I did not expect much of the plate , because it had been exposed and handled carelessly , and I thought that it might prove to be underexposed or light-struck . So I left Cecil to develop it while I prepared the fixing bath . Cecil was whistling away when suddenly he gave a tremendous `` whew '' of astonishment and sprang to his feet . `` Amy , Amy , look here ! '' he cried . I rushed to his side and looked at the plate as he held it up in the rosy light . It was a splendid one , and the Carroll house came out clear , with the front door and the steps in full view . And there , just in the act of stepping from the threshold , was the figure of a boy with an old straw hat on his head and -- in his hand -- the pocketbook ! He was standing with his head turned towards the corner of the house as if listening , with one hand holding his ragged coat open and the other poised in mid-air with the pocketbook , as if he were just going to put it in his inside pocket . The whole scene was as clear as noonday , and nobody with eyes in his head could have failed to recognize Ned Brooke . `` Goodness ! '' I gasped . `` In with it -- quick ! '' And we doused the thing into the fixing bath and then sat down breathlessly and looked at each other . `` I say , Amy , '' said Cecil , `` what a sell this will be on the Carrolls ! Ned Brooke could n't do such a thing -- oh , no ! The poor injured boy at whom everyone has such an unlawful pick ! I wonder if this will convince them . '' `` Do you think they can get it all back ? '' I asked .
`` It 's not likely he would have dared XXXXX use any of it yet . ''
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