The Masked Bridal Page 6

  CHAPTER IV.

  A MYSTERY EXPLAINED.

  Mr. Knowles regarded his companion with undisguised astonishment.

  "Is there anything wrong about the money?" he inquired, a gleam ofanxiety in his eyes.

  "Pardon me," said Royal Bryant, flushing, as he was thus recalled tohimself; "you are justified in asking the question, and I trust youwill not regard me as impertinently inquisitive if I inquire if youcan remember from whom you received this piece of money."

  "Certainly I remember," Mr. Knowles replied, but flushing painfully inhis turn at the question.

  "Will you kindly tell me the name of the person from whom you tookit?"

  Mr. Knowles appeared even more embarrassed than before, and hesitatedabout replying.

  "I have a special and personal reason for asking you," Mr. Bryantcontinued. "See!" he added, holding the gold-piece before him wherethe light struck full upon it, "you perceive this coin is marked," andhe pointed out some vertical scratches which had been made just insidethe margin. "I made those marks myself."

  "Can that be possible!" exclaimed his companion, astonished.

  "Yes. This very piece of money was in my possession as late as fiveo'clock last Saturday afternoon."

  "I cannot understand," said Mr. Knowles, looking mystified.

  "Let me explain," returned Mr. Bryant. "I owed my copyist exactly fivedollars, and, having nothing smaller in bills than tens, I was obligedto pay her with this coin. While she was getting ready to leave theoffice, I sat toying with it and scratched it, as you see, with thepoint of my penknife; then I gave it to Miss Allandale, and thoughtno more about the matter. But just before you came in this morning, Ireceived a note from her saying she had been arrested for passing thecoin with which I had paid her, it having been declared counterfeit,and she begged me to come at once to her assistance and try to proveher innocence. I was just on the point of doing so when you called."

  "What a very singular circumstance," Mr. Knowles remarked,reflectively. "It appears all the more so to me from the fact that Ialso received this piece of money no later than seven o'clock on lastSaturday evening."

  "You amaze me!" exclaimed Mr. Bryant. "Pray explain to me how you cameby it--it may help to solve this very perplexing mystery, for I amconfident that the coin is genuine, in spite of the trouble it hasbrought upon Miss Allandale."

  "Yes, I will be frank with you," his companion returned, but flushingagain, "and tell you that, in order to make this payment to you, I wasobliged to borrow the money and gave, as security, a valuable mantelclock, which was one of my wife's wedding gifts. In other words, Ipawned it. It goes against my pride to confess it; but the idea ofdebt is horrible to me: and, having been in very straitenedcircumstances of late, from sickness in my family and other causes, Ihad no other means of meeting my obligations to you, while I hoped tobe able to redeem the clock before the time allotted should expire."

  "Mr. Knowles, I thank you heartily for telling me this, while, at thesame time, I am deeply pained," gravely returned Royal Bryant. "Iwould not have had you so pressed for a great deal; my claim againstyou can wait indefinitely, and you need feel no anxiety regarding it.Take your own time about it, for I am sure that I can safely trust aman to whom the idea of debt is so repulsive."

  "You are very good," said Mr. Knowles, in a grateful tone.

  "I shall return you this amount," the young lawyer resumed, "but inbills, for I wish to retain this gold-piece; and I beg that you willgo at once and redeem your wife's clock. I am also going to throw alittle business in your way, for I would like to retain you as awitness for Miss Allandale, and you shall be well paid for yourservices. Now please give me the name of the pawnbroker from whom youtook the money."

  "Solon Retz, No. ---- Third avenue."

  "Ah, yes; I know him for a scheming and not over-scrupulous person. Ifought a tough battle with him a year or so ago."

  But Royal Bryant still looked greatly perplexed.

  He could not understand how the pawnbroker could have had thatparticular gold-piece to loan upon Mr. Knowles' clock, before seveno'clock on Saturday evening, when Edith Allandale had been arrested,that same night, for trying to pass it off upon the grocer of whom shehad spoken in her note.

  To him it seemed an inexplicable mystery.

  However, he knew--he could take his oath--that the coin which he nowheld in his hand was the identical piece of money which he had paid tohis beautiful but unfortunate copyist for her last week's work, and hewas also reasonably sure that it was not a counterfeit.

  "I suppose you will have no objection to testifying as to how and fromwhom you received the money?" he inquired of Mr. Knowles, after a fewmoments' reflection.

  "Certainly not, if such testimony will be of any benefit to the younglady's cause," he readily replied. "And," he added, "I can easilyprove the truth of my assertions, as I have here the ticket which Ireceived from the pawnbroker."

  "Ah! that is well thought of, and will undoubtedly score a strongpoint for Miss Allandale," Mr. Bryant exclaimed, with animation. "Andnow allow me to advance you the fee for your services as a witness,"he added, as he pressed a ten-dollar note into his companion's hand."This will be sufficient to redeem your clock and remunerate you forthe time you may lose in appearing as a witness. Hereafter, Mr.Knowles, if you find yourself short of cash, pray do not be troubledabout what is owing me--do not try to pay it until it is perfectlyconvenient for you to do so."

  "You are very considerate, Mr. Bryant," the man returned, with evidentemotion. "I cannot tell you how your generosity touches me, for theworld has gone very badly with me of late."

  "Well, we will hope for better times in the future for you, sir," wasthe cheery response of the noble-hearted young lawyer. "Now I must beoff," he added, "and I would like you to meet me at the Thirtiethstreet station-house in an hour from now. I shall know by that timewhat I shall be able to do for my young friend."

