在众人的努力下，米尔德里德的财富终于被找到了，却因老鼠和虫子的破坏价值大大缩水，这令大家深感遗憾，鲁尼恩想起自己的遭遇，他一时兴起向米尔德里德求婚……
Already Arthur was pulling off a the bedding and piling it upon the ？oor.They stood back of him in an excited group，every head cranedb forward to watch his movements.
Off came the pillows—blankets—sheets—finally themattress.This last，a thin cotton affair，left a trail of fuzzy，lint—like debrisc behind it and disclosed on removal a canvas cover that had been spread underneath.The canvas，which was about on a level with the boxed—in bed frame，was as full of holes as a Swiss cheese and especially toward the center the weave had become disintegrated and given away to a dusty pulp.
"Rats！"exclaimed Uncle John，whose head was thrust between the shoulders of the major and Runyon.
As if his cry had been a summons，out sprang a hugegray rodentd and the girls pushed back with loud screams as the dreaded beast struck the ？oor and scurriede away down the passage.Another and another followed it，and now Louise，Patsy，Beth，Mildred and Inez were all dancing on top the seats，wrapping their skirts about their ankles and whooping like a tribe of Indians.
Amidf this wild hullabaloog，which struck terror to the hearts of the brave men assembled，because at the instantthey were too bewildered to realize what caused it，some six or eight monstrous rats leaped from the tattered canvas which covered the bed and vanished down the stairs.
Arthur put his hand down to raise the canvas and jumped back as he unearthed a nest of smaller vermin，squirminga here and there in blind endeavors to escape their disturbers.Runyon brought a deep brass bowl from a shelf and dumped the small rats into it，standing by to capture others as they appeared.
Gradually Weldon drew back the cover and as he did so the truth of Runyon's prophecy was apparent.The entire space boxed in by the carved bed—frame，from the ？oor to its upperedge，was packed solidly with valuable laces.That is，it hadonce been solidly packed，but now the rats had eaten tunnels and nests and boulevards through the costly laces in every direction.It was a scene of absolute ruin.However precious this collection might once have been，in its present state it was not worth a copper cent.
The party gazed upon the sight with mingled awe and astonishment.Regret for the destruction of the beautiful fabrics at ？rst rendered them oblivious to the fact that the inheritance of Mildred Leighton was at last recovered—only to be proved worthless.
Arthur dragged out a few scraps and spread them upon the ？oor，thereby exhibiting portions of the beautiful patterns ofthe various pieces.Then，hoping to ？nd some that had escaped the ruthless teeth of the rats，he and Runyon began pulling at the heap and working downward toward the floor.Just a few small pieces were found intact，but these were of slight value.Practically the entire lot was irretrievablya ruined.
Scarcely a word was spoken as the investigation proceeded.Beth had clasped one of Mildred's hands and Patsy the other，but neither dared look in the poor girl's face，for they dreaded the poignantb disappointment sure to reign there.
But after the first shock，Mildred bore up bravely.Shehad not expected，in the beginning，any tangible result；still it was very bitter to ？nd her long sought fortune and realize that it amounted to nothing.
They sat around upon the benches，or leaning against thewall，and stared at the ruined laces with various emotions，the keenest being regret for the loss of so much beautiful handwork and sympathy for Mildred Leighton.
Suddenly Runyon broke the silence.
"This discovery is too thundering bad for mere words，"he said with feeling；"but Miss Travers—Mildred—must know we're all as sorry as she is.She was right about the laces，but the laces are all wrong.This sad exhibit reminds me of my own perversec mortgages，and my mortgages remind me of something else.Mildred，"he added，turning to thegirl in a dogged and rather shamefaced way，"I'm going to hold a private conversation with you right here before our good friends，for I know every one of them will back me up.Eh？"he questioned，glancing around the group.
There were some smiles，but many nods.As if encouraged，Runyon proceeded：