y."

"But are you sure it is his?" asked Mollie.

"This looks like it," said Betty, holding out the torn letter.

"But some one else might have lost five hundred dollars,"
protested Grace.

"Come on, we'll find him, and ask him about it, anyhow," suggested
Betty. "Middleville is on our way. Oh, to think how things may turn out!
Hurry, girls!"

They hastily gathered up their belongings and walked on, talking of their
latest adventure.

"He was real nice looking," said Mollie.

"And quite polite," added Amy.

"And do you think he may be traveling around like a tramp, searching for
that bill?" asked Grace.

"It's possible," declared Betty: "Perhaps he couldn't help looking like a
tramp, because if he has lost all his money he can't afford any other
clothes. Oh, I do hope we find him!"

But it was a vain hope. They did not see the man along the road, and
inquiries of several persons they met gave no trace. Nor had he
reached Middleville, as far as could be learned. If he had, no one had
noticed him.

"Oh, dear!" sighed Betty, when they had exhausted all possibilities, "I
did hope that money mystery was going to be solved. Now it's as far off
as ever. But I'll keep this torn piece of letter for evidence. Poor
fellow! He may have built great hopes on that five hundred dollar
bill--then to lose it!"

They went to the house of Amy's cousin in Middleville. There they spent
an enjoyable evening, meeting some friends who had been invited in. Amy
said nothing about the disclosure to her of the strange incident in her
life. Probably, she reflected, her relative already knew it.

Morning saw them on the move again, with Broxton, where a married sister
of Grace lived, as their objective point. The day was cloudy, but it did
not seem that it would rain, at least before night.

And even the frown of the weather did not detract from the happiness
of the chums. They laughed and talked as they walked on, making merry
by the way.

Stopping in a country store to make sure of their route they were
informed that by taking to the railroad track for a short distance they
could save considerable time.

"Then we ought to do it," decided Betty, "for we don't want to get caught
in the rain," and she glanced up at the clouds that were now more
threatening.

They reached the railroad track a short distance out of the little
village, and proceeded down the stretch of rails.

"There's a train in half an hour," a man informed the