style="font-size:15px;"> "I tell you I haven't had any," persisted the boy.
"Now, Master Guy, you're telling fibs. The bottle was half full, or nearly so, last week; and when I come to it this afternoon there wasn't a drop left, and too late to send down into town and get any."
"Look here, Sarah; you can say what you like, but I haven't touched your silly old bottle, so there! Jane must have taken the spirit, or else you used it yourself."
The boy found the tweezers, and ran out into the yard. But Sarah was still unconvinced. She had found her remaining stock of methylated spirit entirely vanished; and as Guy had been known, on one or two previous occasions, to borrow the bottle and help himself to its contents when fuel was required for his model steam engine, she naturally supposed him to be the culprit in the present instance.
Later on, when the family were assembled at the tea-table, Mrs. Ormond herself referred to the matter.
"Guy," she said, "are you sure you haven't taken cook's methylated spirit?"
"Quite sure, mother."
"I should be sorry to think that you weren't telling me the truth about such a small matter, but I must say it does seem very strange. Sarah goes and finds the bottle standing uncorked and empty, and I know myself that there was some spirit in it a few days ago."
"Perhaps if the cork wasn't in the bottle the spirit had evaporated," suggested Elsie.
"I don't think it would do that," replied her mother, laughing. "I'm rather inclined to think that it evaporated into the lamp of somebody's steam engine."
"No, it didn't!" cried Guy. "Look here, mother; you might as well believe a fellow when he tells you the truth."
"Well, if you tell me you didn't take it," replied Mrs. Ormond, "I must believe you. All I can say is, it's very strange."
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