THE FIVE HUNDRED DOLLAR BILL.
Little Bobtail watched the beautiful yacht as she piled on her "kites"
and gradually increased her speed in the light breeze. He felt that he
had a powerful friend on board of her, and he was tempted to call in his
aid in meeting the difficulties that seemed to be gathering before him.
"Don't you think we'd better run for it, Bob?" asked Monkey. "We can
keep out of the way of any boat in Camden. We can run over among them
islands, and spend the summer there without being caught."
"I don't run away from anything of this sort," replied Bobtail, proudly.
"I'm going to face the music, whatever comes of it."
"But they'll put you in jail," suggested Monkey, opening his eyes as
wide as they would go.
"I don't care if they do. I haven't done anything wrong, and I'm not
going to run away. If Mr. Brooks wants me, here I am."
"There he comes; and Captain Chinks is with him. We can hoist the
mainsail, and be out of the way before they get here, if you say the
word," added the crew of the Skylark, nervously.
"I don't say the word. I'm all right, and I'm ready to look any of them
square in the face."
"But what's it all about, Bob?"
"Squire Gilfilian says I stole a letter with money in it, which was sent
to him."
"You!" exclaimed the Darwinian. "Well, I know better'n that myself."
"So do I," laughed Bobtail, pleased with the enthusiasm of his friend.
"Here they come. Captain Chinks looks as ugly as sin itself. He is at
the bottom of this business. You stay by, and take care of the boat,
Monkey, whatever happens to me. If any one attempts to get her away from
you, send for Squire Simonton."
"I'll stick to her as long as there's a chip left of her, Bob; but I
don't like to have them take you out of her in this kind of style, and
send you off to jail."
"You needn't be concerned about me. I have some strong friends, and I'm
rather sorry I didn't stop the Penobscot, and tell Colonel Montague
what's up. I would, if I had known exactly what was going to happen."
A boat with Captain Chinks at the oars, and Mr. Brooks in the
stern-sheets, came alongside the Skylark.
"You are here--are you?" said Captain Chinks, with an ugly look.
"Of course I'm here," replied Bobtail, quietly. "I ain't nowhere else."
"I want you to go on shore with me," added the deputy sheriff.
"Monkey says you want to take me up."
"I don't want to do so, but I must discharge my duty. I have a warrant
for your arrest," replied Mr. Brooks.
"What for?"
"For stealing a letter with money in it."
"Captain Chinks here knows that I didn't do it."
"No, I don't."
"You saw the letter in Squire Gilfilian's office after I left."
"That's so; but I can't say that you didn't go back after I went off. I
didn't believe you took the letter till the squire proved it; and then I
couldn't help believing it. I don't see how you can help believing it
yourself."
"I didn't take the letter."
"We will talk this matter over at the squire's office," interposed the
deputy sheriff. "You had better not say much about it here."
"I'm going to speak the truth right straight through, and I don't care
who hears me."
"You are not obliged to say anything to commit yourself, Bobtail. I want
you to understand that," said Mr. Brooks, kindly.
"I shall not say anything to commit myself, you had better believe, for
I didn't take the letter."
"The less you say about it, the better," added the officer.
"Does my mother know anything about this business?" asked Bobtail.
"I reckon she knows more about it than anybody else except yourself,"
answered Captain Chinks.
"I have talked with your mother about it," said Mr. Brooks. "She feels
very bad, of course; and she says she can't explain the matter at all."
"She don't know anything about it," replied Bobtail.
"I will send for her when we get on shore," added the deputy sheriff.
Captain Chinks pulled to one of the wharves up the harbor, where the
party landed, and then proceeded to the office of Squire Gilfilian. The
lawyer was there, and so was the ill-visaged man who took care of the
case of the bank robbers. Mr. Brooks had sent a boy for Mrs. Taylor as
soon as they landed, and she and her husband arrived at the office
almost as soon as Bobtail.
"O, Robert," exclaimed the poor woman, her eyes filling with tears, as
she hugged her boy.
"Don't be scared, mother. I didn't do this thing, and I shall come out
all right," replied Bobtail. "Don't fret about it."
