He re-examined the contents of the box; the papers were all there.

More than that, they were papers of no importance except to him personally; contained no plans nor key to any military secret; he had been far too wise to intrust any to the accidents of this alien house.

The prying intruder, whoever it was, had gained nothing! But there was unmistakably the attempt! And the existence of a would-be spy within the purlieus of the house was equally clear.
He called an officer from the next room.
"Has any one been here since my absence ?" "No, General." "Has any one passed through the hall ?" He had fully anticipated the answer, as the subaltern replied, "Only the women servants." He re-entered the room.

Closing the door, he again carefully examined the box, his table, the papers upon it, the chair before it, and even the Chinese matting on the floor, for any further indication of the pollen.

It hardly seemed possible that any one could have entered the room with the flower in their hand without scattering some of the tell-tale dust elsewhere; it was too large a flower to be worn on the breast or in the hair.