CHAPTER XXII — WILLIS FORD AT BAY
The telegraph boy's evidence overwhelmed Willis Ford and his confederates with dismay. The feeling was greater in Ford, for it tended to fasten the theft upon him, while Jim Morrison and Tom Calder, though convicted of falsehood, were at all events sustained by the consciousness that nothing worse could be alleged against them.
“It is false!” asserted Willis Ford, with a flushed face.
“It is true!” declared the telegraph boy, sturdily.
“I don't believe a word of it,” said the housekeeper, angrily.
“This is a startling revelation, Mr. Ford,” said the broker, gravely.
“It is a base conspiracy, sir,” returned Ford, hoarsely. “I submit, sir, that the word of a boy like that ought not to weigh against mine. Besides, these gentlemen,” indicating Jim Morrison and Tom Calder, “will corroborate my statement.”
“Of course we do,” blustered Morrison. “That boy is a liar!”
“I have spoken the truth, sir, and they know it,” asserted Johnny, resolutely.
“How much did Grant Thornton pay you for telling this lie?” demanded Willis Ford, furiously.