“Not now; but you can ask your father to withhold his judgment for the present. Tell him you still have faith in the young man, and I promise you that if he is alive your faith will be verified.”
Ike would not reveal any further to the young lady. He merely reiterated his statement that he had called to restore her peace of mind. He left the house and determined to work Fellman for awhile, and proceeded down town. He imagined his man would go to his meal in company with another. Ike got himself up in a new disguise and went down and hung around the man’s office, and, as he had anticipated, in due time Fellman appeared in company with another man, and proceeded to a fashionable down-town lunch-room.
Ike had a special purpose in following the man. He desired to learn if young Burlein was dead, and he proposed to adopt a very novel plan for obtaining his information.
Fellman entered the dining-room and immediately a number of men came forward to speak to him. Great sympathy was expressed and Fellman acted the rôle of the injured party to perfection.
The banker took a seat at a table. Our hero had followed in and secured a seat several tables distant. He had worked up in the rôle of an old gentleman. He did it well, and he was a perfect imitation or counterfeit. Possibly no living person could have excelled or even equaled him in his skill in this direction.
A little time passed and quite a number of men gathered around Fellman’s table, and a great many questions were asked and finally there came the question:
“Do you really believe your late partner is dead?”
No one appeared to notice who had asked the question but Fellman quickly replied:
“Yes, he is dead. I have no doubt of his death.”
There came a smile to Ike’s face—a smile of delight. He was a cute reasoner, and he made up his mind at once that young Burlein was not dead. Had the young man been dead Fellman he knew would have answered: “No, he is not dead. He is only pretending to have committed suicide.” And when he answered that he had no doubt of Burlein’s death, our hero concluded that the original scheme had been carried out, and at once there came the question: