I called in Joe
Punchard and one of my seamen, and bade them take him to the
kitchen and tie him up. He flushed and bit his lip when I gave this
order, but he saw 'twas folly to resist. When he had gone I told
the others what I had been thinking, and suggested that we should
search the room. A bureau stood against the wall; this was the only
article of furniture in which money could be secured, and Mr.
McTavish, who used it constantly, assured me that there was but a
small sum in one of its drawers, which he had himself placed there.
We looked around in perplexity. The walls were of wood, not of lath
and plaster, so that there were no nooks and crannies in which he
could have bestowed his hoard. The floor also was of single
planking, forming the roof of the room below. There seemed no
possible place of concealment here. Could there be any spot on the
veranda that might have served his purpose?
I went out; the veranda was empty, the men who had been injured
(and some who were dead) having been removed. If my reasoning was
correct, the hiding place must be on the inner side, otherwise the
assailants could have obtained what they came to seek without
attacking the room. We looked carefully along the base of the wall
where it met the floor of the veranda at first in vain.
But just as I was almost prepared to give up the search and try
elsewhere I noticed that at one spot the nails of the flooring
seemed newer than at other parts.
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