Part 21 (1/2)
”I've hearn him a-jinglin' it in his room; an' night afore las' I clim' up-stairs and peeked in, an' he had a whole pile of gold pieces 'bout that high,” measuring with his hands; ”but he see me, an' he said he'd gimme a whalin' ef he catched me at it agin.”
”Did you watch him last night?” asked Mr. Mainwaring.
”Yas; he acted so kinder queer that I waited 'round to see what he was goin' to do. After 'twas still an' he thought I'd gone, he come down an' started off towards the side street. Jes' fer fun I follered him; an' when he got to the lake he stopped and looked all 'round, as ef to make sure there warn't n.o.body to see him, an' then he takes somethin', I couldn't see what, out from under his coat an'
chucks it quick into the lake, an' then he started on a run down towards the street.”
”Couldn't you see what he threw?”
”No, I couldn't see what 'twas; but it struck the water awful heavy.”
”Is that all you know about the affair?”
”Yas, that's all.”
”Wait a moment,” said Mr. Merrick, as the boy turned to leave the room. ”Can you tell how many, or what kind of looking men were with Brown on Wednesday night?”
”There was three of 'em. One was a big feller with kinder squint eyes, the other two was ornery lookin' fellers; one of 'em was dark like a furriner, an' t'other one had sorter yeller hair.”
”How long were they there?”
”About half 'n hour, I guess. They was all gone 'fore nine o'clock.”
”Did you hear anything that was said?”
”I hearn 'em talkin' somethin' about the boss.”
”Mr. Mainwaring?”
”Yas. He'd made a kick about somethin' or 'nuther that afternoon, an' Brown he was cussin' mad, an' then when they went away I hearn one of 'em say somethin' about 'makin' a good job of it.'”
”How was this, Hardy?” inquired Mr. Whitney. ”Had there been any words Wednesday between Mr. Mainwaring and the coachman?”
”Yes, sir; I had forgotten it; but now I remember that when he came back that afternoon, he found some fault with the coachman, and Brown was very insolent, and then Mr. Mainwaring threatened to discharge him.”
”'Pon my soul! I should say here was something worth looking into,”
said Mr. Thornton, as the boy left the room, accompanied by Hardy.
”A great pity that we could not have had his testimony at the inquest,” commented the attorney. ”We might then have cornered Brown; but I was not aware that there was such a person employed on the place.”
Meanwhile, a carriage ordered by telephone from the Arlington had already arrived at Fair Oaks.
”Well,” said Ralph Mainwaring, ”the carriage is waiting. We had better proceed to the depot; we can talk of this latest development on our way.”
”You will excuse me, gentlemen,” said Mr. Merrick, quietly, ”I have changed my mind, and will postpone my trip to the city.”
”Struck a new trail, eh?” queried Ralph Mainwaring, with a peculiar expression, as he paused to light a cigar.
”On the contrary, sir, only following up an old one,” and, with a somewhat ambiguous smile, the detective withdrew.
The coachman's sudden disappearance, together with the facts learned from the stable-boy, formed the subject of discussion for the next half-hour between Ralph Mainwaring and the attorney, Scott listening with a thoughtful face, although taking little part in the conversation. Upon their arrival at the offices of Mainwaring & Co. they were given a cordial greeting by Mr. Elliott and Mr.