CHAPTER XV — AN ARTFUL TRAP
Willis Ford was anxious to get away. He feared that Mrs. Estabrook might go to the bureau and discover the loss before he got out of the house, which would make it awkward for him. Once out in the street, he breathed more freely. He had enough with him to pay his only debt, and give him four hundred dollars extra. It might be supposed he would feel some compunction at robbing his stepmother of her all. Whatever her faults, she was devoted to him. But Willis Ford had a hard, selfish nature, and the only thought that troubled him was the fear that he might be found out. Indeed, the housekeeper's suspicions would be likely to fall upon him unless they could be turned in some other direction. Who should it be? There came to him an evil suggestion which made his face brighten with relief and malicious joy. The new boy, Grant Thornton, was a member of the household. He probably had the run of the house. What more probable than that he should enter Mrs. Estabrook's chamber and search her bureau? This was the way Willis reasoned. He knew that his stepmother hated Grant, and would be very willing to believe anything against him. He would take care that suspicion should fall in that direction. He thought of a way to heighten that suspicion. What it was my readers will learn in due time.
The next day, at half-past eight o'clock in the morning, on his way down Broadway, Willis Ford dropped into the Grand Central Hotel, and walked through the reading room in the rear. Here sat Jim Morrison and Tom Calder, waiting for him by appointment.
Ford took a chair beside them.
“Good-morning,” he said, cheerfully.
“Have you brought the money?” asked Morrison, anxiously.
“Hush! don't speak so loud,” said Ford, cautiously. “We don't want everybody to know our business.”
“All right,” said Morrison, in a lower voice; “but have you brought it?”
“Yes.”
“You're a trump!” said Morrison, his face expressing his joy.
“That is to say, I've brought what amounts to the same thing.”
“If it's your note,” said Morrison, with sharp disappointment, “I don't want it.”
“It isn't a note. It's what will bring the money.”
“What is it, then?”
“It's government bonds for six hundred dollars.”
“I don't know anything about bonds,” said Morrison. “Besides, the amount is more than six hundred dollars.”
“These bonds are worth a hundred and twelve, amounting in all to six hundred and seventy-two dollars. That's forty more than I owe you. I won't make any account of that, however, as you will have to dispose of them.”
“I may get into trouble,” said Morrison, suspiciously. “Where did they come from?”
“That does not concern you,” said Ford, haughtily. “Don't I give them to you?”
“But where did you get them?”
“That is my business. If you don't want them, say the word, and I'll take them back.”
“And when will you pay the money?”
“I don't know,” answered Ford, curtly.
“Maybe he'll sell 'em for us himself,” suggested Tom Calder.
“Good, Tom! Why can't you sell 'em and give me the money? Then you can pay the exact sum and save the forty dollars.”
“I don't choose to do so,” said Ford. “It seems to me you are treating me in a very strange manner. I offer you more than I owe you, and you make no end of objections to receiving it.”
“I am afraid I'll get into trouble if I offer the bonds for sale,” said Morrison, doggedly. “I don't know anybody in the business except you.”
“Yes, you do,” said Ford, a bright idea occurring to him.
“Who?”
“You know the boy in our office.”
“Grant Thornton?” said Tom.
“Yes, Grant Thornton. Manage to see him, and ask him to dispose of the bonds for you. He will bring them to our office, and I will dispose of them without asking any questions.”
“First rate!” said Tom. “That'll do, won't it, Jim?”
“I don't see why it won't,” answered Morrison, appearing satisfied.
“I would suggest that you see him some time today.”
“Good! Hand over the bonds.”
Willis Ford had already separated the bonds into two parcels, six hundred in one and four hundred in the other. The first of these he passed over to Jim Morrison.
“Put it into your pocket at once,” he said. “We don't want anyone to see them. There is a telegraph boy looking at us.”
“I'm going to see if it is all there,” muttered Morrison; and he drew from the envelope the two bonds, and ascertained, by a personal inspection, that they were as represented.
“It's all right,” he said.
“You might have taken my word for it,” said Willis Ford, offended.
“In matters of business I take no one's word,” chuckled the confidence man.
“I wonder what they're up to,” said the little telegraph boy to himself. “I know one of them fellers is a gambler. Wonder who that feller with him is? Them must be gov'ment bonds.”
Johnny Cavanagh was an observing boy, and mentally photographed upon his memory the faces of the entire group, though he never expected to see any of them again.
When Grant was hurrying through Wall Street about noon he came upon Tom Calder and Morrison.
“Hello, there, Grant,” said Tom, placing his hand upon his shoulder.
“What's the matter, Tom? I'm in a hurry,” said Grant.
“Jim Morrison's got a little business for you.”
“What is it?”
“He wants you to sell gov'ment bonds for him.”
“You'd better take them round to our office.”
“I haven't got time,” said Morrison. “Just attend to them, like a good fellow, and I'll give you a dollar for your trouble.”
“How much have you got?”
“Six hundred—a five hundred and a one.”
“Are they yours?”
“Yes; I've had 'em two years, but now I've got to raise money.”
“What do you want for them?”
“Regular price, whatever it is.”
“When will you call for the money?”
“Meet me at Fifth Avenue Hotel with it tomorrow morning at nine o'clock.”
“I shall have to meet you earlier—say half-past eight.”
“All right. Here's the bonds.”
Grant put the envelope into his pocket, and hurried to the Exchange.
When he returned to the office he carried the bonds to Willis Ford.
“Mr. Ford,” he said, “an acquaintance of mine handed them to me to be sold.”
“Some one you know?” queried Ford.
“I know him slightly.”
“Well, I suppose it's all right. I'll make out a check to your order, and you can collect the money at the bank.”
Grant interposed no objection, and put the check in his pocket.
“The boy's fallen into the trap,” said Willis to himself, exultantly, as he proceeded to enter the transaction on the books.
CHAPTER XVI — GRANT FALLS UNDER SUSPICION
In furtherance of his scheme to throw suspicion upon Grant, Willis Ford decided to make another call upon his stepmother the succeeding evening. It occurred to him that she might possibly connect his visit of the evening before with her loss, and he wished to forestall this.
“Is Mrs. Estabrook at home?” he asked of the servant.
“Yes, sir.”
When the housekeeper made her appearance he carefully scrutinized her face. She was calm and placid, and it was clear that she had not discovered the abstraction of the bonds.
“I dare say you are surprised to see me so soon again,” he commenced.
“I am always glad to see you, Willis,” she said. “Come upstairs.”
“What a pleasant room you have, mother!”
“Yes, I am very comfortable. Have you had any return of your sickness?” she asked, anxiously.
“No, I have been perfectly well. By the way, mother, I have a special object in calling.”
“What is it, Willis?”
“I want to speak to you about those bonds of yours. If you will only sell them out, and invest in Erie, I am sure you will make in six months a sum equal to several years interest.”
“That may be, Willis, but I am very timid about taking a risk. Those bonds represent all the property I have.”
Willis Ford's conscience pricked him a little, when he heard her speaking thus of the property he had so heartlessly stolen; but he did not show it in his manner.
“What is the date of your bonds, mother?” he asked.
“I don't know. Does that make any difference?”
“It makes some difference. Those that have longest to run are most valuable.”
“I can easily tell,” said the housekeeper, as she rose from her chair and opened the bureau drawer, in full confidence that the bonds were safe.
It was an exciting moment for Willis Ford, knowing the sad discovery that awaited her.
She put her hand in that part of the drawer where she supposed the bonds to be, and found nothing. A shade of anxiety overspread her face, and she searched hurriedly in other parts of the drawer.
“Don't you find them, mother?” asked Willis.
“It is very strange,” said Mrs. Estabrook, half to herself.
“What is strange?”
“I always kept the bonds in the right-hand corner of this drawer.”
“And you can't find them?”
“I have looked all over the drawer.”
“You may have put them, by mistake, in one of the other drawers.”
“Heaven grant it!” said Mrs. Estabrook, her face white with anxiety.
“Let me help you, mother,” said Willis, rising.
