FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   112   113   114   115   116   117   118   119   120   121   122   123   124   125   126   127   128   129   130   131   132   133   134   135   136  
137   138   139   140   141   142   143   144   145   146   147   148   149   150   151   152   153   154   155   156   157   158   159   160   161   >>   >|  
beneath the window of Carpenter's room, and thus had at first escaped the eyes of the police. When found, it was intact except for the six links that had been broken from the chain and dropped the night of the murder. Braceway threw down the paper and went to the Pennsylvania Avenue door. "Damn!" he addressed mentally the top of the Washington monument. "More grist for Bristow's mill! I'm not crazy, am I? I'm not that crazy, that's sure!" He set out to keep his appointment with Major Ross. After all, he felt reasonably sure of himself, and he had made up his mind to carry things through as he originally had intended. His shoulders were well back, his step elastic and quick. He flung off discouragement as if it had been an over-coat too warm for that weather. He would not permit Delaney's fiasco to annoy him. The Baltimore police had been tipped to watch the pawnshops; Delaney probably would pick Morley up again; and there was the extra man yet to be heard from. Besides, Morley would break down and confess cleanly after his fright on being arrested. Things were not so bad after all. CHAPTER XXI BRISTOW SOLVES A PROBLEM Mr. Beale and Mr. Jones were, so far as their exteriors showed, nearly back to the normal iciness of their every-day appearance when Braceway found them in the president's office a few minutes after half-past five. He did not have to ask what they had discovered; their faces were frank confessions. He dropped into a chair and smiled. "How much?" Mr. Beale cleared his throat and moved his lips deliberately one against the other. "Before I say anything else, Mr.--er--Braceway, I want to express to you not only my own gratitude but that of all the officers and directors of the Anderson National. You have, it seems, saved us from great trouble. As things are, they are bad enough. But you have enabled us to put our fingers on the--ah--situation almost in time." He glanced at Jones. "Briefly," the vice-president took up the statement, "it has been established, thus far, that Morley has stolen from the Anderson National the--" Mr. Beale's composure broke down at this. He interrupted the subordinate's calm explanation: "Stolen from the Anderson National! Think of that, sir! Of all the outrageous things, of all the unqualifiedly and absolutely incredible things! We have in our bank, on our payrolls, a thief, an unmitigated scoundrel!" He pushed back his chair and drummed on
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   112   113   114   115   116   117   118   119   120   121   122   123   124   125   126   127   128   129   130   131   132   133   134   135   136  
137   138   139   140   141   142   143   144   145   146   147   148   149   150   151   152   153   154   155   156   157   158   159   160   161   >>   >|  



Top keywords:
things
 

Morley

 

Braceway

 
National
 

Anderson

 

Delaney

 

dropped

 

police

 

president

 

Before


deliberately

 
appearance
 

office

 
confessions
 
discovered
 

smiled

 

throat

 

cleared

 

minutes

 

explanation


Stolen

 

subordinate

 

interrupted

 

stolen

 

established

 
composure
 

outrageous

 

unmitigated

 

scoundrel

 

pushed


drummed

 

payrolls

 
unqualifiedly
 

absolutely

 

incredible

 

statement

 

trouble

 

directors

 

officers

 

gratitude


glanced
 
Briefly
 

situation

 

enabled

 

fingers

 
express
 

cleanly

 
appointment
 
Bristow
 

Washington