A master hand : $b The story of a crime — John Shaqi
A master hand : $b The story of a crimeDallas, Richard
General
A master hand : $b The story of a crime
Dallas, Richard
Detective and mystery stories; Murder -- Fiction; New York (N.Y.) -- Fiction
White hesitated a moment, and then drained his glass, and threw it into
the fireplace with a crash. We all looked a little surprised, I think,
but no one offered any comment. Van Bult and Littell laughed and drank
the toast. I did not altogether fancy the spirit of the thing, and
quietly replaced my glass on the table, but Davis openly declared that
he did not like the toast and would not drink it. This seemed to incense
White, who by this time was very plainly showing the effects of the
liquor he had taken, and he told Davis not to be a fool; that it ill
became him to pose as a paragon of virtue.
Davis made no answer, and Littell, after a moment's awkward silence,
suggested our going. We said good-night to White, who seemed to recover
himself for the moment and murmured some apologies, mainly addressed to
Davis, for his ill-humor. He also asked the latter, who lived in the
same house, to remain with him for a while.
As we were going out, he called after me that he wanted to come to my
office the next day to talk to me about something, to which I acceded.
Littell delayed a moment for a last word with him, and then joined Van
Bult and myself on the sidewalk and we walked together toward Fifth
Avenue.
Van Bult was the first to speak:
"What is the matter with White?" he said; "he does not seem like
himself."
"He has probably some trifling matter on his mind," I suggested, "the
seriousness of which he morbidly exaggerates. He is a nervous fellow
anyhow, and has several times hinted to me that he wanted to make a
confidant of me about something. I am inclined to believe," I continued,
expressing a thought I had entertained before, "that he feels he has
been guilty of an injustice to his cousin, Winters, in taking the bulk
of his uncle's fortune, and suffers some remorse when he sees the poor
fellow going to the bad. For that matter, however," I concluded, "he
would have gone there anyhow, and all the faster for a little money."
"It may be there is a woman in the case," said Littell; "it seems to me
I have heard of an entanglement of some sort."
"So they say," I answered, "but I don't see why an affair of that sort
should give him cause for much worry."
"Well, whatever it is," said Van Bult, "he had better pull himself
together and go away for a change. One of you fellows suggest it to him,
you know him better than I do. He may give you an opportunity
to-morrow, Dallas," he continued, "if he goes to see you as he said he
would."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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