She did not object, for her hands trembled with nervousness.
The other drawers were opened and were thoroughly searched, but, of course, the bonds were not found.
Mrs. Estabrook seemed near fainting.
“I have been robbed,” she said. “I am ruined.”
“But who could have robbed you?” asked Ford, innocently.
“I-don't-know. Oh, Willis! it was cruel!” and the poor woman burst into tears. “All these years I have been saving, and now I have lost all. I shall die in the poorhouse after all.”
“Not while I am living, mother,” said Willis. “But the bonds must be found. They must be mislaid.”
“No, no! they are stolen. I shall never see them again.”
“But who has taken them? Ha! I have an idea.”
“What is it?” asked the housekeeper, faintly.
“That boy—Grant Thornton—he lives in the house, doesn't he?”
“Yes,” answered Mrs. Estabrook, in excitement. “Do you think he can have robbed me?”
“What a fool I am! I ought to have suspected when—-”
“When what?”
“When he brought some bonds to me to-day to sell.”
“He did!” exclaimed Mrs. Estabrook; “what were they?”
“A five-hundred-dollar and a hundred-dollar bond.”
“I had a five-hundred and five one-hundred-dollar bonds. They were mine—the young villain!”
“I greatly fear so, mother.”
“You ought to have kept them, Willis. Oh! why didn't you? Where is the boy? I will see Mr. Reynolds at once.”
“Wait a minute, till I tell you all I know. The boy said the bonds were handed to him by an acquaintance.”
“It was a falsehood.”
“Do you know the number of your bonds, mother?”
“Yes, I have them noted down, somewhere.”
“Good! I took the number of those the boy gave me for sale.”
Mrs. Estabrook found the memorandum. It was compared with one which Willis Ford brought with him, and the numbers were identical. Four numbers, of course, were missing from Ford's list.
“That seems pretty conclusive, mother. The young rascal has stolen your bonds, and offered a part of them for sale. It was certainly bold in him to bring them to our office. Is he in the house?”
“I'll go and see.”
“And bring Mr. Reynolds with you, if you can find him.”
In an excited state, scarcely knowing what she did, the housekeeper went downstairs and found both parties of whom she was in search in the same room. She poured out her story in an incoherent manner, inveighing against Grant as a thief.
When Grant, with some difficulty, understood what was the charge against him, he was almost speechless with indignation.
“Do you mean to say I stole your bonds?” he demanded.
“Yes, I do; and it was a base, cruel act.”
“I agree with you in that, Mrs. Estabrook. It was base and cruel, but I had nothing to do with it.”
“You dare to say that, when you brought the bonds to my son, Willis, to be sold to-day?”
“Is this true, Grant?” asked Mr. Reynolds. “Did you sell any bonds at the office to-day?”
“Yes, sir.”
The broker looked grave.
“Where did you get them?” he asked.
“They were handed to me by an acquaintance in Wall Street.”
“Who was he?”
“His name is James Morrison.”
“What do you know of him? Is he in any business?”
“I know very little of him, sir.”
“Have you handed him the money?”
“No, sir. I am to meet him to-morrow morning at the Fifth Avenue Hotel, and pay him.”
“Why doesn't he call at the office?”
“I don't know,” answered Grant, puzzled. “I suggested to him to bring the bonds to the office himself, but he said he was in haste, and offered me a dollar to attend to the matter.”
“This seems a mysterious case.”
“Excuse me, Mr. Reynolds, but I think it is plain enough,” said the housekeeper, spitefully. “That boy opened my bureau drawer, and stole the bonds.”
“That is not true, Mr. Reynolds,” exclaimed Grant, indignantly.
“How did you know the bonds were offered for sale at my office to-day, Mrs. Estabrook?” inquired the broker.
“My son—Willis Ford—told me.”
“When did you see him?”
“Just now.”
“Is he in the house?”
“Yes, sir. I left him in my room.”
“Ask him to be kind enough to accompany you here.”
The housekeeper left the room. Grant and his employer remained silent during her absence.
