The Trials of the Soldier's Wife: A Tale of the Second American RevolutionAbrams, Alex. St. Clair (Alexander St. Clair)
History
The Trials of the Soldier's Wife: A Tale of the Second American Revolution
Abrams, Alex. St. Clair (Alexander St. Clair)
Confederate States of America -- Fiction; United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Fiction
We must now take a glance back at the time that Mrs. Wentworth
committed her act of despair in taking the package of money from the
safe. Mr. Swartz, as we stated, was then gazing intently at the open
pages of his ledger, and, in her leaving the room hurriedly, did not
take any other notice of her, than mere glance. He then resumed his
calculations, nor did he rise from his seat for nearly three hours
afterwards, so intent was he on the books before him. Rising up at
last, he walked to the safe, and observing that the package of money
was gone, called out to his clerk, who quickly answered the summons
and entered the room.
"Vere is dat package of money I had on de safe dis morning?" he
enquired, as soon as the clerk had entered.
"I have not seen anything of it, since I gave it into your hands this
morning at nine o'clock," the clerk replied.
"Vell, I put it on top of dis safe," observed Mr. Swartz, "and I
forgot to lock it up, ven Mr. Elder came in, and kept me talking
nearly two hours, den de beggar came in and remained for a long time.
After dat I vas busy mit the ledger, and didn't think of it."
"Perhaps you have placed it somewhere else, and cannot recollect
where," remarked the clerk, who was apprehensive that Mr. Swartz would
charge him with having stolen the money.
"No, I didn't," answered Mr. Swartz, "De monish vas put down on de top
of the safe, for I remember putting it down here myself," he added,
pointing to the spot where the money had been.
"You had better search about before you make certain of that," said
the clerk. "See if it is not in your pocket you may have placed it
there, and at the same time believe that you placed it on your safe."
"Mine Cot!" answered Mr. Swartz, "I tell you I put the package on de
safe. See here," he continued, searching his pockets, and emptying
them of whatever they contained. "Don't you see dat de monish is not
in my pockets. It vas on de safe und unless somebody removed it, it
never could have gone away."
"You should be certain, sir, before you insist that you placed it on
the safe," remarked the clerk. "Look in the draw of your desk, it may
have been placed there as well as any other place."
With a gesture of impatience Mr. Swartz opened the drawers of the
desk, and removing everything they contained searched carefully among
the large number of papers for the missing package. It was not there
however, and turning to the clerk who was standing near by, he pointed
to the table to indicate the fact of its absence among the papers he
had taken from the drawers.
"I told you it vash not tere," he remarked. "Somebody has taken te
monish, and, py Cot! I vill find out who has got it."
"Don't be so hasty in your conclusions, sir," said the clerk. "Let us
search the room carefully, and see whether it has not been mislaid by
you. It will never do," he added, "to charge anybody with having taken
the money, when it may be lying about the room."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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