And he wanted to know if
Uncle Charlie had said how much it was and what had become of it
and--and everything. When I said Uncle Charlie hadn't said a word
he looked so sort of disappointed and funny that it made me laugh."
It did not make Jed laugh. The thought that the knowledge of the
missing money had leaked out and was being industriously spread
abroad by Bearse and his like was very disquieting. He watched
Phillips more closely than before. He watched Ruth, and, before
another day had passed, he had devised a wonderful plan, a plan to
be carried out in case of alarming eventualities.
On the afternoon of the third day he sat before his workbench, his
knee clasped between his hands, his foot swinging, and his thoughts
busy with the situation in all its alarming phases. It had been
bad enough before this new development, bad enough when the always
present danger of Phillips' secret being discovered had become
complicated by his falling in love with his employer's daughter.
But now-- Suppose the boy had stolen the money? Suppose he was
being blackmailed by some one whom he must pay or face exposure?
Jed had read of such things; they happened often enough in novels.
He did not hear the door of the outer shop open. A month or more
ago he had removed the bell from the door. His excuse for so doing
had been characteristic.
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