CHAPTER XVII — THE TELLTALE KEY
Willis Ford entered the presence of his employer with an air of confidence which he did not feel. Knowing his own guilt, he felt ill at ease and nervous; but the crisis had come and he must meet it.
“Take a seat, Mr. Ford,” said Mr. Reynolds, gravely. “Your stepmother tells me that she has lost some government bonds?”
“All I had in the world,” moaned the housekeeper.
“Yes, sir; I regret to say that she has been robbed.”
“I learn, moreover, that a part of the bonds were brought to my office for sale to-day?”
“Yes, sir.”
“And by Grant Thornton?”
“He can answer that question for himself, sir. He is present.”
“It is true,” said Grant, quietly.
“Did you ask him where the bonds came from?”
“He volunteered the information. He said they were intrusted to him for sale by a friend.”
“Acquaintance,” corrected Grant.
“It may have been so. I understood him to say friend.”
“You had no suspicions that anything was wrong?” asked the broker.
“No; I felt perfect confidence in the boy.”
Grant was rather surprised to hear this. If this were the case, Willis Ford had always been very successful, in concealing his real sentiments.
“How did you pay him?”
“In a check to his own order.”
“Have you collected the money on that check, Grant?” asked Mr. Reynolds.
“Yes, sir.”
“Have you paid it out to the party from whom you obtained the bonds?”
“No, sir; I am to meet him to-morrow morning at the Fifth Avenue Hotel.”
Willis Ford's countenance changed when he heard this statement. He supposed that Jim Morrison already had his money and was safely off with it. Now it was clear that Grant would not be allowed to pay it to him, and his own debt would remain unpaid. That being the case, Morrison would be exasperated, and there was no knowing what he would say.
“What do you know of this man, Grant?”
“Very little, sir.”
“How does he impress you—as an honest, straightforward man?”
Grant shook his head.
“Not at all,” he said.
“Yet you took charge of his business for him?”
“Yes, sir; but not willingly. He offered me a dollar for my trouble, and as I did not know there was anything wrong, I consented. Besides—-” Here Grant paused.
“Well?”
“Will you excuse my continuing, Mr. Reynolds?”
“No,” answered the broker, firmly. “On the other hand, I insist upon your saying what you had in your mind.”
“Having seen Mr. Ford in this man's company, I concluded he was all right.”
Willis Ford flushed and looked disconcerted.
“Is this true, Mr. Ford?” asked the broker. “Do you know this man?”
“What do you say his name was, Thornton?” asked Ford, partly to gain time.
“James Morrison.”
“Yes; I know him. He was introduced to me by an intimate friend of that boy,” indicating Grant.
Willis Ford smiled triumphantly. He felt that he had checkmated our hero.
“Is this true, Grant?”
“I presume so,” answered Grant, coolly. “You refer to Tom Calder, do you not, Mr. Ford?”
“I believe that is his name.”
“He is not an intimate friend of mine, but we came from the same village. It is that boy who was with me when I first met you, Mr. Reynolds.”
The broker's face cleared.
“Yes, I remember him. But how do you happen to know Tom Calder, Mr. Ford?”
“He had a room at the same house with me. He introduced himself as a friend of this boy.”
“Do you know anything of him—how he earns his living?”
“Haven't the faintest idea,” answered Ford. “My acquaintance with him is very slight.”
“There seems a mystery here,” said the broker. “This Morrison gives Grant two bonds to dispose of, which are identified as belonging to my housekeeper. How did he obtain possession of them? That is the question.”
“There isn't much doubt about that,” said Mrs. Estabrook. “This boy whom you have taken into your family has taken them.”
“You are entirely mistaken, Mrs. Estabrook,” said Grant, indignantly.
“Of course you say so!” retorted the housekeeper; “but it stands to reason that that is the way it happened. You took them and gave them to this man—that is, if there is such a man.”
“Your son says there is, Mrs. Estabrook,” said the broker, quietly.
“Well, I don't intend to say how it happened. Likely enough the man is a thief, and that boy is his accomplice.”
