The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 362: what you’re looking at

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

328 THE COURT OF LONDON him was bribed to let the prisoner, Caroline Walters, escape. So I am suspended until such time as the matter can be cleared up saytisfactorily.”’ ‘‘ But how do you hope to gain any clue at the Staff to your friend Grumley’s proceedings? ’’ demanded Carrotty Poll, with an acerbity which she scarcely took the trouble to conceal. ‘‘ Remember, Mr. Mobbs, that I for one have no reason to be grateful either to you or Mr. Grumley for nabbing my father — ”’ “Quite in the way of business, my dear,’ interrupted Mobbs; ‘“‘ and remember that although I am suspended now, I may soon be restored to my post, and I shall not fail to mark them as treats me with incivility while I’m under the cloud.” ““T’m sure I wouldn’t treat you with incivility for the world, Mr. Mobbs,” exclaimed Carrotty Poll, understanding the significancy and feeling the force of the implied menace. “But pray do tell me what information you hoped to obtain at the Staff? ”’ she inquired, with renewed mildness of tone and manner. . “Why, to speak’ plain, miss,’ said Mobbs, after a few moments’ deep rumination, ‘‘ I’ve been weighing in my mind this business of Grumley’s sudden disappearance, and the longer I think of it, the more I’m convinced that he’s made himself scarce for certain reasons.”’ ‘““ Ah! I begin to understand,” exclaimed Carrotty Poll, whose shrewdness enabled her to detect the rancour which was lurking at the bottom of the man’s mind in respect to his late superior in office. ‘“‘ Mr. Grumley hasn’t behaved well toward you in respect to your share of the proceeds of some transaction — p’raps this very affair of Caroline Walters’s suicide,”’ she added, with a significant leer. “ Well, well,” said Mobbs, laughing, ‘it’s likely enough you ain’t far wide of the mark, miss.”’ “And so Grumley has really cheated you out of your regu- lars?’ observed Carrotty Poll, in a musing’ tone. “I shouldn’t have thought him capable of it.” “‘ Neither did I,” rejoined Mobbs. ‘“ But there’s no saying what may happen in this world, or what a man may do. Howsomever, it’s of no use to waste walyable time in idle obserwations; and so I’ll just tell you at once what I want with you and why I come to the Staff to-night. That Grum- CORICLOOO S (©