“I’m going to leave you to judge whether this one is or not,” said Dot.
She went over to his side of the table, cleared away the dishes, and placed the neatly-bound sheaf of bills before him.
A dramatic silence fell. He looked, then stared in blank astonishment at the green and yellow pile for a long moment. Dot was watching him with dancing eyes. As for Mrs. Liggs, her face was a study in stark bewilderment.
“What—what’s this? You can’t really mean—is it possible, Miss Huntington, that——” stammered Lex, and stopped.
“Dot, darling!” burst like a sob from Mrs. Liggs’ parted lips.
“Yes, Mr. Sangerly, those are the actual bills—the exact amount—that your company lost, twenty thousand dollars,” said Dot in clear, ringing tones. “I am returning it to you for Billy Gee. I have one request to make, and that is that you exonerate my father from the ridiculous charge your detectives have placed against him. If there has been an accomplice in this matter it is I.” She paused, then resumed with a smile: “I’ll relate the facts to you and let you decide for yourself. First, however, in order that you may not labor under a misapprehension—Billy Gee is alive.”
CHAPTER XIV—AN EPISODE IN THE HILLS
It seldom happens that a sheriff, or any peace officer for that matter, ever regains the confidence of the public, much less his popularity, once he loses a prisoner of such supposed badness as was Billy Gee. Somehow, it is difficult for the voters to believe that a really efficient official may be caught unawares and outwitted by a criminal, particularly if that criminal is unarmed and handcuffed into the bargain. So the conscientious wielder of the franchise goes to the polls, and on the strength of his theory that a sworn servant of the people should be invincible and superior to mistake and oversight, very gravely ousts the incumbent candidate in favor of the untried timber on the ballot.
The voters of San Buenaventura County, California, were of another sort, however. Sheriff Bob Warburton had proved up to their ideals for two terms—even if he hadn’t been able to hold onto the will-o’-the-wisp bandit of the Mohave. He was sincere, always on the job, a good fellow, dependable. That he had slipped once, should not condemn him, asserted the electorate. What man does not slip once?
Regardless of the fact, then, that Warburton had resigned his office and that his political enemies made a great to-do about the Billy Gee incident, the people went to the polls strong for Warburton and reinstated him to office by an avalanche vote. And, as if to confirm their trust in him, on the very day that he resumed his gold star he issued a statement to the newspapers in which he vowed to capture Billy Gee and get him the maximum sentence under the law—imprisonment for life.