rays.
Matt stared at the little objects in amazement.
"Chee grickets!" grunted Carl. "Vy he vas carrying pills in a silk pag? He must be a great feller!"
"Pills!" exclaimed Matt. "You're 'way wide of the mark, Carl. These are not pills, but pearls—black pearls, the rarest gems that come out of the sea. There—there's a fortune in this green bag!"