UNDER SUSPICION.
An ominous silence fell upon the little group while Judge Oglesby
carried on his conversation with the person in Springfield. One and all
listened with deep interest to the answer he gave to the words of the
unseen, and to them, unheard speaker.
“Yes, he is here,” finally said the judge. “I will have him come to the
’phone if you wish.”
A moment later he said to Dean:
“They would like to talk with you, Dean. I do not understand this at
all.”
Dean quickly stepped forward, and as he placed the receiver to his ear
the voice asked:
“Are you sure Captain Mercer paid the money to Mr. Sewall?”
“This is Captain Mercer talking now, sir. I paid Mr. Sewall the money
by a check made payable to me from Judge Oglesby,” replied Dean. “I
endorsed the check and he gave me a receipt signed by your firm.”
“Impossible, Captain Mercer. This is Brown talking, and Mr. Sewall is
present. He says he was not on board the _Spray_. We did not think it
was necessary to run after the money, as we knew Judge Oglesby was able
to pay.”
A five minutes’ conversation followed, but nothing could be learned to
explain the situation. If Messrs. Brown, Sewell and Company told the
truth, as no one doubted, Dean had been imposed upon by some dishonest
person. It was a trying situation for him.
“Let me see if I can get any one at the bank,” said Judge Oglesby.
“Though it is not bank hours, some one may be there.”
“Hello, is this the Atlas Bank?” he called, a few minutes later, after
securing a connection.
“It is.”
“Is Mr. Hume, the cashier, there?”
“He is. Hold the wire a moment and I will call him.”
“We are in luck,” declared the judge aside to Dean. “If that check has
not been presented for payment, I will stop it and we shall be all
right.
“Hello! I am Mr. Hume, Judge Oglesby. What is it?” said a voice at the
other end of the wire.
“Has there been a check presented at your bank to-day signed by me, and
endorsed by Dean Mercer?”
“There has. Captain Mercer called in person this morning very soon
after the bank was open. He presented a letter from you, which we have,
and received the cash in large bills at his own request. I hope, judge,
everything is all right.”
“I am afraid there is something wrong about this. Captain Mercer is
here and says he did not call at your bank. The person must have been
an impostor.”
“I do not see how that could be, judge. I remember speaking to him
myself, congratulating him on the fine appearance of the new steamer.
If there is anything wrong we will try and help you straighten it.
Young Mercer was a stranger to us, but your letter seemed sufficient
guarantee of his honesty. Perhaps he has deceived you.”
“I am not ready to think that. How long shall you remain in the bank?”
“Half an hour.”
“I may call you up again within that time. Good-by.”
“Good-by.”
“There is something wrong about this, but what, I cannot tell,” said
Judge Oglesby, as he hung up the receiver and turned to converse with
the anxious party about him.
“I can see now I did wrong in paying the money to the man without
further proof of his identity,” acknowledged Dean.
“His receipt is made out on one of the company’s blanks,” said the
judge. “It is a serious situation, but until--Whew! here comes
Montague. I wonder what has put him into such a state of excitement.”
In the changing excitement of the preceding scenes, Dean had quite
forgotten about the disappearance of Marcus Ellison. But it came back
to him very vividly now, and he anticipated the purpose of the lawyer’s
abrupt appearance.
“I want to see Dean Mercer, if he is here,” cried Mr. Montague, as soon
as he could get his breath enough to speak.
“Here he is to answer for himself,” declared the judge.
“Durand has ’phoned me that those papers and money have not been given
to him, Dean,” cried the lawyer, without stopping to reply to the judge.
“I know it, Mr. Montague,” replied Dean. “I was coming to see you as
soon as I could. I did not have time to see Mr. Durand, or ’phone to
you.”
“Why haven’t they been delivered, boy? Every day in this matter is of
vital importance.”
In as few words as possible Dean then told of the disappearance of
Marcus Ellison with the money and papers, while his listeners looked
upon him in silence until he had finished.
It is unnecessary to record the half-hour’s conversation that followed.
Of course, it threw no light upon the real situation. In this case
no blame could be attached to Dean, though he already felt that, in
addition to the other matter, unless some good reason should develop
explaining Marcus Ellison’s mysterious disappearance, the two singular
and unfortunate incidents were going to be connected.
The successful trip of the new steamer was overshadowed completely by
these unexpected matters.
“I must go down on the _Spray_ to-morrow morning,” affirmed Judge
Oglesby. “I shall sift this affair to the bottom.”
“I must go to Springfield, too,” declared Mr. Montague. “The loss of
that money will be a serious handicap to me. But worse than that is the
loss of those papers, which mean the life of Robert Ellison. Unless
I can find them, he will go to the electric chair, though he is an
innocent man.”
“I will do all in my power to help in this matter,” said Dean. “If
there is nothing further I can do here, I must return to the _Spray_,
where I am needed.”
“Yes; do not fail in your duty there,” said the judge.
Though it may have been simply the imagination of Dean in his nervous
state, he could not help thinking that there was a hidden meaning in
the remark to him.
The finger of suspicion was pointed at him.
Eva had disappeared from sight, as he left the house, but he was
pleased to find her waiting for him near the fountain at the turn of
the walk. She advanced with extended hands, saying:
“I am so sorry for you, Dean. I do not think papa really blames you,
and we will hope the affair will be explained soon.”
“Thank you, Miss Eva, for your kind words. Believe me, I shall do
everything in my power to solve the mystery. It is so strange such
misfortunes should come just as we were getting started.”
“Do not anticipate final disappointment, Dean. Remember misfortunes are
but opportunities to test our ability to conquer.”
Her words came to him like a prophecy, and through all of his trials he
often recalled them.
Nothing further was learned to throw any light on the situation, and
promptly the following morning the _Spray_ was ready to return to her
destination at the other end of the lake.
Both Judge Oglesby and Mr. Montague were on hand as passengers, while a
good number of others had secured tickets for the round trip, showing
that the venture was certain to prove a success.
The day had started in damp and foggy, and in the bustle of getting
under way, Dean had not found opportunity to say much to the judge,
whom he could see was deeply impressed with the situation.
“Where is the _Warrior_? I could not see her as I came on board,”
remarked the judge.
“For some reason unknown to me,” replied Captain Mercer, “she started
this morning half an hour ahead of her schedule. It may have been on
account of the fog.”