The Dugdale Millions — page 83: what you’re looking at

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

COUNTERPLOTS. rh After a few moments of further silence the man of the soft voice again spoke. ‘This is the layout,’’ he said. ‘‘Bob, here, finds that Mason is a clerk of Hetlow, who 1s a brother-in- law of the old Dugdale, and granduncle to the young- ster they want to find. Barber got hold of the right end of the story. ‘There is an heir wanted for the money. If this youngster is alive he’s the heir, if not Hetlow’s daughter is. So they’ve started in to find the youngster.’’ ‘*But, Ransom,’’ said the younger man, taking the cigar from his lips that he might the more easily make his point, ‘Show can that be? If they found the young fellow, Hetlow’s daughter would be done out of the money. Why should they hunt for him?”’ ‘*Of course,’’ replied the man called Ransom, ‘‘that seems reasonable on the face of it. But there are some men in this world so d honorable that they in- jure themselves. I expect this Hetlow’s one of them. Anyhow that’s what he’s doing—looking for a man, who, if they find him, ’ll do the girl out of a heap of money. ’Tain’t for us to talk about the foolishness of it, but the fact of it. Now this one hain’t been seen or heard of since he was two years old. The last that can be said of him is that at that time he was put into the hands of a man named Powers, to give to somebody else. That’s as far as they’ve got, and the man Powers hasn’t been found, so far as we know.’”’ ‘‘T know he ain’t,’’ interjected Dennis. ““How?’’ asked Ransom. For answer Moore took a newspaper from his pocket, and pointed out an advertisement, asking that any one having information as to James Powers, a morocco-finisher, who in 1857 and 1858 lived at No. MacDougall Street, to communicate with Stanton, Boyd & Stephens, No. Wall Street. “‘That’s a highly respectable law firm,’’ said Moore, Comicboocl< C@ 3}