The Dugdale Millions — page 178: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

168 THE DUGDALE MILLIONS, you're rich. I must marry riches because I’m poor.” ‘‘ You’re a mercenary little wretch.” They walked away together. Notwithstanding Wallis had successfully shown her contempt over Bessie’s proposition, she was not a little flurried over the suggestion. ‘“‘Pshaw!’”’ she said aloud to herself, after she had parted with her friend, where their paths separated. “Pshaw ! why couldn’t Bessie keep her thoughts to herself. All the fun will be over with Lord Meeri- mount and, in spite of the nonsense of the idea, I’ll be playing Miss Propriety to him, when he comes back.”’ Dick returned in the evening with Mr. Stanton, and was handed a letter which had been received during his absence, and bearing the Philadelphia postmark. It was from Mrs. Jenkins. Evidently correspond- ence was not one of her accomplishments. From her eccentric penmanship and obscure sentences, how- ever, he extracted the fact that the tin box, of which she had spoken when he had seen her, had been found. Moreover, when examined, it had yielded some letters and papers bearing upon the adoption of the Dugdale child. Of what importance these letters and papers might be, however, she was unable to tell. There was one letter, she said, which her husband thought might be from the man who had adopted the child. The name however Dick could not decipher, for it had been written over and blurred, so as to be- come utterly indistinguishable. The letter closed with the statement that Mrs. Jenkins and her hus- band were called the following week to New York, and if Mr. Mason thought the box and its contents of sufficient importance, they would bring it with them and deliver it to him. Since the discovery of the supposed Dugdale heir, and Dick’s visit to Orton Pierson, interest in what Comiclboolkk<s C@ 3