第89章

Jed came forward, the roll of bills in his hand.He seemed quite oblivious of the Babbitt stare, or, for that matter, of the complete silence which had so suddenly fallen upon the group in the shop.He came forward, smoothing the crumpled notes with fingers which shook a little.He stopped in front of Captain Hunniwell.

The captain was gazing at him and at the money.Jed did not meet his friend's eye; he continued to smooth the banknotes.Captain Sam spoke first.

"What's that?" he demanded."What money's that?"Jed's fingers moved back and forth across the bills and he answered without looking up.He seemed much embarrassed.

"Sam," he faltered."Sam--er--you remember you told me you'd--er--lost some money a spell ago? Some--er--money you'd collected over to Wapatomac.You remember that, don't you?"Captain Sam looked at him in puzzled surprise."Remember it?" he repeated."Course I remember it.Gracious king, 'tain't likely I'd forget it, is it?"Jed nodded."No-o," he drawled, solemnly."No, course you couldn't.'Twas four hundred dollars you was short, wan't it?"The Captain's puzzled look was still there.

"Yes," he replied."What of it?"

"Why--why, just this, Sam: I--I want it to be plain, you understand.I want Major Grover and Phineas here to understand the--the whole of it.There's a lot of talk, seems so, around town about money bein' missin' from the bank--"Captain Sam interrupted."The deuce there is!" he exclaimed.

"That's the first I've heard of any such talk.Who's talkin'?""Oh, a--a good many folks, I judge likely.Gabe Bearse asked Babbie about it, and Phin here he--""Eh?" The captain turned to face his old enemy."So you've been talkin', have you?" he asked.

Mr.Babbitt leaned forward."I ain't begun my talkin' yet, Sam Hunniwell," he snarled."When I do you'll--"He stopped.Grover had touched him on the shoulder.

"Sshh!" said the Major quietly.To the absolute amazement of Captain Sam, Phineas subsided.His face was blazing red and he seemed to be boiling inside, but he did not say another word.Jed seized the opportunity to continue.

"I--I just want to get this all plain, Sam," he put in, hastily.

"I just want it so all hands'll understand it, that's all.You went over to Sylvester Sage's in Wapatomac and he paid you four hundred dollars.When you got back home here fourteen hundred of it was missin'.No, no, I don't mean that.I mean you couldn't find fourteen hundred--I mean--"The captain's patience was, as he himself often said, moored with a short cable.The cable parted now.

"Gracious king!" he snapped."Jed, if that yarn you're tryin' to spin was wound in a ball and a kitten was playin' with it you couldn't be worse snarled up.What he's tryin' to tell you," he explained, turning to Grover, "is that the other day, when I was over to Wapatomac, old Sylvester Sage over there paid me fourteen hundred dollars in cash and when I got back here all I could find was a thousand.That's what you're tryin' to say, ain't it?"turning to Jed once more.

"Yes--yes, that's it, Sam.That's it."

"Course it's it.But what do you want me to say it for? And what are you runnin' around with all that money in your hands for?

That's what I want to know."

Jed swallowed hard."Well, Sam," he stammered, "that--that's what I was goin' to tell you.You see--you see, that's the four hundred you lost.I--I found it."Major Grover looked surprised.Phineas Babbitt looked more surprised.But, oddly enough, it was Captain Sam Hunniwell who appeared to be most surprised by his friend's statement.The captain seemed absolutely dumbfounded.

"You--you WHAT?" he cried.

Jed smoothed the bills in his hand."I found it, Sam," he repeated."Here 'tis--here."He extended the bundle of banknotes.The captain made no move to take them.Jed held them a little nearer.

"You--you'd better take it, Sam," he urged."It might get lost again, you know."Still Captain Sam made no move.He looked from the bills in Jed's hands to Jed's face and back again.The expression on his own face was a strange one.

"You found it," he repeated."YOU did?"

"Yes--yes, I found it, Sam.Just happened to.""Where did you find it?"

"Over yonder behind that pile of boards.You know you said the money was in your overcoat pocket and--and when you came in here on your way back from Sylvester's you hove your coat over onto those boards.I presume likely the--the money must have fell out of the pocket then.You see, don't you, Sam?"The tone in which the question was asked was one, almost, of pleading.He appeared very, very anxious to have the captain "see." But the latter seemed as puzzled as ever.

"Here's the money, Sam," urged Jed."Take it, won't you?"Captain Sam took it, but that is all he did.He did not count it or put it in his pocket.He merely took it and looked at the man who had given it to him.

Jed's confusion seemed to increase."Don't you--don't you think you'd better count it, Sam?" he stammered."If--if the Major here and Phin see you count it and--and know it's all right, then they'll be able to contradict the stories that's goin' around about so much bein' stolen, you know."The captain grunted.

"Stolen?" he repeated."You said folks were talkin' about money bein' lost.Have they been sayin' 'twas stolen?"It was Grover who answered."I haven't heard any such rumors," he said."I believe Lieutenant Rayburn said he heard some idle report about the bank's having lost a sum of money, but there was no hint at dishonesty."Captain Sam turned to Mr.Babbitt.

"YOU haven't heard any yarns about money bein' stolen at the bank, have you?" he demanded.

Before Phineas could answer Grover's hand again fell lightly on his shoulder.

"I'm sure he hasn't," observed the Major.The captain paid no attention to him.

"Have you?" he repeated, addressing Babbitt.

The little man shook from head to foot.The glare with which he regarded his hated rival might have frightened a timid person.But Captain Sam Hunniwell was distinctly not timid.

"Have you?" he asked, for the third time.