Ruby's Reward — page 279: what you’re looking at

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

“They are safe enough; a tailor couldn’t have made a neater job than I did, and the beggar might wear them about for months with perfect safety, and never | suspect he had them on.” And the man chuckled villainously over his cleverness. “You might at least have given me another bill and kept the one you took yourself,” remarked Mrs. Gordon, in an unsatisfied tone. “Well, Lmight, but it did not occur to me. How- ever, you can send it tome by mail to-morrow, and I will return you a check for the amount.” Edmund Carpenter replied, obligingly. “T wish you had not told me anything about it,” his companion continued. ‘I would rather have lost the money. I feel almost as guilty as if Thad stolen something myself.” “You do not suppose I am so green as to imagine you did not suspect there was some trickery about the affair?’ was Mr. Carpenter's sarcastic rejoinder, “Well, of course, I thought of it, but I would rather not have known. Ido notsee how you managed to set into my room without disturbing me,” “That was easy enough, The Freuch window that opens out upon the balcony was not fastened, Your bureau is sO Dear it, it was no effort to step in, open the drawer and help myself to what I wanted, and then crawl down the lattice the same way I came up. Had I known that your door was unlocked, I could have made easier work of it, but I feared to arouse you by passing through,” “You might as well have asked me for the stones and money outright, without taking all that trouble, as to make me an unwilling accomplice at this late day, by telling me all about it.” “T thought you were as anxious to get this young beggar out of the way asI am,” retorted Edmund. Capenter, angrily. | “Tam. [don’t want Ruby to marry him, and was willing to do all I could to help on your cause, but I do not like the idea of committing crime to accomn- plish it.” Mr. Carpenter swore an angry oath. Smcbooks.com