“⁠—Hear me out!” said Wegg. “The pump.⁠—When I struck it against the pump, and found, not only that the top was loose and opened with a lid, but that something in it rattled. That something, comrade, I discovered to be a small flat oblong cashbox. Shall I say it was disappointingly light?”

“There were papers in it,” said Venus.

“There your expressive countenance speaks indeed!” cried Wegg. “A paper. The box was locked, tied up, and sealed, and on the outside was a parchment label, with the writing, ‘ My Will, John Harmon, Temporarily Deposited Here. ’ ”

“We must know its contents,” said Venus.

“⁠—Hear me out!” cried Wegg. “I said so, and I broke the box open.”

“Without coming to me!” exclaimed Venus.