Lippincott's Magazine of Popular Literature and Science, Vol. 12, No. 32, November, 1873Various
Science
Lippincott's Magazine of Popular Literature and Science, Vol. 12, No. 32, November, 1873
Various
Literature, Modern -- 19th century -- Periodicals; Science -- Periodicals
All this while the two had been looking the room over, rummaging through
drawers, looking on whatnots, brackets, shelves, etc.
"Well, I can't keep the agent waiting any longer," said the doctor.
"I'll tell I him I'll bring the money round to him;" and he left the
room.
"What are you standing there for?" said Mrs. Lively, whirling sharply
on Napoleon. "Go, and look for that money."
"Where?"
"How do I know where? Look anywhere and everywhere. There's no telling
where your father lost it. Napoleon Lively," she exclaimed, a sudden
idea seeming to strike her, "what did you do with that money?"
"Nothing," answered the youth with cool indifference.
"Where did you hide it?"
"Didn't hide it."
His perfect nonchalance was irresistibly convincing.
"Have you found it?" said the doctor, re-entering the room.
"Found it!" Mrs. Lively snapped out the words, and then her lips shut
close together as if with the vehemence of the snapping.
"Perhaps the house was entered last night," suggested the doctor.
"I locked every door and window, and they were all locked this morning
when I got up," replied Mrs. Lively. "Perhaps you left the front door
open when you went out in the night. I'll warrant you did: it would be
just like you."
"I did _not_ leave the door open," replied the doctor. "I found it
locked when I got back, and opened it with my night-key. Besides, I was
not out of the house more than forty minutes, and you told me when I got
back that you hadn't been asleep."
"I told you I had scarcely been asleep," said Mrs. Lively.
All that day the Lively household was in extreme commotion. Every
bedstead was stripped naked, and each article of bedding was separately
shaken in the middle of the room; the contents of every drawer were
turned out; every piece of furniture was moved; every floor was
carefully swept. The house, in short, was turned inside out.
Advertisements were put in the papers; handsome rewards were offered;
the police were notified of the loss. The detectives were of opinion
that the house had been entered, but there was not the slightest clew to
the burglars.
It was Friday, the sixth of October, when the loss was discovered. On
the seventh the house was again looked over, inch by inch.
"You _must_ have put that money somewhere else than in my purse," said
Dr. Lively to his wife. "Have you looked in the pockets of all your
dresses?"
"Don't say to me again that I didn't put that money in your purse," said
Mrs. Lively vehemently: "I won't bear it. You might as well tell me that
I don't see you this minute. There never was anything in this world that
makes me so tearing mad as to be contradicted about something that I
perfectly well know. I'd go into any court and swear that I put that
money in your purse; and I don't want to hear any more of your
insinuations. Do you think I've stolen the money? You've lost it out of
the purse--that's all there is about it. This house has no more been
entered than I've been burglaring."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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