"My money!" he gasped, in a hoarse whisper.
"Do you mean to say that it is gone!" I asked, startled at the suggestion.
"All gone!" groaned he. "Twenty-four thousand dollars!"
"But where did you put it, sir?"
"Between the two beds, when Lynch sent for me to come up into his room."
"Did he send for you, sir?" I interposed.
"He did."
"Then it was a plot to rob you, sir."
"I fear that it was; but I was careless. I had hardly been out of my room before; but when I did leave it, I took my money with me. I had become accustomed to its possession, and I did not think of it. I did not believe Lynch was a bad man. He was very kind to me, and attended to my wants after I was hurt."
"Did he know you had this money?"