Laura Brayton — page 114: what you’re looking at

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

LAURA BRAYTON, 106 chair, as he opened the first paper. “I am ruined! The originals gone, and copies substituted! Who on earth can have gotten into my safes? Never are the keys out of my pocket. Yet some one has been here. They have all been changed!” And he examined paper after paper with the same result. “Opening safes isn’t werry hard work when one can get a minute’s time to examine the locks and take an impression,” said Joe, dryly. “I could have been in them safes long ago, if I had wanted to. I took the gage of the locks the first time 1 was ever in the room, while you went to get something to eat and drink.” “You have never been there; the money is un- touched, and the papers were nothing to you,” said Sharp, subsiding down into gloom again. “IT know I haven’t been there, boss, for so far you’ve acted square to me, and I’m not going to buck against you because luck does. No, sir—that isn’t my style. I stick, I does.” A third person enter ed the room. His face. usually so dull and stupid, was all aglow with excitement. His gray eyes fairly blazed. “I’m slow, ain’t I?” he cried, addressing the lawyer. “Slow by name and nature, too, in everything but feeding and drinking,” said Sharp, with a sneer. “Slow and sure—yes, sir, sure!” cried Nathan Sloth, in an exultant tone. “What do you mean?” “T’ve got news, good news, big news, but I’ve got .to be paid for it. Yes, sir; yes, Mr. Enoch Sharp, when I do what all your detectives can’t.do I’ve got to be paid for it.” comicbooks (Efe)