“You will oblige me by not jumping at conclusions, Mrs. Estabrook,” said Mr. Reynolds. “Whoever has taken the bonds is likely to be discovered. Meanwhile your loss will, at all events, be partially made up, since Grant has the money realized from the sale of the greater part of them.”
“I should like to place the money in your hands, Mr. Reynolds,” said Grant.
“But it belongs to me,” said the housekeeper.
“That is undoubtedly true,” said her employer; “but till the matter is ascertained beyond a doubt I will retain the money.”
“How can there be any doubt?” asked the housekeeper, discontented.
“I do not think there is; but I will tell you now. You claim that your bonds were marked by certain numbers, two of which belong to those which were bought by Mr. Ford at the office to-day?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Meanwhile, you and your stepson have had time to compare notes, and you have had a chance to learn his numbers.”
Mrs. Estabrook turned livid.
“I didn't expect to have such a charge brought against me, Mr. Reynolds, and by you,” she said, her voice trembling with passion.
“I have brought no such charge, Mrs. Estabrook. I have only explained how there may be doubt of your claim to the money.”
“I thought you knew me better, sir.”
“I think I do, and I also think I know Grant better than to think him capable of abstracting your bonds. Yet you have had no hesitation in bringing this serious charge against him.”
“That is different, sir.”
“Pardon me, I can see no difference. He has the same right that you have to be considered innocent till he is proved to be guilty.”
“You must admit, sir,” said Willis Ford, “that appearances are very much against Grant.”
“I admit nothing, at present; for the affair seems to be complicated. Perhaps, Mr. Ford, you can offer some suggestion that will throw light upon the mystery.”
“I don't think it very mysterious, sir. My mother kept her bonds in the upper drawer of her bureau. This boy had the run of the house. What was to prevent his entering my mother's room, opening the drawer, and taking anything he found of value?”
“What was to prevent some one else doing it, Mr. Ford—myself, for example?”
“Of course that is different, Mr. Reynolds.”
“Well, I don't know. I am honest, and so, I believe, is Grant.”
“Thank you, sir,” said Grant, gratefully.
“It just occurred to me,” said Ford, “to ask my mother if she has at any time lost or mislaid her keys.”
“Well thought of, Mr. Ford,” and Mr. Reynolds turned to his housekeeper for a reply.
“No,” answered Mrs. Estabrook. “I keep my keys in my pocket, and I have them there yet.”
So saying, she produced four keys attached to a ring.
“Then,” continued Ford, “if Grant chances to have a key which will fit the bureau drawer, that would be evidence against him.”
“Show me any keys you may have, Grant,” said the broker.
Grant thrust his hand in his pocket and drew out two keys. He looked at them in astonishment.
“One of them unlocks my valise,” he said. “The other is a strange key. I did not know I had it.”
Ford smiled maliciously. “Let us see if it will open the bureau drawer,” he said.
The party adjourned to the housekeeper's room. The key was put into the lock of the bureau drawer and opened it at once.
“I think there is no more to be said,” said Willis Ford, triumphantly.
Grant looked the picture of surprise and dismay.
CHAPTER XVIII — GRANT'S ENEMIES TRIUMPH
It is not too much to say that Grant was overwhelmed by the unexpected discovery, in his pocket, of a key that fitted the housekeeper's drawer. He saw at once how strong it made the evidence against him, and yet he knew himself to be innocent. The most painful thought was, that Mr. Reynolds would believe him to be guilty.
In fact, the broker for the first time began to think that Grant might possibly have yielded to temptation.
“Can't you account for the possession of that key?” he asked.
“No, sir,” answered Grant, in painful embarrassment. “I have occasion to use but one key, and that is the key to my valise.”
“I think you had occasion to use the other,” sneered Ford.
“Mr. Ford,” retorted Grant, indignantly, “you are determined to think me guilty; but I care nothing for your opinion. I should be very sorry if Mr. Reynolds should think me capable of such baseness.”
“Your guilt seems pretty clear,” said Ford, sarcastically; “as I have no doubt Mr. Reynolds will agree.”
“Speak for yourself, Mr. Ford,” said the banker, quietly.
