The Dugdale Millions — page 151: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

CHAPTER XV, CONFLICTING INTERESTS. AMPLE time was given Dick to review the events of the day, before the return of the coaching party. The more he reflected upon his talk with Orton Pier- son, the more convinced he was that young Dugdale had been found. Orton Pierson might be all Mr. Boyd insisted he was, but the fact remained that he had told all he could tell frankly and unreservedly. And this, too, before he knew Dick’s purpose tin mak- ing the inquiries. He might be a schemer and a designing man, but in this instance he had shown no disposition to conceal anything, nor had he mani- fested curiosity as to the meaning of the inquiries until he had satisfied Dick’s desire for knowledge. Then too, Mr. Pierson’s statements were truthful, when judged by all Dick had previously learned. When anything he had said could be put to the test of com- parison with the statements of other people, they comported with all the essentials. And yet Dick was not satisfied. There was a sense of disappointment that Dick told himself was un- reasonable. Upon what this feeling was based, or wherein the result failed of expectation, he could not tell. Indeed he was unable to tell what that expecta- tion had been. But whatever it had been, he felt that it had not been realized. The only weak point, he said to himself, was the lack of documentary evidence. That Harold Pierson was young Dugdale seemed to depend entirely upon Mr. Pierson’s word, True, Mrs. Tomlinson could 4% Comicbookkxs C@ 3