Laura Brayton — page 178: what you’re looking at

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

LAURA BRAYTON. 169 pair of eyes as ever studied out a forgery case link by link. “The postmarks are genuine; the letter has come by the Asiatic and European mail—it smells of opium smoke and spices,” said Mr. Johnson. “If. your brother should yet be living and on his way here, it would be marvelous indeed.” “Itis too much to hope for,” said Mr. Withers. “But Heaven is kind, merciful, and just. In God is all my trust.” “His return would relieve me of the great respon- sibility which you wish me to take,” said Putnam. “Yes, sir, and hasten the time when you could press a claim which [I think will not be contested, to occupy the place of a son, rather than that of a guardian,” said Mr. Johnson, with a smile. Young Putnam smiled faintly, for he had “hoped © ae against hope” too long to be confident. “Tf there is anything reliable in the truth con- tained in-this apparently unfinished letter, there is . a chance of having even more strength added to | our cause,” said Mr. Johnson. “But as it is, our papers are complete. We have all the original schedules of the property left in care of Enoch Sharp as an agent only—we have all the original points of agreement, every original instruction. And where he has deviated but a line from the course laid by his instructions, where he has claimed as his own property not his, converted its profits to funds in his own name, we hold him not only for all that, but for damages also. By all that I can discover, he owes the estate of Luke Withers “over two millions of dollars, almost all of which he undoubtedly claims as hisown. He thinks no heir but yourself is alive to claim what he pretends is Eomicbooks:co