"See, here are some crumbs of sealing-wax still clinging to the cord,"
and Grandfather Emerson cut the string that still tied the mouth.
Before their amazed eyes there rolled first a small box and then
guineas as bright as when they were tied up in their prison.
"We shan't have to count the guineas; if the ring and the miniature are
in the box that will prove that it's Algernon's bag," said Helen.
"Here, young woman; hands off," cried her grandfather as Helen was
preparing to open the box. "Algernon and Patience were no direct
ancestors of yours. Miss Merriam is the suitable person to perform
this ceremony."
Helen, smiling, pushed the basket toward Miss Gertrude who slipped off
the string with trembling fingers.
"I'm almost afraid to take off the cover," she whispered.
"O, do hurry up, Miss Gertrude," implored Ethel Brown. "I think I
shall burst if I don't know all about it soon!"
With misty eyes Gertrude slowly lifted the cover from the box. Wrapped
in a twist of cotton was a ring set with several large diamonds.
"Is it marked 'Gertrude'?" asked Dorothy breathlessly.
Miss Merriam nodded.
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