No, 'tain't for me he's doin' it. I ain't the reason."
"And you're quite sure his story is ALL untrue. You don't imagine
that he did find the money, your money, and then, for some reason
or other, change it with smaller bills, and--"
"Sshh, sshh, Charlie, don't waste your breath. I told you I KNEW
he hadn't found the four hundred dollars I lost, didn't I? Well, I
do know it and for the very best of reasons; in fact, my stoppin'
into his shop just now was to tell him what I'd heard. You see,
Charlie, old Sylvester Sage has got back from Boston and opened up
his house again. And he telephoned me at two o'clock to say that
the four hundred dollar packet was layin' on his sittin'-room table
just where I left it when he and I parted company four days or so
ago. That's how I KNOW Jed didn't find it."
From the shadowy corner where Ruth Armstrong sat came a little gasp
and an exclamation. Charles whistled.
"Well, by George!" he exclaimed. "That certainly puts a crimp in
Jed's confession."
"Sartin sure it does. When Sylvester and I parted we was both
pretty hot under the collar, havin' called each other's politics
about every mean name we could think of. I grabbed up my gloves,
and what I thought was my money from the table and slammed out of
the house. Seems all I grabbed was the two five hundred packages;
the four hundred one was shoved under some papers and magazines and
there it stayed till Sylvester got back from his Boston cruise.
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