NEARING A CLIMAX
Just as Mr. Winslow had said, the suave gentleman who was making himself
so much at home in the bank managed to get out at a time Dick had an
errand, and the boy was not very greatly surprised to find himself
waylaid on the road back.
"Dick, Mr. Winslow tells me that you know all about the reason I am
here. Now, I like your looks, my boy, and I can see that you are able to
keep a still tongue between your lips, so I feel positive no one will be
any the wiser on account of your knowing my real character," he said,
drawing the other to one side, where they could chat without any one
overhearing what was said.
"Yes, sir; I'm ready to answer whatever questions you ask, though I
don't think I can tell you anything new."
"That remains to be seen. But at any rate it will give me a chance to
hear what I want at first hands, and put my own construction on it.
There is a good deal in that, you know."
Thereupon he began to fire away with his questions, and bit by bit drew
out the entire story of that one day's happening; now and then he would
go over some point and try to see if Dick would contradict himself, but
the result was always the same.
"You are a gilt-edged witness, Dick. You never changed your story a
particle. I think I have learned all I want now," the other said, in
conclusion.
"And what do you think, sir--was my later suspicion founded on anything
like fact, or did I allow my imagination to have too big a grip on me
when I peeped through that little hole and saw that look on his face?"
asked the boy.
The man smiled and shook his head.
"We have to keep our ideas pretty close, Dick. What I think I might not
like to say; only that you were far from being a fool when you allowed
yourself to think as you did. Time will tell. I will begin to lay my
plans, although days may go by, and I will vanish from this region
before I find the chance to carry out the last desperate part of my
little scheme. Thank you for all you have told me. It has helped me
very, very much, my boy."
Later on Dick saw the gentleman once more at work in the bank.
He acted his part to perfection, and not even the bookkeeper seemed to
have the slightest suspicion that Mr. Cheever could be anything other
than he claimed.
Of course, the fact that he had formerly been a bank examiner before
taking up his present profession of investigation made it easy for him
to play the game.
But it promised to be the easiest similar task the anxious bookkeeper
had ever gone through with; for at the end of the second day the
gentleman complimented him on his accurate accounts, and the bank on its
solvent condition; after which he was closeted with Mr. Gibbs and the
cashier in the president's room for an hour, came out, gravely shook
hands all around, and departed.
The bookkeeper heaved a mighty sigh of relief.
"That job's off my hands for six months or more," he said, with evident
satisfaction.
Dick could just catch the little chuckle that the receiving teller
allowed to escape him upon hearing this remark; but by no look did Mr.
Winslow betray his consciousness of a knowledge of the truth.
Things went on for two days just about as usual.
The failure of Archibald Graylock proved to be worse than was at first
supposed possible, and it was now declared that after the affairs of the
bankrupt firm had been adjusted the creditors might receive even less
than twenty cents on the dollar.
Mr. Graylock went about looking quite forlorn, as a man whose business
was ruined might be expected to appear; but once when he was passing
out of the bank Dick, watching closely, felt sure that he saw a little
sneer pass over his angular face, as though some sudden thought had
pleased him.
Dick was treated with the utmost kindness by every one for all knew the
story of the fire, and Pliny never ceased to deplore the wretched fate
that seemed to debar him from playing so heroic a role.
When he could do so Dick sought out the teller, for he was anxious to
know whether Mr. Cheever was at work, even though unseen by those in the
bank.
"What news?" he asked in a low tone, stopping by Mr. Winslow's desk as
if waiting for some document to place in the vault.
The other glanced hastily around before replying.
"Nothing as yet, but I saw _him_ last night, and he gave me reason to
believe he might have something to show for his work to-day," he replied
in a low tone.
Dick understood what this meant.
Mr. Cheever had been prowling around the Graylock home, and believed he
saw a way to effect an entrance during the absence of the owner, whose
habits he had carefully studied.
Would he be able to discover anything there?
Might not Mr. Graylock, granting that he was guilty of abstracting those
securities with the intention of defrauding his creditors out of their
just dues, be cunning enough to conceal them where no one would think
of looking?
He advanced this theory to the teller in a whisper.
Mr. Winslow smiled encouragingly.
