"I'll have to take the frame apart, sir. I'm afraid it will take me an hour."
"Very well. Bring up the car in an hour."
Anton touched his cap as young Baxter strolled off, leaving the garage door open.
The chauffeur waited a minute or so, looked about him cautiously, and then went back into a small storeroom in the rear, where he was sure of being alone and unobserved. He closed the door of the storeroom, locked it, and, at last, with a thrill of excitement, drew the bishop's purse from his pocket. He held it a moment in delicious expectation, then stripped off the elastic band and looked inside.
"Damnation!" he cried, and his face, was black with rage.
Then, dashing the empty purse to the ground, he flung open the door and strode angrily across the lawn in pursuit of Hester.
CHAPTER XXV
THE LOCKED DOOR
Meantime Hester had crossed the lawn and entered the conservatory. She carried the golf bag by its supporting strap and walked quickly. She knew that the conservatory opened directly into the library where the Reverend Horatio Merle was reading the morning paper and her idea was to go straight to the curate and tell him the whole truth. In the absence of Miss Thompson this was the only thing to do. If Anton followed her, as might happen, Mr. Merle would be a protection, for, in his presence, the chauffeur would not dare make trouble. He would wait to get Hester alone, never suspecting that she would be capable, in her wildest dreams, of giving back this great sum of money. The girl paused to enjoy the warm fragrance of the lilies. It reminded her of something way back—something sad and strange. What was it? Oh, yes! Now she knew. It was the funeral of Billy Connor—"Diamond Billy," the confidence man, over in Brooklyn. She had gone with Maggie Connor and Rosalie. Poor old Billy. He drank himself to death after they shut down on horse-racing in New York State. How she cried when the organ played and they all knelt down! That was the only time she had ever been in a church or tried to pray.
"To be honest, to be kind.... To make amends for any wrong act. To ask God for strength against temptation."