Dan Carter and the Money Box (Dan Carter #3)

While putting coal in the stove in the basement at the church, Dan discovers a box containing a large sum of money. Nobody knows how the money box came to be inside the basement, so Mr. Hatfield takes the box home for safekeeping until he can turn it over to the police. The next morning, Mr. Hatfield calls the police and goes to retrieve the money from his room. Amazingly, the money box has disappeared! The police suspect that Mr. Hatfield plans to keep the money by pretending that somebody else has stolen the money. To complicate matters, word of the newly-discovered money box quickly spreads around town, and three different people come forward to claim it. Mr. Hatfield feels responsible for the loss of the money and plans to make good the loss in the event that the money is not found. The Cubs are troubled as they know that Mr. Hatfield can hardly afford to repay several thousand dollars out of his own pocket. Soon a break in the case comes as an unexpected source gives the Cubs a clue about the lost money and enables them to trace the thief to his hiding place. The Cubs are able to recover the money, clear Mr. Hatfield of all suspicion and return the money to the rightful owner.