Page 102 - Purple Butterfly Book 2

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“Is any thing the matter with it?” continued Mrs. Reed, as she noticed Alice picking at one corner of it.
“O nothing is the matter,” replied Alice; “it only seemed to me to be a little loose.”
“Let me look,” said Mrs. Reed. “I don’t think it can be loose, or I should have seen it when I was
lining the box.”
“It is actually quite loose,” said Alice, as she examined it further, and picked up one corner with,
a pin; “and here is a little piece of paper underneath it.”
“That is remarkable,” said Mrs. Reed, as she put on her spectacles and drew up her chair a little
closer to Alice.
“And there is some writing on it too,” said Alice, as she drew it from its hiding-place and handed it to Mrs. Reed.
“Why, it’s my husband’s writing!” exclaimed Mrs. Reed, as she closely examined the faded letters. “What can it mean? I never saw it before. Read it, Alice; your eyes are younger than mine.”
Alice read: “’Look and ye shall find,’ and underneath this,” continued Alice, “is a picture of a mantel-piece, and underneath that, it reads: ‘A word to the wise is sufficient.’”
Mrs. Reed again took the paper. Her hand trembled and her face became a little pale.
“Alice,” said she, “this is a picture of the old tile mantel-piece in the other room. There is some mystery about this. What can it mean?”
“Yes,” said Alice, “the tiles in that mantel have quotations on them.”
In an instant, Alice was on her feet and sprung into the other room, leaving Mrs. Reed in a state
of wonderment.
Hastily examining the tiles in the mantel, Alice cried out: “O Mrs. Reed, do come! Here is a tile with exactly the same words on it!”
Mrs. Reed hurried into the room, and had scarcely passed the threshold, when the tile fell to the hearth and broke into a dozen pieces.
“O what have I done? What have I done!” cried Alice. “O Mrs. Reed, I’m so sorry—I have broken the tile!”
“How did it happen, Alice? Was it loose?”
“Why yes,” replied Alice; “I put my hand on it, and thought it appeared to move a little. Having my scissors with, me, I, through curiosity, ran the points in between that tile and the next one.”
“Never mind, child,” said Mrs. Reed kindly, seeing that Alice was feeling sad over the mishap; “perhaps the tile can be mended—let us see.”
As they both stooped down to pick up the pieces, Alice noticed that there was a hollow space back of where the tile had been, and that it contained something of a dingy white color.
“O Mrs. Reed!” she cried; “there is something in there! See, it looks like a bag tied up! May I take it out?”
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