They followed the suitcase upstairs, where the Governor unlocked it
with an implement that looked like a nut pick. Archie's last vestige of
doubt as to the Governor's powers vanished when he saw that the bag was
filled with packages of bank notes in small denominations.
"One might object to so many of the little fellows," remarked the
Governor, "but on the whole we have no reason to complain of Leary's
work. The rascal is anxious to settle down in some strictly moral
community and open a confectionery shop--one of these little concerns
where the neighborhood children bring in their pennies for sodas and
chewing-gum, with a line of late magazines on the side. A kind, genial
man is Leary, and he swears he'll abandon the road for good."
Archie picked up several bundles of the bills and turned them over,
reflecting that to his other crimes he had now added the receipt and
concealment of stolen money.
"Dinner in an hour, Archie," said the Governor, who was drawing a
diagram of some sort on a sheet of inn paper. "The evening meal is
rather a ceremonial affair here and as I notice that you carry a dress
suit we shall follow the conventions. Meanwhile I wish you would look in
at Barclay & Pedding's garage, just around the comer, and ask if a car
has been left there for Mr. Reginald H. Saulsbury. You needn't be afraid
of getting pinched, for the machine was acquired by purchase and I'm
merely borrowing it from Abe Collins, _alias_ Slippery Abe, the king of
all con men. Abe only plays for suckers of financial prominence who'd
gladly pay a second time not to be exposed and he's grown so rich that
he's retiring this summer. He was to send a machine to me here so I
could avoid the petty annoyances of travel in a stolen car We'll leave
here like honest men, with the landlord bowing us away from the door."
That there should indeed be a handsome touring car at Barclay &
Pedding's, awaiting the pleasure of Mr. Saulsbury, increased enormously
Archie's respect and admiration for the Governor. It was a first-class
machine worth four or five thousand dollars as it stood, and Archie was
cheered by the thought that he enjoyed the friendship of a man who
satisfied all his needs with so little trouble.
When he returned the Governor was dressing and manifested no surprise
that the car awaited his pleasure.
"Yes, of course," he remarked absently. "You can always rely on Abe.
It's time for you to dress, and we must look our prettiest. I caught a
glimpse of Miss Seebrook strolling through the garden with her papa a
bit ago. It may be necessary for you to cultivate her a trifle. A little
flirting now and then is relished by the wisest men."
"If you think--" began Archie warily.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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