"You don't know our friend as well as I do, Dick. He is a wonderfully
gifted man for prying into secret places, and seems to know just by
intuition where one would be apt to hide anything. Don't worry about
him. If he gets in he'll rummage that house from top to bottom, and ten
to one there'll be something doing, too. I'm expecting to see him
walking through that door at any minute now, and passing back into the
president's room."
Dick moved away, for the bookkeeper was approaching, with a look of
concern on his face.
"Say, Winslow, do you know, the porter was telling me just now that he
believes he saw that bank examiner in town last night. I told him he
must have been mistaken, but he vowed he was positive. Now, what do you
suppose that fellow has come back here for, and after he publicly
complimented me on the admirable manner in which my books were kept,
too?" and the industrious knight of the ledger and the daybook had such
a look of worry on his face that it was all Mr. Winslow could do to keep
from laughing outright.
"The porter may have been mistaken after all; or even if he did see the
gentleman that fact need not give you any alarm. Possibly he is doing
something for Mr. Gibbs; or else has been engaged to straighten out the
books of the defunct firm across the way. Forget it, and be happy," he
said; and the other went back to his desk shaking his head as if he did
not fully like the situation.
Dick found himself looking toward the door every time any one came in,
and fervently hoping that Mr. Cheever might show up; for if he came it
would doubtless signify that he had been successful in his hunt for the
missing securities.
Every time he went out he could see the same crowd about the closed
doors of the big store; people could not get over the novelty of the
failure, possibly the first that had come to Riverview these many years,
and certainly the worst by long odds.
Many in town had also suffered as well as the foreign creditors; and the
name of Archibald Graylock was being held up to execration in many
quarters where he had borrowed small sums, or else bought goods to fill
a gap, and for which he had never settled.
Once he was seized upon by Ferd who had been hovering around, possibly
at his father's desire, to hear what was being said of the man who had
gone down with such a smash.
Ferd looked doleful enough, and Dick did not have the heart to feel
glad.
Knowing what he did of the Graylock son and heir, Dick had before now
decided in his own mind that this failure of his father might be the
making of Ferd; certainly it was not going to do him any particular harm
to be thrown out on his own resources, and there was a chance that it
would arouse a slumbering spark of ambition that may have never awakened
only for this sudden change.
"This is a mighty rough deal we're up against, Dick. The old man seems
to think you know something about those securities he lost the other
day. If you do you've played the meanest trick on him that ever was; for
he says they would have kept his head above water. But between you and
me I believe the old man is getting a bit looney, and that he has pawned
them long ago. I'll be glad to get away from this miserable little
place, that's what," said Ferd, with disgust plainly shown on his face.
"Then you expect to go away?" asked Dick.
"Yes, in a day or two, to Boston. An uncle has offered me a job in his
office; and as he is a broker I think I see myself getting to the top of
the heap before long," replied the other, braggingly.
"Is your father going with you?" questioned Dick, thinking that the
movements of Archibald Graylock held something of interest for him under
the circumstances.
"No, you see he has to stay around here for some weeks yet, settling up.
He says he will be as poor as Job's turkey when they get through with
him; but if he is, then he was never the keen and clever man I always
took him to be. I suppose he will come down to the city after its all
done, and begin there over again."
"Well, I must get on. Wish you luck when you go, Ferd."
"You're in an awful hurry. I wanted to ask you about that affair up at
old Gibbs' place; they say you saved Bessie's life?" demanded the other,
catching his sleeve.
"All a big yarn. I just happened around in time to jerk down a few
curtains and stamp on the fire. They were nearly in ashes anyhow.
Anybody could have done the same thing. Why, it was a picnic, you know.
Good-bye, Ferd," and jerking loose he ran off, leaving the other looking
after him, and shaking his head, as if unable to understand why any
fellow could resist the chance to play the part of a hero when the
chance came to him as it had to Dick.
When he got back to the bank Dick was just settling down to some work he
wished to get through with before noon when he saw the bookkeeper
staring at the door as if he had seen a ghost; and looking up the boy
discovered a familiar figure crossing over in the direction of Mr.
Gibbs' private room.
It was the supposed bank examiner!
And he carried a little bundle under his arm at which he glanced
significantly, and followed this with a smile and a nod as he passed
Mr. Winslow's window.
Dick was thrilled with the belief that he had found the missing
securities!