The eyes of the man Garcia glistened as he asked: 

“What makes you think so?”

“Well, my old woman let fall many strange hints now and then, and always said that Renie would be rich some day—­immensely rich.”

“She meant when claimed by her friends?”

“Yes; but she once said that Renie would be rich whether her friends claimed her or not; and what is more, money was always ready when anything was needed for the girl.”

“But the girl has been allowed to run loose.”

“Not altogether; no, sir, not altogether; Renie has received an expensive education, and my wife always found the money to pay the bills; the girl thinks she was educated out of my hard earnings, but never a dollar or my money went for her support until after the old woman died!”

“Have you ever searched for the box?”

“I have.”

“Do you suppose your wife ever opened it?”

“That I cannot tell, but once when she and I were in the City of New York, we read about a great singer who had some magnificent jewels, and my wife said to me:  ’I’ll wager I could-show jewels handsomer and richer than that critter’s got, and they claim hers are valued at a hundred thousand dollars.’”

The detective heard all these strange revelations, and he made up his mind that there was a big job falling into his hands.

“You say you have searched for the box?”

“Yes.”

“And never found it or gained any clew as to its whereabouts?”

“Never.”

“Has Renie any knowledge of the box?”

“I don’t know whether my wife ever made a confidant of the child.”

“Has the girl ever spoken of it?”

“Never.”

“And you have never mentioned it to her?”

“Never.”

“Who was with your wife when she died?”

“Renie.”

“She may have made a final revelation to the girl!”

“I think not.”

“How long has your wife been dead?”

“Three years.”

“Tom Pearce, all you tell me makes me anxious to take charge of the girl; but tell me all the circumstances under which she came to be placed in your charge.”

After a moment’s thought the old man said: 

“I will.”

“One calm winter’s day, the boating men hereabouts were surprised to see a handsome and trim-built yacht come sailing through the channel; and running up the bay to a good anchorage, she let go her iron and lay like a great swan on the water.

“A short time afterward, a foreign-looking man was landed on the beach, and he strolled around among the fishermen’s buts and only spoke when addressed by some of the fishermen; but I tell you his great black eyes were busy glancing around.  No one knew at the time what he was looking for, but it was evident he was searching for something, and my wife and I later on were the only ones who fell into the mystery.”