The girl lived in the country and had always believed she was well to do, for her father told her he had a large sum of money which he had \"hidden away.\" He never informed her of the hiding place, and his sudden death prevented him from telling the secret on his deathbed, so the girl continued to live in the country very poor and shabby. In secret she greatly admired a young man who resided on an adjoining estate. She heard reports that he had invented a wonderful submarine boat, and the general belief was that the government would accept it. The girl often thought of the young man, but he never thought of his shabby little neighbor, and their acquaintance had not progressed beyond the formal bow exchanged when they met in the village streets. The plans for the young man's submarine were temporarily kept in the safe in his study, and one night these plane and $10,000 in cash, which the inventor had drawn to pay off some of the workers on his boat, were stolen. It did not develop until later that the thief was a house guest of the inventor, a former college mate of his, and a man in whom he implicitly trusted. This chap, however, was hard up financially and had listened to the tempting offers by a representative of one of the European powers, so to gain money to pay for his own dissipations he robbed his friend. The plans he sent in a letter directed to himself, but the money was too bulky to dispose of in that way. There was a possibility that he might be searched, so he hid the money in a hollow tree on an estate near his home, intending to get it on his way to the station the following day. Unfortunately for the schemer, the girl got the money. Her pet cat was chased by a dog, took refuge in this identical tree, and while trying to induce the feline to come down, the girl discovered the bundle of bank bills. As they were on her own property she naturally believed they had been hidden by her father. She had recently received an invitation to visit a cousin in the city, but had been afraid to accept it because her cousin was wealthy and she herself poor. Now the situation was changed, and part of the strangely-discovered cash was spent for up-to-date clothing. At her cousin's house the girl made \"quite a hit,\" and among others she met there was the young inventor, who for the first time took not her. The girl learned in time of the robbery and found to her horror that the cash she had been spreading so freely really belonged to the young inventor, but her woman's wit enabled her to locate the thief, and in a dramatic way she recovered the stolen submarine plans, caused the arrest of the wicked friend, and brought happiness to the young inventor, who soon asked her hand and was accepted.
