Mr. Ross and his client stared at each other in a dismay which they were powerless to conceal.
CHAPTER XXV.
MR. STARR’S CRUSHING DEFEAT.
The old man, his month wide open in astonishment and dismay, presented a ludicrous spectacle. At first he seemed to be incapable of speech, but he managed to ejaculate, feebly:
“ ‘Tain’t so—’tain’t so!”
“You will find that it is so, Mr. Starr,” said Andy, firmly, “and that your wicked attempt to cheat my mother out of more than a hundred dollars has failed.”
“I don’t believe it,” said Joshua Starr, nervously; but his voice showed that he did believe it, nevertheless.
He had the best reason for knowing that such a receipt had been signed, but he had reckoned on its being lost or permanently mislaid.
The lawyer was not sure in his own mind whether Andy was not deceiving them, and determined to find out.
“These are bold words, boy,” he said. “We shall not believe in this receipt you talk about till you show it.”