"Oh, if it only is!" murmured Nan. "Let"s tell papa right away!"
Carrying the money so strangely found, the young folks went into the house where Mr. and Mrs. Bobbsey were. The roll of bills was shown, and Mr. Bobbsey was much surprised.
"Do you think this can be the money Mr. Carford lost?" asked Bert.
"I shouldn"t be surprised," said Mr. Bobbsey, quickly. "I"ll take a look. Mr. Carford said he left it on the mantel in the living room, and you found it in the room back of that. I"ll look."
Quickly he examined the mantel. Then he said:
"Yes, that"s how it happened. There is a crack up here, and the money must have slipped down into it. All these years it has been in between the walls, until the falling tree made a break and showed where it was.
Mr. Carford was mistaken. His nephew did not take the money. I always said so. It fell into the crack, and remained hidden until the storm showed where it was."
"Oh, how glad I am!" cried Mrs. Bobbsey. "Now Henry"s name can be cleared! Oh, if he were only here to know the good news!"
There seemed to be no doubt of it. Years before Mr. Carford had placed the money on the shelf of the living room. He probably did not know of the crack into which it slipped. The roll of bills had gone down between the walls, and only the breaking of them when the tree fell on the house brought the money to light.
"It is a strange thing," said Mr. Bobbsey. "The missing money is found after all these years, and in such a queer way! We must tell Henry as soon as possible, and Mr. Carford also."
Suddenly there came a knock on the door. Bert went to it and gave a cry of surprise. There stood the young hunter--Henry Burdock.
"I came over to see if you were all right," he said. "We have had a fearful storm. Part of my cabin was blown away, and I wondered how you fared at Snow Lodge. Are you all right?"
"Yes, Henry, we are," said Mr. Bobbsey, "And the storm was a good thing for you."
"I don"t see how. My cabin is spoiled. I"ll have to build it over again."
"You won"t have to, Henry. You can come to live at Snow Lodge now."
"Never. Not until my name is cleared. I will never come to Snow Lodge until the missing money is found, and my uncle says I did not take it."
"Then you can come now, Henry," cried Mr. Bobbsey, holding out the roll of bills. "For the money is found and we can clear your name!"
"Is it possible!" exclaimed the young hunter, in great and joyful surprise. "Oh, how I have prayed for this! The money found! Where was it? How did you find it?"
Then the story was told, the children having their share in it.
"I can"t tell you how thankful I am," said the young hunter. "This means a lot to me. Now my uncle will know I am not a thief. I must go and tell him at once."
"No, I"ll go," said Mr. Bobbsey. "I want to prove to him that I was right, after all, in saying you were innocent. You stay here until I bring him."
Mr. Bobbsey went off in the big sled with Sam to drive the horses. It was a hard trip, on account of the drifts, but finally Newton was reached and Mr. Carford found. At first he could hardly believe that the money was found, but when he saw and counted it, finding it exactly the same as when he had put it on the shelf years before, he knew that he had done wrong in accusing Henry.
"And I"ll tell him so, too," he said. "I"ll beg his pardon, and he and I will live together again. Oh, how happy I am! Now I can go to Snow Lodge with a light heart."
Uncle and nephew met, and clasped hands while tears stood in their eyes.
After years of suffering they were friends again. It was a happy, loving time for all.
"And I"ll never be so hasty again," said Mr. Carford. "Oh, what a happy day this is, after the big storm! We must have a big celebration. I know what I"ll do. I"ll get up a party, and invite all the people in this part of the country. They all know that I accused Henry of taking that money. Now they must know that he did not. I will admit my mistake."
And that is what Mr. Carford did. He sent out many invitations to an old-fashioned party at Snow Lodge. The place where the tree had crashed through, to show the missing money, was boarded up, and the house made cozy again.
Then came the party, and the Bobbseys were the guests of honor--particularly the twins and their cousins, for it was due to them, in a great measure, that the money had been found.
Mr. Carford stood up before everyone and admitted how wrong he had been in saying his nephew had taken the money.
"But all our troubles are ended now," he said, "and Henry and I will live in Snow Lodge together. And we will always be glad to see you here--all of you--and most especially--the Bobbseys."
"Three cheers for the Bobbsey twins!" someone called.
The children were pleased at this praise. They did not know that soon they would be helping some other people. You may read about this in "The Bobbsey Twins on a Houseboat."
Then followed a fine feast--a happy time for all, while Henry and his uncle received the good wishes of their friends and neighbors.
Snap raced about, barking and wagging his tail. Bert, Nan, Dorothy, Harry and Freddie and Flossie were here, there, everywhere, telling how the tree had blown down, and how they had found the money.
"Dear old Snow Lodge!" said Nan, when the party was over, and the guests gone. "We will have to leave it soon!"
"But perhaps we can come back some time," said Nan.
"I"d like to," agreed Bert. "Next winter I am going to build a bigger ice-boat, and sail all over the lake."
"And we"ll make regular snowshoes, and go hunting in the woods," said Harry.
"But it will be summer before it is winter again," said Freddie. "I"m going to have a motor boat and ride in it. And I"ll take my fire engine along, and pump water."
"Can I come, with my doll?" asked Flossie.
"Yes, you may all come!" exclaimed Mamma Bobbsey, as she hugged the two little twins.
"And don"t forget," said Mr. Carford, "that Snow Lodge is open in the summer as well as in the winter. I expect you Bobbsey twins to visit me once in a while. I never can thank you enough for finding that missing money."
"Neither can I," said Henry.
And now that the story is all told, we will say good-bye to the Bobbsey twins and their friends.
THE END