“Jack Horton was a wild fellow, but there was no real harm in him,” George pursued. “Just the irresponsibility of youth, I guess. He’s probably settled down somewhere now and making good.”
Storm gritted his teeth. ‘Making good’! He could have laughed aloud at the irony of it. God! if he could only silence George before his self-control broke down!
“You can’t tell what a man will be in twenty years’ time.” Was that his own voice speaking so coolly, so casually? “Our old crowd has scattered all over the face of the globe.—Let’s order; I’m starved.”
The talk drifted off to other topics, to his unutterable relief, but contrary to his assertion Storm scarcely touched the food which was placed before him. He hoped that George would take a different route home, but shrank from suggesting it and instead lapsed into a morose silence. As they passed again that ominous spot upon which his thoughts centered, he strove to pierce the darkness, but the path was deserted and no sound came to his ears but the humming of the motor.
Sleep did not come to him until nearly dawn and he was awakened from a troubled dream by the sharp, insistent ring of the telephone.
Springing up to reply, he heard George’s excited tones over the wire, and the words themselves drove all the haze of nightmare from his mind.
“Say, have you seen the papers yet? I didn’t mean to wake you up, but this is the damnedest thing! One of the very fellows we were talking about last night—Jack Horton—is spread all over the front page. He has been employed of late years as paymaster for the Mid-Eastern Coal Corporation, and he is missing with a hundred thousand dollars!”
Chapter XVIII.
The Girl in the Watch Case
Storm received the news with outward composure, feigning a natural irritation at being aroused from sleep to mask the chaos of his thoughts, and cut George off as soon as he was able to stem the tide of his volubility. Then, throwing a bathrobe about his shoulders, he stumbled to the hall door and opened it. His own morning paper lay on the mat, and even before he picked it up the staring headlines met his eye.
“$112,000 Missing. Trusted Employee Of Mid-Eastern Disappears With Huge Sum In Cash”.