One morning I dropped into the downtown club which Perkins calls his
home. I found him sitting in the reception room, juggling a newspaper
and watching the door. He seemed somewhat disturbed.
"Good morning," said I.
"It is not a good morning," said he. "It's a bad morning. Look at this."
He handed me the paper, with his thumb at the head of the Lost-and-Found
column, and I read as follows:
"LOST--A black leather wallet, containing private papers and a sum of
money. A suitable reward will be paid for the return of same, and no
questions asked. Apply to W. J. P., Argonaut Club, City."
"Tough luck," said I. "Did you lose much?"
"Quite a sum," replied the Ooley-cow. "Enough to make it an object. In
large bills mostly."
"Too bad. The wallet had your cards in it?"
"And some papers of a private nature."
"Have you any idea where you might have dropped it? Or do you think it
was stolen?"
"I don't know what to think. I had it last night at the Country Club
just before I left. I know I had it then, because I took it out in the
lounging room to pay a small bet to Mr. Poindexter--a matter of two
dollars. Then I put the wallet back in my inside pocket and came
straight here--alone in a closed car. I missed it just before going to
bed. I telephoned to the Country Club. No sign of it there. I went to
the garage myself. It was not in the car. Of course it may have been
there earlier in the evening, but I think my driver is honest, and----"
At this point we were interrupted by a clean-cut looking youngster of
perhaps seventeen years.
"Your initials are W. J. P., sir?" he asked politely.
"They are."
"This is your 'ad' in the paper?"
"It is."
The boy reached in his pocket and brought out a black leather wallet. "I
have returned your property," said he, and waited while the Ooley-cow
thumbed a roll of yellow-backed bills.
"All here," said Perkins with a sigh of relief. Then he looked up at the
boy, and his large bovine eyes turned hard as moss agates. "Where did
you get this?" he demanded abruptly. "How did you come by it?"
The boy smiled and shook his head, but his eyes never left Perkins'
face. "No questions were to be asked, sir," said he.
"Right!" grunted the Ooley-cow. "Quite right. A bargain's a bargain.
I--I beg your pardon, young man.... Still, I'd like to know.... Just
curiosity, eh?... No?... Very well then. That being the case"--he
stripped a fifty-dollar note from the roll and passed it over--"would
you consider this a suitable reward?"
"Yes, sir, and thank you, sir."
"Good day," said Perkins, and put the wallet into his pocket. He stared
at the boy until he disappeared through the street door.
"Something mighty queer about this," mused the Ooley-cow thoughtfully.
"Mighty queer. That boy--he looked honest. He had good eyes and he
wasn't afraid of me. I couldn't scare him worth a cent. Couldn't bluff
him.... Yet if he found it somewhere, there wasn't any reason why he
shouldn't have told me. He didn't steal it--I'll bet on that. Maybe he
got it from some one who did. Oh, well, the main thing is that he
brought it back.... Going out to the Country Club this afternoon?"