I mentioned my suspicions to the Carrolls a few days afterwards , when I went down with the photographs , and found that they had discovered no trace of the lost pocketbook . But they seemed positively angry when I hinted that Ned Brooke might know more about its whereabouts than anyone else . They declared that they would as soon think of suspecting one of themselves as Ned , and altogether they seemed so offended at my suggestion that I held my peace and did n't irritate them by any more suppositions . Afterwards , in the excitement of our cousins ' visit , the matter passed out of my mind completely . They stayed two weeks , and I was so busy the whole time that I never got a chance to develop that third plate and , in fact , I had forgotten all about it . One morning soon after they went away , I remembered the plate and decided to go and develop it . Cecil went with me , and we shut ourselves up in our den , lit our ruby lantern and began operations . 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 XXXXX each other .
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