“I hope you are not going to shield that young thief, Mr. Reynolds,” said the housekeeper. “His guilt is as clear as noonday. I think he ought to be arrested.”
“You are rather in a hurry, Mrs. Estabrook,” said Mr. Reynolds; “and I must request you to be careful how you make charges against me.”
“Against you?” asked the housekeeper, alarmed at his tone.
“Yes,” answered the broker, sternly. “You have insinuated that I intend to shield a supposed thief. I have only to say that at present the theft is to be proved.”
“I submit, sir,” said Ford, “that the evidence is pretty strong. The boy is proved to have had the bonds in his possession, he admits that he sold a part of them and has the money in his possession, and a key is found in his possession which will open the drawer in which the bonds were kept.”
“Who put the key in my pocket?” demanded Grant, quickly.
For a moment Willis Ford looked confused, and his momentary confusion was not lost upon Grant or the banker.
“No doubt you put it there yourself,” he answered, sharply, after a monent's pause.
“That matter will be investigated,” said the broker.
“I think the money ought to be paid to me,” said the housekeeper.
“Can you prove your ownership of the bonds?” asked the broker.
“I can,” answered Willis Ford, flippantly. “I have seen them.”
“I should like some additional evidence,” said Mr. Reynolds. “You are related to Mrs. Esta-brook, and may be supposed to have some interest in the matter.”
“What proof can I have?” asked the housekeeper, disturbed by this unexpected obstacle.
“Have you the memorandum of the broker who bought you the bonds.”
“I don't know, sir.”
“Then you had better look.”
The housekeeper searched the drawer, and produced, triumphantly, a memorandum to the effect that she had purchased the bonds of a well-known house in Wall Street.
“So far, so good!” said the broker. “It appears that besides the bonds sold you had four one-hundred-dollar bonds?”
“Yes, sir.”
“You had not parted with them?”
“No, sir.”
“They will some time be put on the market, and then we shall have a clew to the mystery.”
“That boy has probably got them,” said the housekeeper, nodding her head emphatically.
“You are at liberty to search my chamber, Mrs. Estabrook,” said Grant, quietly.
“He may have passed them over to that man Morrison,” suggested the housekeeper.
“I hardly think that likely,” said Willis Ford, who saw danger to himself in any persecution of Jim Morrison.
Mr. Reynolds noticed his defense of Morrison, and glanced at him thoughtfully.
“Mrs. Estabrook,” he said, “I am satisfied that you possessed the bonds which you claim, and I will relieve your mind by saying that I will guarantee you against loss by their disappearance. You need have no further anxiety on the subject. I will undertake to investigate the matter, which at present appears to be involved in mystery. Whether or not I succeed in solving it will not matter to you, since you are saved from loss.”
“Thank you, sir,” said the housekeeper, feeling considerably relieved; “it wasn't much, but it was my all. I depended upon it to use when old age prevented me from earning my living.”
“I am glad you are so wise in providing for the future.”
“You won't let that boy escape?” the housekeeper could not help adding.
“If you refer to Grant Thornton, I think I may say for him that he has no intention of leaving us.”
“Is he to stay in the house?”
“Of course; and I expect him to aid me in coming to the truth. Let me request, Mrs. Estabrook, that you discontinue referring to him in offensive terms, or I may withdraw my offer guaranteeing you from loss. Grant, if you will accompany me, I have some questions to put to you.”
Grant and his employer left the room together.
“He won't let the boy be punished, though he must know he's guilty,” said Mrs. Estabrook, spitefully.
“He makes a fool of himself about that boy,” said Willis Ford, disconcerted.
“He's an artful young vagabond,” said the housekeeper. “I know he took the bonds.”
“Of course he did,” Ford assented, though he had the best of reasons for knowing that Grant was innocent.
“At any rate,” he continued, “you are all right, mother, since Mr. Reynolds agrees to make up the value of the bonds to you. When you get your money, just consult me about investing it. Don't put it into bonds, for they may be stolen.”
“Perhaps I'd better put it into the savings bank,” said his stepmother.
