But that one minute had evidently escaped the watchful eye of Miss Peerwinkle, for, when Nell Wiggin and Roberta entered the shop, they saw the portly Mr. Queerwitz pacing up and down and in tragic tones he was exclaiming: "Gone! Gone! I should have locked it up, but I didn't think anyone else knew the value of it." Then, wheeling around, he demanded of Bobs: "What good are you, anyway, in the book department? One of the rarest books I possess was stolen this morning right beneath your very eyes, and----"