"It was not till after the Missisquoi had gone off on her cruise that Moody told me he had marked his money with the rubber stamp," continued Peppers. "Then the landlord told me that Dory had taken the money, and had been seen about the hall, near the room. He had bought and paid for the boat that morning, and I went to the auctioneer. I wanted to see the money the boy had paid. It was five ten-dollar bills; and that settled it that Dory had not paid for the boat with the money taken from Moody's room." "I am glad to hear that," added Captain Gildrock. Dory had thought he would be sorry to hear it; but there was a bad misunderstanding between him and his uncle. "When Dory came back, he showed me the money he had, about sixty dollars," continued Peppers. "Sixty dollars, besides what he had paid for the boat?" queried the captain. "That is what he had; but he got eight dollars back from the auctioneer," replied the officer. "That makes over a hundred dollars," said Captain Gildrock, knitting his brow as though he did not like the looks of this fact. "Where did he get so much money, if he did not steal it?" "That's the question, Captain Gildrock," interposed Pearl, who spoke for the first time since the narrative was begun. "When you have looked into the matter, you will find that he stole it." "I don't know where he got it," Peppers proceeded. "That is none of my business. All I know is, that none of the money found upon Dory, and none that he had paid out, was the bills Moody lost." "But have you no idea where my nephew got so much money?" asked the captain. "I have not the remotest idea, Captain Gildrock. It don't concern me to know, and I make it a rule to mind my own business. But I did find some of Moody's money in Plattsburgh. One five with the stamp on it was paid for a pistol, and the other for the provisions taken on board of the Missisquoi. Both of them came from Hawlinshed." "It is a lie!" exclaimed Pearl with an oath. "Both of the shopkeepers are ready to swear to the identity of their man. Now, I shall take the liberty to do what I have not had an opportunity to do before. I shall search the prisoner. Before I do it I should like to have you look at these two bills, Captain Gildrock. They are the fives paid for the pistol and the provisions by Hawlinshed." And Peppers handed him the bank-notes. "It will be an easy matter to identify these bills. In addition to the stamp on them, this is the first time they have ever been out of the bank," said the captain, after he had looked at the bills.