"Pshaw! That is easy enough. I can find fifty men right here in this town who will prove that they are President of the United States for half of what that box is worth. Say!" he added, sinking his voice almost to a whisper, "you haven"t said a word to anybody about advertising for him, have you?"
"No; and I have not said a word to you about it either," said Julian.
"That"s all right, but you can"t fool me so easy. I want to tell you right now that there are a good many here who know about it, and that they are bound to have that box. Ah!" he added, noting the expression that came upon Julian"s face, "you didn"t think of _that_, did you?"
"Who are they?" asked Julian.
"There were men in the express office yesterday who know all about it.
You needn"t think you are going to keep that express box hid, for you can"t do it. Where did you put it?"
"It is safe. It is where n.o.body will ever think of looking for it."
"Then you are all right," said Casper, who was plainly very much disappointed because he did not find out where the box was. "But you had better keep an eye out for those fellows in the express office, for, unless the looks of some of them belied them, they will steal that box from you as sure as you are a foot high."
"If they thought so much of the box, why didn"t they buy it in the first place?"
"That is for them to tell. I don"t know but they have somehow got an idea that there is something in it. You are going to get fooled out of it, and it will serve you just right for advertising for Haberstro."
That day was a long one to Julian, for he could not help turning over in his mind what Casper had said to him. When he reached home after his day"s work was done he went straight to the closet, paying no sort of attention to Jack, who looked at him in surprise, took a chair with him, and hunted up the box. It was where he put it, and he drew a long breath of relief.
"Now, then, I would like to have you explain yourself," said Jack, after he had waited some little time for Julian to say what he meant by his actions.
"It is there," said Julian, "but I have been shaking in my shoes all day. Did it ever occur to you that some of those people who saw me buy the box at the express office would come up here to take it?"
"No; and I don"t believe they will do it."
"Well, Casper said they would."
"You tell Casper Nevins to keep his long, meddlesome nose out of this pie and attend strictly to his own affairs," said Jack, in disgust.
"It is ours, and he has nothing to do with it. If anybody comes into this room when we are not here, it will be Casper himself."
"He can"t; he has not got a key."
"I know that. If he had, we would have trouble with that box. What did he say to you?"
Julian then repeated the conversation he held with Casper that morning, and Jack nodded his head once or twice to say that he approved of it.
"You did perfectly right by declining to answer his question about advertising for our man," said Jack. "What did he want to know that for? If they wanted the box, why did they not buy it in the first place?"
During the next few days the two friends were in a fever of suspense, for they did not want somebody to come and take their fortune away from them. Every man who came into the telegraph office Julian watched closely, for he had somehow got it into his head that Haberstro must be a German; but every German who came in there had business of his own, and as soon as it was done he went out. No one came to see Julian about the box, and, if the truth must be told, he began to breathe easier. Of late he had got out of the habit of looking for the box as soon as he came home, and perhaps the sport that Jack made of him for it was the only thing that made him give it up.
"One would think you owned that fortune," said he. "I don"t believe a miser ever watched his gold as closely as you watch that box."
"I don"t care," said Julian. "The fortune is ours, or rather is going to be in a few days. Now you mark my words, and see if I don"t tell you the truth."
"There"s many a slip. We will never have such luck in the world."
"Well, I am going to look at it now. It seems to me that if Haberstro is around here he ought to have put in an appearance before this time.
We have waited a whole week without seeing anything of him."
"A whole week!" exclaimed Jack, with a laugh. "If you wait a month without seeing him you may be happy. If we keep the box for three months without the man appearing, then I shall think it belongs to us."
Julian did not believe that. He thought that the contents of the box would belong to them before that time. He made no reply, but took a chair to examine the closet. He moved the clothing aside, expecting every minute to put his hand upon the box, and then uttered an exclamation of astonishment and threw the articles off on the floor.
"What"s the matter?" asked Jack, in alarm.
"The box is gone!" replied Julian.
CHAPTER IV.
WHERE THE BOX WAS.
This startling piece of information seemed to strike Jack Sheldon motionless and speechless with astonishment. His under jaw dropped down, and he even clutched the back of a chair, as if seeking something with which to support himself. The two boys stood at opposite sides of the room looking at each other, and then Jack recovered himself.
"Gone!" he repeated. "You are mistaken; you have overlooked it. I saw it night before last myself."
"I don"t care," said Julian, emphatically; "I have taken the clothes all out, and the box is gone. Look and see for yourself."
Julian stepped down from the chair and Jack took his place. He peered into every nook and corner of the dark shelf, pa.s.sed his hands over it, and then, with something like a sigh, got down and began to hang the clothes up in their proper places. Then he closed the door of the closet, took a chair, and gazed earnestly at the floor.
"Well, sir, what do you think of that?" said Julian.
"Didn"t I tell you that if anybody came in here to look for that box while we were not here it would be Casper Nevins, and n.o.body else?"
said Jack.
"You surely don"t suspect him!" exclaimed Julian.
"I _do_ suspect him; if you could get inside his room to-night you would find the box."
"Why, then he is a thief!" said Julian, jumping up from his chair and walking the floor. "Shall we go down to No. 8 Station and ask the police to send a man up there and search him?"
"I don"t know whether that would be the best way or not," said Jack, reflectively. "Has Casper got many friends among the boys of your office?"
"I don"t believe he"s got one friend there who treats him any better than I do. The boys are all shy of him."
"And well they may be. That boy got a key somewhere that will fit our door, and came in here and took that box. You say he has not any friends on whom he can depend in the office?"
"Not one. If he has any friends, none of us know who they are."
"Then he must be alone in stealing the box from us. He has it there in his room, for he has no other place to hide it. Do you know what sort of a key he has to fit his door?"
"Of course I do. I was with him when he got it. It is a combination key; one that he folds up when he puts it into his pocket."
"Do you believe you can buy another like it?"