CHAPTER XI.

UNDER SUSPICION.

An ominous silence fell upon the little group while Judge Oglesby carried on his conversation with the person in Springfield. One and all listened with deep interest to the answer he gave to the words of the unseen, and to them, unheard speaker.

“Yes, he is here,” finally said the judge. “I will have him come to the ’phone if you wish.”

A moment later he said to Dean:

“They would like to talk with you, Dean. I do not understand this at all.”

Dean quickly stepped forward, and as he placed the receiver to his ear the voice asked:

“Are you sure Captain Mercer paid the money to Mr. Sewall?”

“This is Captain Mercer talking now, sir. I paid Mr. Sewall the money by a check made payable to me from Judge Oglesby,” replied Dean. “I endorsed the check and he gave me a receipt signed by your firm.”

“Impossible, Captain Mercer. This is Brown talking, and Mr. Sewall is present. He says he was not on board the _Spray_. We did not think it was necessary to run after the money, as we knew Judge Oglesby was able to pay.”

A five minutes’ conversation followed, but nothing could be learned to explain the situation. If Messrs. Brown, Sewell and Company told the truth, as no one doubted, Dean had been imposed upon by some dishonest person. It was a trying situation for him.

“Let me see if I can get any one at the bank,” said Judge Oglesby. “Though it is not bank hours, some one may be there.”

“Hello, is this the Atlas Bank?” he called, a few minutes later, after securing a connection.

“It is.”

“Is Mr. Hume, the cashier, there?”

“He is. Hold the wire a moment and I will call him.”

“We are in luck,” declared the judge aside to Dean. “If that check has not been presented for payment, I will stop it and we shall be all right.

“Hello! I am Mr. Hume, Judge Oglesby. What is it?” said a voice at the other end of the wire.

“Has there been a check presented at your bank to-day signed by me, and endorsed by Dean Mercer?”

“There has. Captain Mercer called in person this morning very soon after the bank was open. He presented a letter from you, which we have, and received the cash in large bills at his own request. I hope, judge, everything is all right.”

“I am afraid there is something wrong about this. Captain Mercer is here and says he did not call at your bank. The person must have been an impostor.”

“I do not see how that could be, judge. I remember speaking to him myself, congratulating him on the fine appearance of the new steamer. If there is anything wrong we will try and help you straighten it. Young Mercer was a stranger to us, but your letter seemed sufficient guarantee of his honesty. Perhaps he has deceived you.”

“I am not ready to think that. How long shall you remain in the bank?”

“Half an hour.”

“I may call you up again within that time. Good-by.”

“Good-by.”

“There is something wrong about this, but what, I cannot tell,” said Judge Oglesby, as he hung up the receiver and turned to converse with the anxious party about him.

“I can see now I did wrong in paying the money to the man without further proof of his identity,” acknowledged Dean.

“His receipt is made out on one of the company’s blanks,” said the judge. “It is a serious situation, but until--Whew! here comes Montague. I wonder what has put him into such a state of excitement.”

In the changing excitement of the preceding scenes, Dean had quite forgotten about the disappearance of Marcus Ellison. But it came back to him very vividly now, and he anticipated the purpose of the lawyer’s abrupt appearance.

“I want to see Dean Mercer, if he is here,” cried Mr. Montague, as soon as he could get his breath enough to speak.

“Here he is to answer for himself,” declared the judge.

“Durand has ’phoned me that those papers and money have not been given to him, Dean,” cried the lawyer, without stopping to reply to the judge.

“I know it, Mr. Montague,” replied Dean. “I was coming to see you as soon as I could. I did not have time to see Mr. Durand, or ’phone to you.”

“Why haven’t they been delivered, boy? Every day in this matter is of vital importance.”

In as few words as possible Dean then told of the disappearance of Marcus Ellison with the money and papers, while his listeners looked upon him in silence until he had finished.

It is unnecessary to record the half-hour’s conversation that followed. Of course, it threw no light upon the real situation. In this case no blame could be attached to Dean, though he already felt that, in addition to the other matter, unless some good reason should develop explaining Marcus Ellison’s mysterious disappearance, the two singular and unfortunate incidents were going to be connected.

The successful trip of the new steamer was overshadowed completely by these unexpected matters.

“I must go down on the _Spray_ to-morrow morning,” affirmed Judge Oglesby. “I shall sift this affair to the bottom.”

“I must go to Springfield, too,” declared Mr. Montague. “The loss of that money will be a serious handicap to me. But worse than that is the loss of those papers, which mean the life of Robert Ellison. Unless I can find them, he will go to the electric chair, though he is an innocent man.”

“I will do all in my power to help in this matter,” said Dean. “If there is nothing further I can do here, I must return to the _Spray_, where I am needed.”

“Yes; do not fail in your duty there,” said the judge.

Though it may have been simply the imagination of Dean in his nervous state, he could not help thinking that there was a hidden meaning in the remark to him.

The finger of suspicion was pointed at him.

Eva had disappeared from sight, as he left the house, but he was pleased to find her waiting for him near the fountain at the turn of the walk. She advanced with extended hands, saying:

“I am so sorry for you, Dean. I do not think papa really blames you, and we will hope the affair will be explained soon.”

“Thank you, Miss Eva, for your kind words. Believe me, I shall do everything in my power to solve the mystery. It is so strange such misfortunes should come just as we were getting started.”

“Do not anticipate final disappointment, Dean. Remember misfortunes are but opportunities to test our ability to conquer.”

Her words came to him like a prophecy, and through all of his trials he often recalled them.

Nothing further was learned to throw any light on the situation, and promptly the following morning the _Spray_ was ready to return to her destination at the other end of the lake.

Both Judge Oglesby and Mr. Montague were on hand as passengers, while a good number of others had secured tickets for the round trip, showing that the venture was certain to prove a success.

The day had started in damp and foggy, and in the bustle of getting under way, Dean had not found opportunity to say much to the judge, whom he could see was deeply impressed with the situation.

“Where is the _Warrior_? I could not see her as I came on board,” remarked the judge.

“For some reason unknown to me,” replied Captain Mercer, “she started this morning half an hour ahead of her schedule. It may have been on account of the fog.”