The Million-Dollar Suitcase — John Stuart Mill — John Shaqi
The Million-Dollar Suitcase
John Stuart Mill · en
Now I had the road more to myself; only an occasional handsome car,
where the wealthy were getting in to the part of the festival they'd
care for. In the orchards near town where the big picnic places had been
laid out with rough board tables and benches, seats for thousands, there
were occasional loud basket lunch parties scattered. All at once I was
hungry enough to have gone and asked for a handout.
I went by back streets down to the house to get my mail. There seemed no
human reason that I should feel it a treachery to have Worth in jail at
San Jose, and be able to walk into his house at Santa Ysobel a free man.
The place was empty; Chung had the day off, of course. It was possible
Worth's cook, even, didn't know what had happened to his employer. Santa
Ysobel had no morning paper. In the confusion of the blossom festival, I
ventured to guess that not more than a score of people did as yet know
of the arrest. Our end of town was drained, quiet; nobody over at the
Vandeman bungalow; looking down at the Square as I made my sneak
through, I had caught a glimpse of Bronson Vandeman, a great rosette of
apricot blossoms on his coat lapel, making his speech of presentation to
the cannery girl queen, while his wife, Ina, her fair face shaded doubly
by a big flower hat and a blossom covered parasol, listened and looked
on.
One of my pieces of mail concerned the Skeels chase. If my men down
there had Skeels, and Skeels was Clayte, it would mean everything in
handling Cummings and Dykeman. I took out the report and ran hastily
through it; a formal statement; day by day stuff:
"_Found Skeels and Dial at Tiajuana. Negotiating to buy saloon and
gambling house. Arranged with Jefico for arrest of S. (Expense
$20.) Rurales took S. to jail. (Expense, $4.50) I interviewed S.,
and he said he came here to open a business where he could sell
booze. D. was his partner in proposition. S. knew nothing of bank
affair. Would waive extradition and come back to stand trial at our
expense. Interviewed D. He says combined capital of two is $4500.,
saved from S's business and D's miner's wages. D. said--_"
Not much to show up with; but there were three photographs enclosed that
I wanted to try on Cummings and Dykeman. No telling where I'd find
either, but the Fremont House was my best bet. Getting back there
through the crowd, I saw Skeet Thornhill in a corner drugstore, waiting
at its counter. I was afoot, having been obliged to park my roadster in
one of the spaces set apart for this purpose. I noticed Vandeman's car
already there.