It is the custom, where a wrong payment can be established, for the postmaster or the clerk making the mistake, to make the amount good to the right payee. Mrs. Stone's case was accordingly referred to me for adjustment.
Her story was told in such a simple manner that no one who heard it could doubt her word. But it was possible that she had received the money, and had forgotten about the transaction.
When the order was paid the lady who received the money was questioned by two examiners, both of whom were satisfied that she was the person to whom the order should be paid. The same two examiners talked with Mrs. Stone, the second, and one of them thought she was the lady to whom the money was paid, while the other could distinguish very little similarity and felt confident the first Mrs. Stone was not the second Mrs. Stone.
On the following day Richard Stone himself called to talk the matter over and give me some points. He suspected a young woman named Nellie Mason, who had been in the habit of calling on his wife, who was an old friend of hers, and who resembled her very much.
Mr. and Mrs. Stone resided in Twenty-eighth Street at this time, but at the time the missing letter must have arrived in New York they were living in a flat in Twenty-seventh Street. The mail for the occupants of this flat was left by the carrier on a table in the lower hall, and any person so inclined could have picked up the lost letter.
He had several samples of Nellie Mason's writing in the form of letters that Mrs. Stone had received from her from time to time, and they corresponded with the endorsements on the order.
The case was now becoming interesting, and, at Stone's request, I consented to call at his residence the next afternoon to talk with Mrs. Stone about Miss Mason.
Richard Stone was a young man of probably thirty-two, and an Englishman. His dress and appearance were faultless, while his conversation indicated that he was well educated. He had been in this country scarcely fifteen months, yet he was holding a confidential position in one of the largest corporations in the city, where he was held in the highest esteem, and where he was complimented alike for his rare abilities and gentlemanly deportment. Indeed, every person interested was delighted with him, and they had all often wondered at their good fortune in securing the services of such a preeminently competent man.
Mrs. Stone was somewhat younger than her husband, and was of fair size and fine form. "Her brow was like the snowdrift; her voice was low and sweet," and nature had also generously endowed her with an abundance of the most beautiful red hair that ever gladdened the heart of man with its warm and genial rays. She was an American, and had been married to Mr. Stone only a few months.
Mr. and Mrs. Stone were both at home when I called. I was as warmly greeted as though I had been a welcome messenger of peace from a mortal enemy. Mrs. Stone had hardly recovered from a terrible scare she had received the previous evening, and the household affairs had scarcely resumed their wonted cheerfulness and repose.