In good truth, Arthur could not have told, except that he hesitated in surprise. He had cast his thoughts into the past, and was lost in them.
“The fact is, you did not post the letters yourself,” resumed Mr. Galloway. “You gave them to somebody else to post, in a fit of idleness, and the result is, that the letter was rifled, and I have lost twenty pounds.”
“Sir, I assure you, that I did post them myself,” replied Arthur, with firmness. “I went straight from this door to the post-office. In coming back, I called on Jenkins”—turning to him—“as you bade me, and afterwards I returned here. I mentioned to you, then, sir, that the bishop was with Jenkins.”
Mr. Jenkins glanced up from his desk, a streak of colour illumining his thin cheek, half hidden by the black handkerchief. “I was just saying, sir, to Mr. Galloway, that you found his lordship at my bedside,” he said to Arthur.
“Has the note been taken out of the letter, sir?” demanded Arthur. “Did the letter reach its destination without it?”
“Yes,” replied Mr. Galloway, in answer to both questions. “I had a few lines from Mr. Robert Galloway yesterday morning, stating that the letter had arrived, but no bank-note was enclosed in it. Now, where is the note?”
“Where can it be?” reiterated Arthur. “The letter must have been opened on the road. I declare to you, sir, that I put it myself into the post-office.”
“It is a crying shame for this civilized country, that one cannot send a bank-note across the kingdom in a letter, but it must get taken out of it!” exclaimed Mr. Galloway, in his vexation. “The puzzle to me is, how those letter-carriers happen just to pitch upon the right letters to open—those letters that contain money!”
He went into his private room as he spoke, banging the door after him, a sure symptom that his temper was not in a state of serenity, and not hearing or seeing Roland Yorke, who had entered, and was wishing him good morning.
“What’s amiss? he seems in a tantrum,” ejaculated Mr. Roland, with his usual want of ceremony. “Hallo, Jenkins; is it really you? By the accounts brought here, I thought you were not going to have a head on your shoulders for six months to come. Glad to see you.”