"I can't help it, Robert. I wish--"
Mrs. Taylor suddenly checked herself. "What do you wish, mother?" asked
Bobtail, who thought there was something very strange in her conduct.
"I wish they hadn't arrested you," added she; but this was evidently not
what she had intended to say.
"So do I; but you needn't be frightened. I didn't take the letter, nor
the money."
"I know you didn't, Robert, but the case looks very bad against us."
"I think so, Mrs. Taylor," said Squire Gilfilian, who had been occupied
in looking over some papers when the party entered, and was now ready to
give his attention to the case. "I should like to hear what you have to
say."
"This is not an examination," said the deputy sheriff to Mrs. Taylor and
her son. "If you don't wish to answer any questions here, you needn't do
so. The case will come on to-morrow, before Squire Norwood."
"I am ready to answer any questions that can be asked," said Bobtail,
stoutly, "whether it is an examination or not."
"Do as you please about it. If you want any help--any lawyer--I will
send for one," added Mr. Brooks.
"I don't want any lawyers. I can tell the truth without any help,"
answered Bobtail.
"Did you come back to the office after you put that letter on my desk?"
asked the squire.
"No, sir; I did not," replied Bobtail, squarely.
The lawyer took from his pocket-book a five hundred dollar bill, and
spread it out on the desk at his side.
"Did you ever see that bill before, Robert Taylor?" demanded he,
sternly.
"No, sir."
"Think before you answer."
"Think! I don't want to think. I never saw a five hundred dollar bill
before in my life," answered Bobtail, with no little indignation in his
tones.
"I am sorry to see you persist so stoutly in a lie," said the squire,
shaking his head, as he glanced at Mrs. Taylor.
"It isn't a lie; it's the truth, and I'll stick to it as long as I have
breath in my body," replied Bobtail, warmly.
"You are not under oath now, Robert Taylor."
"I'll say just the same under oath, and before all the lawyers and
judges in the State of Maine."
"Mr. Slipwing, do you know this bill?" added the squire, addressing the
ill-visaged man.
"I do. I will swear in any court that this is the bill I sent you in the
letter from Portland," replied the man.
"You are very sure?"
"Positively so. I remember the bank, and there are three things on the
bill which enable me to identify it. The cashier's pen snapped when he
wrote his name on the left, and blotted the bill. The corner was torn
off, and it was mended in another place with a piece of paper from the
edge of a sheet of six-cent postage stamps."
The ill-visaged man spoke confidently, and whatever his character, his
testimony was very clear.
"What has all this to do with me?" asked Bobtail, who did not yet
understand the situation.
The lawyer smiled, and perhaps he thought that the boy was playing his
part extremely well for a novice.
"My testimony will come in next," added Squire Gilfilian. "This
afternoon, Mrs. Taylor, who is the mother of this boy, paid me five
hundred dollars, for I had foreclosed the mortgage on her husband's
house. Now, Mrs. Taylor, where did you get the bill?"
"Robert didn't give it to me," she replied; and she seemed to be very
much troubled and very much embarrassed; so much so, that her looks and
actions were the worst possible evidence against her.
"So you say, Mrs. Taylor; but you don't answer my question."
"I can't tell you now where I got it," stammered the poor woman.
Ezekiel Taylor and Little Bobtail were more astonished at this answer
than any other person in the room. Both of them wondered where she had
obtained so much money, while the others in the office believed that her
answer was merely a subterfuge to conceal the guilt of her son. Ezekiel
could not help thinking, just then, that his wife always had money;
that, while she had no visible means of obtaining it, she always had
enough to feed and clothe the family. He had considered this subject,
and wondered over it before; and the only solution of the mystery he
could suggest was, that her first husband had left her more money than
she ever acknowledged he did, and she had concealed it to prevent him
from spending it. As to her son, he had never thought of the matter at
all. All that confused and confounded him was, his mother's refusal to
answer what seemed to him a very simple question.
"Mrs. Taylor, you will be a witness, and the most important one in the
case, when it comes up before Squire Norwood to-morrow," added the
lawyer.