“You'll get very small interest there; I can invest it so you can make quite as much. However, there will be time enough to speak of that when you've got the money. Now, mother, I shall have to bid you good-evening.”
“Can't you stay longer, Willis? I feel so upset that I don't like to be left alone. I don't know what that boy may do.”
“I think you are safe,” said Willis Ford, secretly amused. But, as he left the house, he felt seriously disquieted. There was danger that Jim Morrison, when he found the money which he was to receive withheld, would be incensed and denounce Ford, who had received back his evidence of indebtedness. Should he divulge that the bonds had been given him by Ford, Grant would be cleared, and he would be convicted of theft.
As Ford was leaving the house a telegraph boy was just ascending the steps. It was John Cavanagh, already referred to.
As his eyes rested on Ford, he said to himself: “Where have I seen that feller? I know his face.”
Then it flashed upon the boy that he had seen Ford at the Grand Central Hotel, in the act of giving bonds to Jim Morrison.
“It's queer I should meet him here,” said the telegraph boy to himself. “I wonder what game he's up to.”
Johnny was introduced into the presence of Mr. Reynolds, for whom he had a message. On his way out he met Grant in the hall. The two boys were acquainted, Grant having at one time advanced Johnny two dollars toward paying his mother's rent.
“Do you live here?” asked the telegraph boy.
“Yes,” answered Grant.
“I met a feller goin' out that I've seen before. Who was it?”
“Willis Ford, a clerk of Mr. Reynolds.”
“I seed him in the Grand Central Hotel yesterday givin' some bonds to a suspicious-lookin' chap.”
“You did,” exclaimed Grant. “Come right up and tell that to Mr. Reynolds,” and he seized the astonished telegraph boy by the arm.
CHAPTER XIX — IMPORTANT EVIDENCE
Mr. Reynolds looked rather surprised when Grant appeared, drawing the telegraph boy after him.
“This boy has got something to tell you about Mr. Ford,” said Grant, breathless with excitement.
“About Mr. Ford?” repeated the broker. “What do you know about Willis Ford?”
“I don't know his name,” replied Johnny. “It's the chap that just went out of the house.”
“It was Mr. Ford,” explained Grant.
“Tell me what you know about him,” said the broker, encouragingly.
“I seed him in the Grand Central Hotel, givin' some bond to a flashy-lookin' man. There was a boy wid him, a big boy.”
“With whom—Mr. Ford?”
“No, wid the other chap.”
“I know who he means, sir,” said Grant. “It was Tom Calder.”
“And the man?”
“Was Jim Morrison, the same man that gave me the bonds to sell.”
“That seems important,” said Mr. Reynolds. “I did not believe Ford capable of such rascality.”
“He had as good a chance to take the bonds as I, sir. He was here last evening.”
“Was he?” asked the broker, quickly. “I did not know that.”
“He was here for an hour at least. I saw him come in and go out.”
Mr. Reynolds asked several more questions of the telegraph boy, and enjoined him to silence.
“My boy,” he said, “come here to-morrow evening at half-past seven. I may want you.”
“I will, sir, if I can get away. I shall be on duty.”
“Say to the telegraph company that I have an errand for you. Your time will be paid for.”
“That will make it all right, sir.”
“And, meanwhile, here is a dollar for your own use.”
Johnny's eyes sparkled, for with his limited earnings this sum would come in very handy. He turned away, nearly forgetting the original errand that brought him to the house, but luckily it occurred in time. The nature of it has nothing to do with this story.
When Johnny had gone, Mr. Reynolds said: “Grant, I need not caution you not to breathe a word of this. I begin to think that there is a conspiracy against you; but whether Willis Ford is alone in it, or has a confederate I cannot decide. My housekeeper does not appear to like you.”
“No, sir, I am sorry to say she does not; but I don't think she is in this plot. I think she honestly believes that I stole her bonds.”
“I have too great confidence in you to believe it. I own I was a little shaken when the key was found. You have no idea how it came in your pocket, I suppose?”
“No, sir, I can't guess. I might suspect Mr. Ford of putting it there, but I can't see how he managed it.”
