The Colonel was bent on routing out Radnor to share the excitement and I
with some difficulty restrained him, knowing full well that Rad was not
in the house. We made a search of the premises to assure ourselves that
there was nothing tangible about Mose's ha'nt; but I was in such a hurry
to get the Colonel safely upstairs again, that our search was somewhat
cursory. We both overlooked the little office that opened off the
dining-room. In spite of my manoeuvres the Colonel entered the library
first and discovered that the French window was open; he laid no stress
on this however, supposing that Mose was the guilty one. He bolted it
with unusual care, and I with equal care slipped back and unbolted it. I
finally persuaded him that Mose's ha'nt was merely the result of a
fevered imagination fed on a two weeks' diet of ghost stories, and
succeeded in getting him back to bed without discovering Radnor's
absence. I lay awake until I heard the sound of carriage wheels
returning across the lawn, and, a few minutes later, footsteps enter
the house and tip-toe upstairs. Then as daylight was beginning to show
in the east I finally fell asleep, worn out with puzzling my head for an
explanation which should cover at once Rad's nocturnal drive and Mose's
ha'nt.
CHAPTER VI
WE SEND FOR A DETECTIVE
I slept late the next morning, and came down stairs to find the Colonel
pacing the length of the dining-room, his head bent, a worried frown
upon his brow. He came to a sudden halt at my appearance and regarded me
a moment without speaking. I could see that something of moment had
happened, but I could fathom nothing of its nature from his expression.
"Good morning, Arnold," he said with a certain grim pleasantness. "I
have just been making a discovery. It appears that Mose's ha'nt amounted
to more than we gave him credit for. The safe was robbed during the
night."
"The safe robbed!" I cried. "How much was taken?"
"Something over a hundred dollars in cash, and a number of important
papers."
He threw open the door of the little office, and waved his hand toward
the safe which occupied one end. The two iron doors were wide open, the
interior showing a succession of yawning pigeon holes with the cash
drawer, half pulled out and empty. Several papers were spilled on the
floor underneath.
"He evidently had no use for my will nor for Kennisburg street railway
stock--I don't blame him; it wouldn't sell for the paper it's written
on."
Radnor's step sounded on the stair as he came running down--whistling I
noted.
"Ah--Rad," the Colonel called from the office doorway. "You're a good
sleeper."
Radnor stopped his whistle as his eye fell upon our faces, and his own
took on a look of anxiety.
"What's the matter?" he asked. "Has anything happened?"
"It appears the ha'nt has robbed the safe."
"The ha'nt?" Rad's face went visibly white, and then in a moment it
cleared; his expression was divided between relief and dismay.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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