s?"

"Yes."

"Then you must be a Yankee."

"No, I am not."

"And you can guess?"

"Yes."

"Will you bet on it?"

"Yes, and give odds."

"You will?"

"I will."

"We won't bet, but you would lose; tell me the surprise."

As stated, there had come a very startling suggestion to the detective's
mind. He looked very wise, and said:

"If I were to anticipate you, then I'd spoil the surprise."

"No, you would not; but it would be me who would receive the surprise."

"Very well, I'll tell you, Mr. Douglas, you have the clothes the old man
wore on the day he was killed."

"I'll swear I have not told you so."

"No, you did not tell me so, but you admit it now."

"Yes, I admit that I have the clothes; that was the surprise I intended
for you, and it is wonderful that you should suspect."

"I am pretty good at suspecting."

"I see you are. But hold on; it was forty years ago. I think I have the
clothes; I cannot be positive, but since you have been talking to me I
remember I received the clothes from the coroner a long time after the
old Frenchman's death. I secured them to hold for identification."

"And it was a very wise precaution."

"It was beyond doubt, as matters have turned out; but remember, I am not
positive that I have them. I believe I have, but sometimes my good old
wife has a general cleaning out and may have disposed of them; but I
will find out."

"When can you ascertain?"

"Oh, in a little while; come, we will go up in the attic. I remember
putting them in an old trunk, and if I have them they are in that trunk
still."

"Your wife may remember."

"No, her memory is failing; she would not remember anything about it,
but we can very soon learn."

The detective had made the last suggestion in his eagerness to make sure
that the clothes were not lost.

The old man led the way up to his attic, and our athletic hero lifted a
number of old boxes, and finally came to a trunk, old and green with
mold, and the old man said:

"That's it--yes, that is the box. Haul it down and we will soon learn,
but I will swear that they are there, for that box has not been
disturbed, as you can see, for many years."

The detective stood a moment wiping the perspiration from his face, for
it was hot up in that attic, and he was excited. After a moment,
however, he hauled down the box and watched the old man as the latter
proceeded to open it.

CHAPTER V.

THE SECRET OF THE OLD BOX--A GHASTLY