"I suppose I shall," replied Mrs. Taylor, with a gasp.
"You will be put under oath, and compelled to testify."
"But you are not under oath now, and you need not say anything, if you
don't wish to," said Mr. Brooks.
"As the matter looks now, you are a party to the theft, and I can cause
your arrest," added the squire, vexed at the officiousness of the deputy
sheriff.
"O, dear me!" groaned Mrs. Taylor.
"Don't be frightened, mother," interposed Bobtail. "You know, and I
know, that you did not obtain the money from me."
"And the Lord knows I did not, and that I came honestly by it, too,"
sobbed the poor woman, who had a mortal terror of courts and the law.
"If you came honestly by the money, why don't you tell where you
obtained it?" added Squire Gilfilian.
"I have my reasons."
"If your son did not give you this bill--"
"He did not! I'm sure he never saw it before," protested Mrs. Taylor.
"Whoever gave you this bill must have stolen it," said the squire,
sternly.
"That don't follow," replied Mr. Brooks. "It may have passed through the
hands of half a dozen persons after it was taken from the letter."
"Are you the counsel for these parties, Mr. Brooks?" demanded the
squire, smartly.
"I am not; but the prisoner is in my keeping, and shall have fair play.
I'll take him away if you are not satisfied, for I brought him here to
oblige you," answered the deputy sheriff, who was certainly very
considerate towards his charge.
"All I want is, to get at the truth," added the squire, in a milder
tone. "If Mrs. Taylor did not receive this bill from her son, and will
tell us where she got it, we can trace out the thief."
"That's the point," said Captain Chinks. "We want to find the guilty
party."
Captain Chinks winked rapidly for an instant, as though his brain was
fearfully exercised to discover the thief. He had one black eye, which
winked faster than the other--it was the result of his interview with
Little Bobtail the day before, for the boy struck hard when he was
assailed.
"I can't tell you where I got the bill," said Mrs. Taylor; "but I came
honestly by it."
"It's no use of saying anything more, then," added the lawyer. "Under
these circumstances, I am compelled to regard you as a party to your
son's guilt, Mrs. Taylor; and I must cause your arrest."
"Don't do that, Squire Gilfilian," pleaded Bobtail.
"I must do it. It becomes my duty to do it."
"Let him do it," whispered Mr. Brooks.
"I can't help it if you do," sobbed the poor woman. "If I have to go to
jail, I can't tell."
"Nothing more can be done, and I shall procure a warrant for the arrest
of Mrs. Taylor," said the lawyer, gathering up the papers on his desk,
and restoring the five hundred dollar bill to his pocket-book.
Mr. Brooks and Bobtail left the office, followed by Mrs. Taylor and her
husband.
"I am responsible for you, Bobtail," said the officer.
"I won't run away, sir. You have been very kind to me, Mr. Brooks, and I
won't go back on you," replied Bobtail.
"But I must not lose sight of you; and I don't want to send you to jail.
I'll take you to my house."
"Just as you say, sir; but I should like to go home and have a talk with
mother. I want to see Squire Simonton, too."
"Very well; I will go home with you. I saw Squire Simonton walking
towards his house just now. There he is, in front of the hotel, talking
with Mr. Hines."
They walked towards the Bay View House. It was nearly tea time, and the
guests of the house were seated on the platform, under the shade of the
trees which surround the hotel. There was an excited group there, for
the particulars of the cruise of the Penobscot that day had just been
related by the Walkers and others.
"I want to see you, Squire Simonton," said Bobtail.
"There he is. Three cheers for Little Bobtail!" shouted Mr. Walker, as
he pointed to the hero of the day.
There were gentlemen enough who had heard the story to give the cheers,
and the ladies clapped their hands.
"That's for you, Bobtail," said Mr. Hines. "We have heard of your brave
deeds, and all the people in the hotel are talking about you."
