“There’s no room for doubt about it. The money was taken by a man named John Simpson, an old and trusted employee of the Chronicle and Observer.”
“How did he happen to have access to it, may I ask?”
“I made him the treasurer of the fund. I never dreamed of anything of this sort. He had served in a similar capacity more than once in the past, and always with the most scrupulous fidelity.”
“But how did he have possession of the whole fund, if it was collected by different newspapers?”
“Daily drafts were sent to the Chronicle and Observer, as the parent newspaper of the chain. Our New York office is the general headquarters, you know.”
“I see. Simpson is missing, is he, along with the money?”
CHAPTER IX.
CHANCE PLAYS INTO GORDON’S HANDS.
The newspaper proprietor nodded gloomily in response to Gordon’s question.