“Well, we will let matters take their course. You will go to work as usual, and not speak a word of what has happened this evening.”
“Thank you, sir.”
Meanwhile, we must follow Willis Ford. When he left the house, he was by no means in a comfortable frame of mind. He felt that it was absolutely necessary to see Jim Morrison, and have an understanding with him. What arrangements he could make with him, or how he could reconcile him to the loss of the money which he had expected to receive from the sale of the bonds, he could not yet imagine. Perhaps he would be willing to receive the other four bonds in part payment. In that case Willis himself would not profit as much as he had hoped from the theft; but there seemed no alternative. He had got himself into a scrape, and he must get out of it the best way possible.
Though he did not know where to find Morrison, he thought it likely that he might be seen at the White Elephant, a large and showy billiard room on Broadway, near Thirtieth Street. There were several gambling houses near by, and there or in that neighborhood he thought that Morrison might be met.
He was right. On entering the billiard room he found the man he sought playing a game of billiards with Tom Calder, at the first table.
“I want to see you, Morrison,” he said, in a low voice. “Is the game 'most finished?”
“I have only six points more to make. I shall probably run out this time.”
He was right in his estimate. Two minutes later the two went out of the saloon together, accompanied by Tom.
“Well, what is it?” he asked.
“Let us turn into a side street.”
They turned into Thirtieth Street, which was much less brilliantly lighted than Broadway, and sauntered leisurely along.
“Did you buy the bonds of that boy?” asked Morrison, anxiously.
“Yes.”
“Then it's all right. Have you brought me the money?”
“How should I?” returned Ford, impatiently. “I couldn't pay him, and keep the money myself.”
“Oh, well, it doesn't matter. He is to meet me to-morrow morning and hand over the money.”
“I am afraid you will be disappointed.” “Disappointed,” repeated Morrison, quickly. “What do you mean? The boy hasn't made off with the money, has he? If he has—-” and the sentence ended with an oath.
“No, it isn't as you suppose.”
“Then why won't he pay me the money, I'd like to know?”
“There is some trouble about the bonds. It is charged that they are stolen.”
“How is that? You gave them to me,” said Morrison, suspiciously.
Now came the awkward moment. However, Ford had decided on the story he would tell.
“They were given me by a person who owed me money,” he said, plausibly. “How was I to know they were stolen?”
“They were stolen, then?”
“I suppose so. In fact, I know so.”
“How do you know?”
“Well—in fact, they were stolen from my stepmother.”
Morrison whistled.
“Well,” he said.
“Of course you mustn't say that I gave them to you. You would get me into trouble.”
“So you want to save yourself at my expense? I am to be suspected of stealing the bonds, am I? That's a decidedly cool proposal, but it won't do. I shall clear myself, by telling just where I got the bonds.”
“That's what I want you to do.”
“You do!” ejaculated the gambler, in surprise.
“Yes. You are to say that the boy gave them to you.”
“Why should I say that?”
“Because he is already suspected of stealing the bonds.”
“But I gave them to him to sell.”
“You mustn't admit it. There is no proof of it except his word.”
“What's your game? Whatever it is, it is too deep for me.”
“I've got it all arranged. You are to say that the boy owed you a gambling debt, and agreed to meet you to-morrow morning to pay it. Of the bonds, you are to know nothing, unless you say that he told you he had some which he was going to sell, in order to get money to pay you.”
“What advantage am I to get out of all this?”
“What advantage? Why, you will save yourself from suspicion.”
“That isn't enough. I didn't take the bonds, and you know it. I believe you did it yourself.”
“Hush!” said Willis Ford, looking around him nervously.
“Look here, Ford, I gave up your I O U, and now I find I've got to whistle for my money.”
“Go with me to my room, and you shall have four hundred dollars to-night.”
“In cash?”
“No; in bonds.”
“Some more of the same kind? No, thank you, I want ready money.”
“Then give me a little more time, and I will dispose of them—when this excitement blows over.”
Finally Morrison gave a sulky assent, and the conspirators parted.