The Argosy, March 1907 — page 178: what you’re looking at

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

Bi Ey ae hI ‘ . 3] h 3 A ve crazy! egg.” aE “ARGOSY. _ r. a a « The aie was robbed of the eee last night, and you are the man who did it. You fit to a T the description furnished by Mrs. Parker’s young sister, \even down to the eagle-claw stickpin you have in your tie at the present moment. So come with me.” “Why, my dear man, you must be There is a horrible mistake here, somehow !”’ “The only mistake was made by you in remaining in town after you took the plate,” smiled the officer. ‘‘ But in order to avoid any further mistakes, we’ll just walk around to the Parkers’ and have you identified beyond a doubt.” Although Voorhees had detested ex- planations heretofore, he was now willing to make everything clear as crystal. He saw that he was in a tight hole. If the house had ,been robbed he might have a hard time proving his innocence. Unfortunately, his friend Sears, the physician, was out on his daily round of calls, and he was the only person in Greensburg who knew. Voorhees person- ally. The only thing he could do was to go along with the officer, who refused to listen to any explanations. Arriving at their destination, they were shown into the dining-room by Mrs. Parker, whose face beamed with delight when she caught sight of Voorhees a captive. Behind her stood Dorothy, her face a study. ‘“T just brought him around to have you identify him, Miss Winthrop, al- though I know he’s the fellow we want. ‘T saw him get off the train yesterday, but lost sight of him in the crowd. I had my suspicions then that he was a bad Had there not been ladies present, Voorhees would have floored the detective on the spot. As it was, he contented himself with a stinging remark. “Why, you blithering idiot, for two pins I’d take your empty head and knock it against the door-sill. We have no desire to hear your personal opinions. You have made a mistake, and I’ll ex- olain before you take me out of here or there will be a general mix-up in which you will come out second-best. Take my word for it.” Then turning to the ladies, Voorhees admitted the events of the night previous, except that he did ncviaee: ‘Hie? silvers ware. He confessed that he was oul playing a joke, and that he had no in-— tention of doing so until he found him- self in the wrong house. He added _ | = he was a friend of Dr. Sears, who. ee =3 next door, and that were that gentleman present his innocence would soon be es- roe SE tablished. But at these explanations the decactave se only sneered. ‘He had heard of ‘excuses . much cleverer before, and the “ joke” was thin enough to blow through. Mrs. : Parker was not convinced by a long way, although had it been up to Dorothy she would doubtless have lifted the charge immediately. Voorhees’s explanation only served to establish him the firmer in the detective’s mind as one of the cleverest of modern crooks. ‘The case against him was look- ing black indeed when Mr. Parker ap- peared. He had just come home on the afternoon train, and was filled with astonishment to find his house so thickly tenanted. Matters were explained to him, and the loss of the silverware mournfully ‘related. The recollection of its disap-— _pearance brought fresh rivers to Mrs. ~ Parker’s eyes, and Dorothy looked cha- grined. | | After all, she -was the cause of the goods being stolen so easily, and she felt their loss keenly on that account. Voorhees nearly forgot his troubles . while watching her face, and several times she caught him in the act, She. blushed furiously, and tried to draw her- mouth into a shape indicative of con- | tempt. Mr. Parker waited patiently until all explanations and accusations had been made, and then, much to the surprise of. =: every one présent, he walked over to the prisoner and took his hand. “You did wrong in playing your prac- | tical joke, but I suppose you have learned your lesson. As to the silverware, forget it. I can tell by looking at you that you are not a thief, and if you are a friend — of Doc Sears you are a friend of mine. I know you did not take the silverware, : Se mig | ~ = waphee “3 merits (a) ey 2 | Be f ook because /.took it.” z = ae The gasp of astonishment which fol- ce lowed this disclosure was large im its = volume and incredulous in its sound. —