“Why, yes, I did,” the man acknowledged. “I had decided to walk out and those words expressed the conclusion I reached. I wrote the thought absent-mindedly and never intended it to fall into anyone’s hands. Did I leave the paper in the desk?”
“The police found it there.”
“I must have been quite upset,” Mr. Rhett said, frowning. “At any rate, I walked out with less than three dollars in my pocket, and didn’t realize until later that I was without funds.”
“So you took lodging in a cheap flop house on Cherry Street?” Jerry interposed.
“Yes, you seem to have followed my actions very closely. Although the lodgings were hardly deluxe, I did not mind the experience. I frequently have slept on the ground or in native huts.”
“You stayed there only one night?” Penny inquired.
“Another lodger told me two persons had come to ask questions about a man who wore a serpent ring,” Mr. Rhett said. “Not wishing to be found, I removed the ring from my finger, and found another lodging place. When my money ran out, I picked up a little work as a laborer at one of the mills.”
“I saw you inquiring at one of the steamship ticket offices,” Penny reminded him. “You remember that, I’m sure.”
“I sought to work my passage on a boat going to South America,” Mr. Rhett explained.
“All this time, didn’t you read the newspapers?” Jerry asked curiously. “Didn’t you know the bonds were missing and that your wife was ill?”