"Why, Gora, dear," she said lightly. "I thought you were on an important
case."
"Man died last night. I have just been to see Mortimer. When I got his
note--just three lines--saying that he had received a cheque from Utica
and deposited it to my account I knew at once--as soon as I had time to
think--there was something wrong. The natural thing would have been to call
me up--couldn't tell me the good news too soon....And there was a hollow
ring about that note....Well, as soon as I woke up to-day I went straight
down to his office. I had to wait an hour. When he came in and saw me he
turned green. I marched him into a back room and corkscrewed the truth out
of him--the whole truth. Then I blasted him. He knows exactly what one
person in this world thinks of him, what everybody else would think of
him if he were found out. I gathered that you had let him down easy. Your
toploftical pride, I suppose. Well, I must have a good plebeian streak in
me somewhere and for the first time I was glad of it. When I left him he
looked shrunken to half his natural size. His eyes looked like a dead
fish's and all the muscles of his face had given Way. He looked as if he
were going to die and I wish he would. Faugh! A thief in the family. That
at least we never had before."
"Don't be too sure. Remember nobody else knows about Morty, and
everybody'll go on thinking he's honest. Half our friends may be thieves
for all we know, and as for our ancestors--what are you doing?"
II
Gora had taken a roll of yellow bills from her purse.
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