  He bade the man good-morning and bowed him out of his office, and,five minutes later, was on his way to the assistance of beautifulEdith Allandale.

  Before boarding a car, he stepped into a bank near-by and had the goldcoin tested.

  It proved to be just as he had thought--it was perfectly good, and ifEdith had been arrested for passing it, some one would have to standdamages for having subjected her to such an injustice.

  Upon his arrival at the station-house, and requesting an interviewwith Miss Allandale as her attorney, the police sergeant conducted himdirectly to the room occupied by Edith, who looked so pale and wanfrom anxiety and confinement that the young man's conscience smote himkeenly, although his heart bounded with sudden joy when he saw how hersad face lighted at the sight of him.

  "This is the most outrageous thing I ever heard of, Miss Allandale,"he exclaimed, as he clasped her cold hand and looked regretfully intothe heavy blue eyes raised to his.

  "I was sure you would come," she murmured, with a sigh of relief, butflushing for an instant beneath his ardent gaze, while her lipsquivered with suppressed emotion, for his tone of sympathy had almostunnerved her.

  "Of course I would come--I would go to the ends of the earth to serveyou," he began, eagerly. "I am filled with remorse when I think whatyou must have suffered and that I am responsible for your trouble,though unintentionally and unconsciously."

  "Yes, I am sure you could not have known that the money wascounterfeit," said Edith, wearily.

  "And it was not," he quickly returned. "It is a genuine coin andnegotiable anywhere."

  "But I was told by two different persons that it was spurious," Edithreplied, in a tone of surprise.

  "Then you were misinformed in both cases, for I have had it tested ata bank, and it has been pronounced good," returned her companion.

  "You have had it tested? How can that be possible, when the grocer whocaused me to be arrested has the money in his possession this moment?"the young girl exclaimed, in amazement.

  Royal Bryant smiled as he drew forth the half-eagle which he ha
dreceived from Mr. Knowles, and laid it in her palm.

  "That is the five-dollar gold-piece that I gave you on Saturdayevening," he remarked, in a quiet tone.

  "Have you seen the grocer? Did you get it from him?" Edith gasped.

  "No; an old client of mine brought it to me, about half an hour ago,in part payment of a debt which he owes me."

  "I do not understand--it cannot be the same," said Edith, with a lookof perplexity.

  "But it is," was the smiling reply. "Look at it closely, and you willfind some fresh scratches upon one side of it--do you see?"

  "Yes," the young girl admitted.

  "Very well; I made them with my penknife during a fit ofabsent-mindedness, while you were putting on your hat and shawl onSaturday evening," Royal Bryant explained. "It was all the money Ihad, excepting some large bills, and I was obliged to give it to you,even though I knew it was not a convenient form--one is so liable tolose such a small piece. I am sure I do not know what possessed me todeface it in the way I did," he continued, after a slight pause; "butthere the marks are, fortunately, and I could swear to the coin amonga hundred others of the same denomination."

  "Yes, I remember, now," Edith remarked, reflectively; "I noticed thegold-piece in your hands and that you were using your knife upon it;but how could it have come into the possession of your client? Surelythe grocer would not have parted with it voluntarily, for it was allthe proof he had against me."

  "No; my client, Mr. Knowles, obtained it from a pawnbroker at No. ----Third avenue," Mr. Bryant replied.

  Instantly the red blood mounted to the girl's fair brow, and, like aflash, Royal Bryant comprehended how all her trouble had come about.

  "Yes," she sighed, after a moment, as if in reply to some questionfrom him, "the week before I went into your office I was obliged toborrow some money upon a beautiful watch of mamma's. It was a veryvaluable one, but the man would only advance me three dollars upon it.Of course I felt that I must redeem it with the very first money Iearned, and I went immediately to the pawnbroker's to get it onleaving your office. He seemed averse to the early redemption of thewatch, and threw my money impatiently into the drawer. The nextinstant he gave it back to me, angrily telling me that it wascounterfeit, and charging me with trying to cheat him. But, even now,I cannot understand--"

  "So the pawnbroker threw your money into his drawer, did he?"interposed Mr. Bryant, eagerly grasping at this important point.

  "Yes; but, as I said, he returned it immediately to me, and I wasobliged to go home without my watch. I was in great distress because,Mr. Bryant, it was all the money I had, and there were things thatmamma and I must have in order to be comfortable over Sunday," Edithconfessed, with crimson cheeks and downcast eyes, the sight of whichmade her companion's heart ache for her. "Mamma suggested that themoney might not be bad, after all," she continued, determined that heshould know the whole truth about the matter; "that, possibly, thepawnbroker had taken that way to retain the watch, with the hope ofultimately securing it; so I started out to make my purchases. Thegrocer made no objection to the money and gave me my change without aword. But half an hour later he appeared with an officer and had mearrested. He would not have pressed the matter if I could havereturned his money; but, as I could not, and he claimed he hadsuffered from so many similar cases of swindling, he was obdurate, andI was obliged to come here."

  "It was shameful!" said the young lawyer, indignantly. "It was aheartless thing to do. But, my little friend, I think we have a veryclear case, and you will soon be fully vindicated."

  "Oh! do you? I shall be very grateful--" Edith began, then stopped,choking back a sob that had almost burst from her trembling lips.

  "I see you do not quite comprehend how that can be," continued herfriend, ignoring her emotion. "But the piece of money which thepawnbroker pretended to return to you was not the same that you hadreceived from me--it was a spurious one which he had at hand for theexpress purpose evidently of tricking the unwary, and Mr. Solon Retzwill, ere long, be compelled to exchange places with you, if I canpossibly bring him to justice."