But, search as carefully as he might, nothing better could be found, and
his appetite was not sufficiently great to encourage an attack upon the
stale loaf. He sat down, rather discontented, and resumed the current of
his reflections.

"My uncle must be more of a miser than I thought, if he stints himself
to such fare as this. It's rather a bad lookout for me. He won't be very
apt to look with favor on my application for a small loan from his
treasure. What's that the boy said? He don't trust any banks, but keeps
his money concealed in the earth. By Jove! It would be a stroke of luck
if I could stumble on one of his hiding places! If I could do that while
he was away, I would forego the pleasure of seeing him, and make off
with what I could find. I'll look about me, and see if I can't find some
of his hidden hoards."

No sooner did the thought occur to him than he acted upon it.

"Let me see," he reflected, "where is he most likely to hide his
treasure? Old stockings are the favorites with old maids and widows, but
I don't believe Uncle Paul has got any without holes in them. He's more
likely to hide his gold under the hearth. That's a good idea, I'll try
the hearth first."

He kneeled down, and began to examine the bricks, critically, with a
view of ascertaining whether any bore the marks of having been removed
recently, for he judged correctly that a miser would wish, from time to
time, to unearth his treasure for the pleasure of looking at it. But
there was no indication of disturbance. The hearth bore a uniform
appearance, and did not seem to have been tampered with.