“He says this little collection is a very rare one, and worth an awfully large sum of money,” Sallie went on to remark, in something of a confidential tone, as if getting the boys ready to be surprised when they looked upon the possessions of the industrious professor.  “And oh! if you could only hear all the queer things he’s been telling us that happened to him in foreign lands, when he was spending ever so much money, and long weary months, finding these very rare specimens.  Why, I just stand there, and look at them, and wonder how people can be so foolish, when it seems to me I’ve seen much prettier butterflies right out there in our fields where the thistles are blooming.”

It seemed that the room they had given the wonderful man of science was on the ground floor, and opened off the parlor.

The two boys followed Sallie in, and noted her rather awed manner 5 evidently the professor, whether he turned out to be a fraud or the genuine article, had succeeded in arousing both her admiration and wonder.

The room was plainly yet comfortably furnished, but evidently the professor, like so many other learned savants, did not know such a thing as “order” existed, for things were simply topsy-turvy.

“He just won’t let us sweep in here, or do the least thing,” explained Sallie, as if she feared the boys would blame her for the looks of the room, “you know, he’s so queer, and he says we might lose something that he valued very highly, thinking it was not worth keeping.  But here’s the little case containing those almost priceless specimens he collected abroad.”

She led them to a table on which a small case rested, leaning against the wall.  Frank took one look.  Apparently the sight affected him strangely, for immediately he bent over closer as though to feast his eyes on those costly trophies which the college professor had collected in foreign lands.

Andy saw that his cousin was evidently having some sort of a silent laughing fit, for he shook all over though not uttering a single sound.

“What ails you, Frank?” he whispered, taking advantage of Sallie having to hurry out of the room, as her mother’s voice was heard calling her in the kitchen.

“I’m tickled to death to meet an old friend again, that’s all,” replied Frank.

“Do you mean to tell me you’ve seen this wonderful collection before?” demanded the other, like a flash, as it were.

“I most certainly do; and if you stop to think, Andy, I guess you’ll say the same; or perhaps, now, you didn’t happen to examine the case as closely as I did, that day last spring when we crossed over to Cranford, to pick up a few rare stamps for our collection at Snyder’s old curio store.”

“Why, bless me, I really believe you’re right; I seem to remember seeing it in the show window, now, when we were looking at the little baskets of coins,” Andy hastened to remark.

“There isn’t the least shadow of a doubt about it,” added Frank.  “Some time or other, when the notion came to this man to play the part of a butterfly collector, which perhaps the sight of the things brought to his mind, he just stepped into Snyder’s store, and bought the old collection.  Why, it hasn’t got a single specimen that you can’t find a thousand of, any day you look, through August and September.”