Read it through once

They followed the trail to a warehouse by the river. There they found a startled clerk and a surly watchman, who regarded the youngsters with suspicion and contempt. The clerk, whose neatness and respectability were unruffled by the disorder of the world, communicated some information which looked like a new development. A box, similar to the one missing, had been seen embarked upon a steamer the night before, and a man answering to the description had been noticed to go aboard.