As the Blakes had left home without their breakfast, and it was now midday, Constance ordered luncheon spread for them in the Treasury, and while they were satisfying their hunger we sat about or waited upon them with loving attention. Afterward, as they could not be prevailed upon to stop longer, Constance and I went with them to the edge of the town, where we watched till they were out of sight. When it was dark, I went to meet Fox, as we had agreed, but without hope, so little had I been able to learn that would be of use to him. He was there before me, and upon hearing my voice, which I could by no means render cheerful, cried out in great spirits:
"Don't be downhearted, you little vagrant, but tell me all you have found out, not forgetting the smallest thing, as I told you. It is in some trifle that the rogues always give themselves away, the thief-catchers say. I ought to have been a constable, and not a preacher, my boy," he went on; with cheerful unconcern; "but many a good man has made a like mistake. It shows, you see, how little we know what we are good for when young. Come now, commence at the beginning and tell me what you have discovered, and take your time about it, for there is no hurry."
Thus encouraged, I told him all I had found out, not omitting anything I could remember, however trifling.
"So Miss Constance thinks Rathe is the thief, does she? A bright girl, I'll wager; but why does she think that?" he asked, when I had concluded.
"Because neither of us like him, and because he and Mr. Seymour were the only ones there when the money was sealed up the evening before the robbery."
"So they sealed it up, did they? What was that for, I wonder?"
"Well, it was business-like, anyway; but Miss Constance must have some other reason for disliking Rathe?"
"Yes, because he and Uncle Job are rivals."
"Rivals! rivals! For what, I'd like to know?"
"What is that you are saying? Pray, who is Miss Betty?"
"Miss Betty Singleton, a young lady in Appletop."
"Well, this is what I call gossip, Gilbert, and makes me feel as if I were in Boston again. We ought to have a cup of tea and a bit of toast and a cozy fire to enjoy it fully, though. Which of the suitors, pray, does Miss Betty favor--your uncle or the other man?"