Little Bobtail blushed like a beet, and while Mr. Hines was telling the
deputy sheriff how the boy had saved Grace Montague from the waves and
the rocks, the hero related his own troubles to Mr. Simonton. Mr. Walker
and Emily came out, and insisted that Bobtail should go into the hotel,
and see the ladies. Ever so many of them shook his brown hand, and he
blushed and stammered, and thought the scene was ten times as trying as
that off Blank Island. Then he must take tea with the Walkers. He could
not be excused.
"I can't, sir," protested Bobtail. "I have been taken up for stealing
since I came a shore. But I didn't do it."
"For stealing!" exclaimed Emily Walker, with horror.
"I didn't do it."
"I know you didn't, Captain Bobtail," replied Emily.
"This is Mr. Brooks, the deputy sheriff, and he is responsible for me,"
added Bobtail. "So you see I can't leave him."
"Then Mr. Brooks must come too," said Mr. Walker.
The officer was very obliging, and went too. Bobtail was a first-class
lion, though under arrest for stealing. The gentlemen patted him on the
head, and the ladies petted him. A party wanted the Skylark for the next
day, another for Monday, and a third for Tuesday. The hero could not go
the next day, for he had to be examined before Squire Norwood for
stealing the letter. It was dark when he escaped from the hotel, and
went home attended by Mr. Brooks. Squire Simonton was there waiting to
see him.
After the scene at the office, Ezekiel and his wife had walked to the
cottage together. Neither of them was in a pleasant frame of mind. The
tippler was sober, because he had neither rum nor money. He wanted both,
for he was thirsting and hankering for a dram.
"So it seems you've got money somewhere," said Ezekiel to his troubled
wife.
"No, I haven't," replied Mrs. Taylor, who was only thinking how she
could extricate herself from the difficulties of her situation, and not
at all troubled about the thoughts or suspicions of her worthless
husband.
"Yes, you have! When I don't have a dollar, you always have somethin',"
persisted Ezekiel. "You've kept money hid away from me ever since we was
married. Your first husband left more'n you told on."
"All that my first husband left me was gone years ago," added Mrs.
Taylor, indifferently.
"You've got money somewhere."
"If I have, I shall keep it."
"You hain't no right to do so."
"Yes, I have. If I had any money, I would not let you have it to spend
for rum. Every dollar you get goes for that, and you would have starved
to death if I hadn't taken care of you."
"If you've got any money, I wan't some on't; and I'm go'n to have it,
too."
"I haven't any money; at least not much of any; and what I have I mean
to keep."
Ezekiel was mad. He was fully convinced that his wife had money
concealed somewhere, or in the hands of some friend, who gave it to her
as she wanted it. She always paid the bills of the house very promptly,
and had enough to buy a dress for herself, or a suit of clothes for
Robert, and even for him. He felt that he had a right to his wife's
property, even if he spent it for rum. But Mrs. Taylor was too much for
him; for whatever secret she had, she kept it. This was not the first
time that Ezekiel had been vexed by these suspicions, and he had
searched the house several times, when she was absent, for the hidden
treasure, but without finding it. The debate on this question was
continued long after they returned to the cottage, but the husband was
no wiser at the end of it than at the beginning.
All the points of the case were stated to Squire Simonton, who
volunteered to act as counsel for Bobtail.
"But where did this bill come from, Mrs. Taylor?" asked the legal
gentleman.
"I can't tell," replied the troubled woman.
"You can't tell!"
"No, sir; I cannot."
"But your refusal will certainly insure the conviction of your son."
"Robert did not give me that bill," protested she.
"I don't believe he did, nuther," said Ezekiel. "She's got money hid
away somewhere."
"If it had been hid away long, it could not have been the bill which was
sent in the letter."
"It wasn't hid away," added Mrs. Taylor. "I might injure somebody by
telling where I got the bill; and for that reason I can't say a single
word, even if I go to prison for it."
"But your son will be sent to prison, certainly, if you don't tell,"
said the lawyer.
"O, dear! What shall I do?"
She positively refused to tell even Squire Simonton, who explained that,
as counsel, he could not be obliged to reveal the secrets of his
clients. It was finally arranged that a postponement of the examination
should be obtained, if possible; and Mr. Walker and half a dozen others
had promised to give bail for Bobtail.