re-examined the contents of the box; the papers were all there. More
than that, they were papers of no importance except to him personally;
contained no plans nor key to any military secret; he had been far too
wise to intrust any to the accidents of this alien house. The prying
intruder, whoever it was, had gained nothing! But there was unmistakably
the attempt! And the existence of a would-be spy within the purlieus of
the house was equally clear.
He called an officer from the next room.
"Has any one been here since my absence?"
"No, General."
"Has any one passed through the hall?"
He had fully anticipated the answer, as the subaltern replied, "Only the
women servants."
He re-entered the room. Closing the door, he again carefully examined
the box, his table, the papers upon it, the chair before it, and even
the Chinese matting on the floor, for any further indication of the
pollen. It hardly seemed possible that any one could have entered
the room with the flower in their hand without scattering some of the
tell-tale dust elsewhere; it was too large a flower to be worn on the
breast or in the hair. Again, no one would have dared to linger there
long enough to have made an examination of the box, with an officer in
the next room, and the sergeant passing. The box had been removed, and
the examination made elsewhere!
An idea seized him. Miss Faulkner was still absent, the mulatto had
apparently gone home. He quickly mounted the staircase, but instead of
entering his room, turned suddenly aside into the wing which had been
reserved. The first door yielded as he turned its knob gently and
entered a room which he at once recognized as the "young lady's
boudoir." But the dusty and draped furniture had been rearranged and
uncovered, and the apartment bore every sign of present use. Yet,
although there was unmistakable evidence of its being used by a person
of taste and refinement, he was surprised to see that the garments
hanging in an open press were such as were used by negro servants, and
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