Mrs. Bob: A Novel — page 198: what you’re looking at

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

190 THE GHOST WALKS AT GORDON MANOR. and his liberal employer, Mrs. Bob’s uncle, Colonel Corneel. These two men appear to be very much exercised. They bustle about the room, overturning furniture and acting asif they had lost something valuable, something that might even have dropped into a mouse’s hole, to judge from the manner in which Monsieur Merle gets down on his fat little knees and peers under sofa and bookcase. All the while they keep up a running comment, and being separated most of the time, these remarks are plainly heard. ‘‘1’m sure there’s a secret hiding place somewhere around—it’s been known to our family since the Revolution, but bless my soul if Iam able to locate it,’’ the fire-eating colonel says. ) ‘So far we have done well—eet will be queer if ' we cannot bag our game at last. Ze excuse you gave ze major domo of ze plantation zat we were in pur- suit of an escaped lunatic who pretended to be ze defunct Rudolph Gordon, seemed to satisfy him. Now, it would only be right if we compel zat same old family servant to show us ze secret sweats -place of zis man.’’ “Come, that isn’t such a bad idea, after all. Per- haps we might have old Reuben put on the rack. He’s an obstinate old fool, but knowing his master is dead, he might reveal it, especially if we used a little of the diplomacy you boast of.”’ ‘*T have only ze one fear.’? “*What’s that, monsieur?”’ ‘““Zat zere may be one other opening—you have Gomichooks.com