The Dugdale Millions — page 245: what you’re looking at

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

PUZZLED CONSPIRATORS. 235 convict her husband of some intrigue she thinks he has been engaged in. She says the box belonged to James Powers and that his daughter—the Jenkins woman—does not understand the papers in it. So far as that goes it is all right. Ransom,”’ he said, sud- denly breaking off and turning to that person, ‘‘how many boxes did you get?”’ fad i: aad *‘Holy smoke! Three were taken, or were missing this morning.”’ The two stared at each other in blank amazement. The others looked upon them with frightened interest. “*I took two,’’ at length said Ransom. ‘‘AIl I saw. When I reached the window I found it tighter than a drum and I[ thought, if the old woman hadn’t weak- ened at the end, she had forgotten the window in her flurry. So I went in anyhow. When I got in, there were two boxes on the table, and I took them both to make sure, and made off.’’ ‘‘Well,’’ said Bob, after a moment’s reflection, “I’m afraid the old woman has squealed, and not any further than to tell about the box. I came down on the cars with Mason. He said three boxes had been taken, two containing private papers of Mr. Stanton and one papers going to the proof of the heirship to the Dugdale estates—what the proof was he did not know. Now you see that though Mrs, Stanton told me last night that no one but herself knew the box had been received, yet this morning Mason knew it. She must have squealed.”’ ‘*Perhaps,’’ said Moore, “*‘they came to know that this Jenkins woman had been there and she was com- pelled to admit the box.”’ ‘‘But about the three boxes?’’ said Ransom. ‘“‘I got but two.’’ ‘We must examine those boxes at once,’’ said Orton Pierson. ‘‘We are getting into shallow waters and must be cautious in every movement we make,”’ Comicloee “S C@ 3