“But old Roberts has paid the piper, Mac, though he little suspects it. He is little aware where the money comes from to keep up your grand establishment. If he knew all wouldn’t there be a jolly blow up!”
“You son of paupers, you parish ’prentice, if you talk to me in that way I’ll knock your b—y head off your shoulders, by G—d I’ll do it, though you be my father’s brother’s son.”
“Come, come, cousin; it won’t do for thee and me to quarrel and fall out now. We’ve sailed too long in the same boat—I mean, we’ve dipped our fingers too deeply in the same till to peach upon each other, or to quarrel. Methinks our present duty is to guard against being found out.”
“Your advice is good, Donald; but that our delinquencies will come to the knowledge of old Roberts, d—n him, is a matter of certainty. That young Welsh nincompoop imp has his eyes everywhere; his ears are always open. I should not be at all surprised even if our present talk reached him. For us it was an evil day when he came here. If I were sure of not being found out, I’d soon put an end to his presence.”
“Bad as I am, cousin, I’d not commit murder. That we must not do. Our best plan is to concoct some scheme to dethrone this upstart. Old Roberts has willed he should reign over us; be it our mission to bring him to the dust.”
“A good suggestion, Donald. By gam! we must take care, though, to lay the snare well so as to be certain of our bird.”
* * * * *
During several months succeeding the above conversation the business of the house of Davies, Roberts & Company went on in its usual quiet way, but in those months the young Welshman and his staff had succeeded in overhauling the books of the firm for several years. At the accounts they had worked night and day. When the investigation had been completed his clerks knew nothing about the result, nor indeed of the object which they had in view in making so strict an investigation. So far Mr. Wynn had discovered defalcations amounting to nearly £20,000, though the bottom of the peculation had not yet been reached. The books showed that McLiver had carried on his swindling in a regularly systematic manner, and had escaped detection for the reason that all his subordinates, which made up nearly the whole staff, were creatures of his own—principally his own kith and kin. When Cadwgan had completed his labours, he had ascertained, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that the amount abstracted was £24,500. During the months he had been engaged in auditing the books, Cadwgan had made certain inquiries of houses with which his employers had had business transactions, so he was in a position to prove by written evidence the particulars and the exact sum of each fraudulent transaction. These inquiries had been carried on privately; neither to Mr. Roberts, nor to any member of his staff, had he let fall a word calculated to awaken suspicion. It was late on a Saturday night when Cadwgan finished his labours. When descending from his office down to the large entrance hall, with his papers in his hand, he was surprised to find Mr. McLiver and his cousin Donald there. They did not stop to speak, but passed on into their own office. As they heard Mr. Wynn, before he descended, shut his office door and lock it, they naturally concluded he was the last person in the buildings. Presently, McLiver and Donald left the house together, the porter closing the door on their descending into the street.
That evening was anxiously spent by Mr. Wynn. He retired to rest late, but slept not. That the facts he possessed would be most damaging to his arch-enemy there could be no doubt; that he might possibly be the means of saving his employers from being ruined, was in his judgment equally certain.
On the following Sunday morning Cadwgan paid a visit to his friend Mr. Owen Jones, to whom he revealed the state of affairs of the firm. Mr. Jones was a man of the world, and, moreover, was a wise and sagacious man of business. After talking over the matter, it was arranged that Mr. Jones should accompany his young friend to the establishment of Messrs. Davies, Roberts & Company the next morning, when the whole facts should be placed before Mr. Roberts.