Helena weekly herald. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1867-1900, 1886-03-18
MY LADY'S MONEY
BY WILKIE COLLINS.
AN EPISODE IN THE LIFE OF YOUNG GIRL
PART THE SECOND.
THE DISCOvE
CONTINUED.
BY WILKIE COLLINS.
CHAPTER TX,

The next day Mr. Troy taking Robert
Moody with him as valuable wltness) rang
the bell at the mean and dirty lodging house
in which Old Sharon received the clients who
stood in need of his advice.
They were led up stairs to a back room on
the second floor of the house. Entering the
room, they discovered, through thick cloud
of tobacco smoke, a small, fat, bald d-headed,
dirty old man in an arm chair, rObed in
tattered flannel dressing gown. With short
pipe in his mouth, pug dog on his lap and
a French novel in his hands
"Is it businessF' asked Old Sharon, speak
ing in a hoarse, asthmatical voice, and fixing
a pair of bright. shameless black eyes atten-
lively on the two visitors.
1T is business" Mr.. Troy answered, look
ing at the old rogue who had disgraced an
honorable profession as he might have looked
at a reptile which had just risen rampant at
his feet. What is your fee for a consulta
tong
You give me a guinea and I'll give you
half an ho':r' With this reply Old Sharon
held out his unwashed hand across the
rickety ink-splashed table at which he was
sitting.
Mr. Troy would not have touched him with
the tips of his own fingers for 81 600 He
laid the guinea on the table.
Old Sharon burst into a fierce laugh-a
laugh strangely accompanied by frowning
contraction of his eyebrows, and frightful
exhibition of the whole inside of his mouth
I'm not clean enough for you, eh.' he said,
with an appearance of being very much
amused There's dirty old man described
in this book that is a little like me-" He
held up his French novel Have you read
its A capital story-well put together. All,
you haven't read it! You have got pleas
ure to come. | say, do you mind tobacco
smoke! l think faster while l smoke-thats
all"
Mr.. 1roy's respectable hand waived
silent permission to smoke, given under dig
niied protest
"All right" said Old Sharon. Now, get
on"
He laid himself back in his chair and
pulled out his smoke, with eyes lazily half
closed, like the eyes of the pug dog on his
lap At that moment, indeed, there was a
curious resemblance between the two. They
both seemed to be preparing themselves, in
the same idle way, for the same comfortable
nap
Mr. Troy stated the circumstances under
which the five hundred pound note had dis
appeared in clear and consecutive narrative.
When he had done Old Sharon suddenly
opened his eyes. The pug dog suddenly
opened his eyes. Old Sharon looked hard
at Mr.. Troy. The pug looked hard at Mr.
Troy. Old Sharon spoke. The pug growled
Il know who you are-youre a lawyer.
Don't be alarmed; | never saw YOU before,
and don't know your name. What | do
know is LAWYERS statement of facts when
| hear it. Who's this:' Old Sharon looked
inquisitively at Moody as he put the ques
tion.
Mr. Troy introduced Moody as a competent
witness thoroughly acquainted with the cir
cumstances, and ready and willing to answer
any questions relating to them. Old Sharon
waited a little, smoking hard and thinking
hard Now then!n he burst out, in his
tiercely sudden way, 'I'm going to get to the
root Of the matter
He leaned forward with his elbows on the
table. and began his examination of Moody.
Heartily as Mr.. Troy despised and dishked
the old rogue, he listened with astonishment
and admiration, literally eXtorted from him
by the marvellous ability with which the
questions We're adapted to the end III view.
In a quarter of an hour Old Sharon had ex-
tracted from the witness everything, liter
ally everything, down to the smallest de-
tail, that Moody could tell him. Having
now, in his own phrase, ''got to the root of
the matter" he relit his pipe with grunt of
satisfaction, and laid himself back again in
his old arm chair,
''Wel," said Mr.. Troy, shave you formed
your opinions"
"Yes; I've formed my opinion"
"What is it.'
Instead of replying Old Sharon winked
confidentially at Mr. Troy, and put ques-
tion on his side
81 say! is ten pound note much of an OBJ
ject TO youp
1T depends" answered Mr.. Troy, "on
what the money is wanted for"
Look here said old Sharon; II can give
you an opinion for your guinea; but mind
this, its an opinion founded on hearsay--
and you know as a lawyer what that is
worth. Venture your ten pounds-in plain
English pay me for my time and trouble in
battling and difficult case-and I'll give you
opinion founded on my own experience"
Explain yourself little more clearly
said Troy. What do you guarantees to tell
us if we venture the ten pounds"
Il guarantee to name the person, or the
persons, on whom the suspicion really rests
And if you employ me after that, guarantee
before you pay me half penny more) to
prove that am right by laying my hand on