“I wouldn’t wonder at all.  At any rate, I am going to find out.  He must have bought it from Washburn, the jeweler.  Will you go with me, and ask?”

“Yes,” answered Ben, eagerly.  “Let us go alone.  If we can only prove the theft upon Jim, so that old Sock can’t help believing that he stole the money, we shall be cleared; though, as to that, there isn’t a scholar in school who would believe the charge against us.”

“Still, we may as well do what we can to bring the guilt home to Jim Smith.”

Ten minutes later the two boys entered the shop of Mr. Washburn.

“Will you show me some rings, Mr. Washburn?” asked Wilkins.

“Certainly,” answered the jeweler, politely.

“What is the price of that?” asked Wilkins, pointing to one exactly like the one he had seen on Jim’s finger.

“Three dollars and a half.  It is a very pretty pattern.”

“Yes, sir.  There’s one of our boys who has one just like it.”

“You mean James Smith, the principal’s nephew.”

“Yes, sir.”

“He bought it of me yesterday.”

The two boys exchanged a quick glance.

They felt that they were on the brink of a discovery.

“Did he give you a five-dollar bill in payment?” asked Ben Platt.

“Yes,” answered the jeweler, in surprise.

“Could you identify that bill?”

“What are you driving at, boys?” asked Mr. Washburn, keenly.

“I will explain to you if you will answer my questions first.”

“Yes, I could identify the bill.”

“Have you it in your possession still?”

“I have.”

“How will you know it?”

“It seems to me, my boy, you are in training for a lawyer.”

“I have a very urgent reason for asking you this question, Mr. Washburn.”

“Then I will answer you.  When the note was given me, I noticed that it was on the Park Bank of New York.”

“Will you be kind enough to see if you can find it?"’

“Certainly.”

The jeweler opened his money drawer, and after a brief search, produced the bill in question.

It was a five-dollar bill on the Park Bank of New York, as he had already told the boys.

“Now, Mr. Washburn,” asked Wilkins, trying to repress his excitement, “will you examine the back of the bill, and see if there is any mark on it.”

The jeweler did as requested, and announced, after slight examination, that there was a cross on the back of the bill in the upper right hand corner.

“Hurrah!” shouted Ben, impulsively.

To the wondering jeweler he explained his precise object in the inquiry he had made, and the boys were complimented by Mr. Washburn for their shrewdness.

“If I ever meet with a loss, I shall certainly call on you for assistance, boys,” he said.

“Thank you, Mr. Washburn,” answered Wilkins, “but I do not expect to be here to be called upon.”