The Argosy, Vol. XXIV, No. 3 — page 68: what you’re looking at

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

452 THAT MAY APPLE, A sort of awkward pause ensued, then the judge stepped into the breach. Mr. Griscom and myself,’’ he said, ‘‘ are out this morning on a rather unpleasant errand. We are trying to look up some money he collected on Saturday, but did not succeed in carrying to Spencer.’’ 7 ‘" Oh, Robert !’’ exclaimed Mary, with impulsive sympathy. ‘‘ Did you lose all that money ?”’ I said simply, ‘‘ Yes,’’ and she turned to the Arney girls with ‘Oh! Isn’t that awful ?”’ “You knew, then, about his having it?’’ the jndge asked her, very suavely, but, from force of habit, fixing her with his cross examination eye. ‘Oh, yes,’’ she replied innocently. ‘‘ I was talking with Hattie about what a lot of money it was to be carrying around.’’ “Ah! Then Miss Hattie also knew cf it?’’ remarked the judge, very sweetly, with a deferential little bow toward that young lady. ‘“ Why, we all talked about it,” responded Hattie, ‘‘and it was all we could do to prevent Debby demanding a sight of it, because she never saw so much at once, and wanted to.”’ ‘‘ Well, so I did; and so I do yet,’’ declared the younger sister, at which there was a general laugh. = ‘Mr. Griscom,’’ demanded the judge, turning to me, ‘‘ could you have gratified the young lady’s wish fora sight of that money when you came here on Sunday afternoon? ”’ . ‘Yes, sir,’’ I replied. ‘‘ Could you have done so on Monday morning ?’’ ‘No, sir; I could not.’’ A sudden stillness, as of death, fell upon the group. Fora moment all stood as if paralyzed. Then Mr. Arney, involuntarily taking astep forward, inquired in a grave and anxious tone: ‘‘ What does this mean? Do you think you have lost anything in my house? ’’ ‘“ Much as it grieves me to say it, Mr. Arney, I do,”’ I replied. He staggered backward, as if I had dealt him a stunning blow, his face purpled, and he clutched at his throat as if choking. Jacob, seeing his father’s great agitation and being utterly unable to comprehend anything of what was going on, pushed himself forward, making frantic pantomimic gestures of appealing question and those horrible inarticulate sounds that burst from dumb lips in moments of intense excitement. Evidently he was asking, in a way his family understood, what was the trouble, but neither of those who could have satisfied his curiosity had any time to do so just then ; and his father, gripping his shoulder with an unconscious exercise of strength that made the poor fellow wince, literally flung him back out of the way. ‘“‘ This thing’s got to be looked into,’’ cried the old mad hoarsely. ‘‘If there’s a thief in my house, I want to know it.”’ | ‘Mr. Griscom’’—and the judge again addressed me—“ will you be so good as to tell us clearly, with the closest possible attention to details, when you last saw the wallet containing the money in your care, where you placed it, and what followed?” ais 5} Eomichbooks