He bent over, and seemed to be counting the coins. They dropped back into the receptacle one by one, and with such a ringing sound that even Paul was able to keep tally. Then Jack turned an anxious and white face around.
"Paul, there are only four here. Two more have gone!" he said.
"Yet you came up here and counted them; you are positive of that?" demanded Paul.
"I counted them, and there were six. Five times I did it, to be sure; yet you saw that there were only four just now?"
"You came up here after you saw Karl off on the train?" persisted his chum.
"Yes, after I returned from the station. But what makes you ask that? Tell me why you are grinning so, Paul? I know I'm awfully dull just now, but who could blame me under the circumstances? Please speak up!" Jack insisted.
"Why, don't you see, this clears Karl completely. Six here while he was riding away on the train this morning; and two taken when he is fifty miles away! Don't that satisfy you it wasn't your brother, after all, Jack?"
And Jack dropped down in that chair, letting his head fall in his hands, while a great joy overspread his face.
"Paul, you're a wizard, I do believe!" said Jack, after a bit, as he looked up at his chum.
"Well, I hardly think so. This thing was easy; and ten to one you'd have thought of it sooner or later. For how could Karl have anything to do with the bad business while he was up at your uncle's?" laughed the other, with his customary modesty.
"But if not Karl, then who got my old coins?" persisted Jack, smiling now.
"Well, I'm not quite ready to say. I've got two ideas I'm chasing after now. Give me just a little more time on that, will you, old fellow?" replied the visitor, as he dropped down on a cot, and let his eyes rove along the exhibit of college colors illuminating the walls.
He drew the little box that held the coins toward him. When Jack was not observing, Paul took the contents out, one by one, and seemed to be examining them closely. He even scratched one with his finger nail, and the result appeared to please him, for he chuckled softly. Evidently he had made a discovery which he deemed important.
Jack, having finished some little task with which he had busied himself, came back to his chum.