The morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1899-1930, 1907-11-27
CHAPTER II.

pupHr WHNu my Iflrhu Uckhn tHH ub'
cont Of tho stnirs, his golden noble In
hia pocket and his heart full Of
hope. Why ~ II that we 10 often per-
cciyo int,iItiycly or instlactivoIy tho
approach OF physical penl aud yct
have no premonitlon Of the coming "
the moral cstaclysm?
Scarborough was on friendly terms
with the librarian whom ho had
known fof several years. Az an habk
the OF The piacc ho also had q speak-
Ing acquaintance with several Of Tho
assistants eustodians aud other om'
pIoyces. hencc when he requested
permission 10 examine tho particular
tray In which reposcd tho coin of
which be waS In quest n was fradily
granted, Retiring 10 an nicove In
which there was strong light he
eagerly commenced the comparison OF
hts treasure with tho piece whose gen.
ulnenesa was unquestloned Hc had
powerful maEnlfying glass and made
coplons notes In ahoutSan hour he
had satisfied himself TINT ho had not
been mistaken and prepared 70 lcaye
the building. No one had come Into
tho alcoye while he hnd been there
with the exception Of the attendant,
who had. aa required by regulation.
ioitcred about within sight, Elated
at tho success attending his inyestiga-
ton. Jack was, perhaps, tribe care
less In his handling OF the coin en-.
trusted 10 him. Az all events. he
dropped II on tho floor lilo Mt once
called tho assistant and. telling him
what he had done, nskod him 10 aid
him In his search. Tho man. whose
name was Goison. readily asscnted.
and for half an hour both men care.
fully sought for tho missing coin.
Creeping about on their hands and
knees. they explored every square Inch
OF tho floor, raising the edges Of the
cocoa mating wherever practicable.
but all In galn. Had the noble been
absorbed Into the atmosphere like M
odorless. colorlcsa gas II could not have
disappeared more completely AZ
length they abandoned the quest and.
rising TO their feet, looked at each
ether. Jack with an expression Of
dazed despair. Golson with look OF
keen. cold dlatrpst.
"Afr. Scarborough" said be, "ihis
b very unpleasant AFFAIR"
"Decidediy so,' asaentcd Jack.
''Of course You can understand"
Goison went on. "that under the cir
cnmstanccs | have no alternative. A
valuable coin has disappeared from a
tray which was under your sole con-
troll Of the time. You must pardon
me, but | am forced 10 summon tho
officer on guard to take you to the II.
brarian."
My friend stared at him In a help
lesaly bcwildnrcd sort OF way. To dc.
mur would have been worse than use
less; 10 submit 10 the disgrace was tho
only course open To him, .g
On reaching the Office OF the libra
rian. that functionary, after listening
to Goleon's report. conducted Jack In
TO a small inner room. requesting the
representative Of the law TO remain
outside the door. which he closed.
"Mr. Scarborough" said be. II am
inexpressibly panied. | make no In
situations. but you can readily sec that
q personal search must ba made. Prob.
ably you would prefer TO empty your
pockets voluntarily In my presence to
submitting TO the indignity ut the
bands OF the officer II, as fully OK.
pect. the noble does not appear any
where about your clothing, you leave
this building without tho shadow Of
stain" a4s
Unhappy Scarborough AT this sug-
gestion, made In the kindllest manner,
he could feel the clammy pcrspiration
standing on his brow In great beads.
for, in fear that his coin might not be
genuine, he hnd said nothing rs to his
motive for examining the specimen In
the library, Had he explained his OBJ
ject ut the outset and exhibited his
pseudo duplicate to Mr.. Pope, the III
brnrian its presence In his pocket
would be clearly enough explained.
But now who would believe him Z
What gauzy story the truth would
appear to bel But there was no es-
cape.
'Mr, Pope land he spoke slowly and
with evident agitation). Il have In my
pocket almost precise copy Of the
coin which have unfortunately, but
innocently, lost. came here this
morning merely to compare my coin
with yours Ny noble ~ In my pocket.
I win produce II, and from the bottom
OF my heart wish that could pro-
duce yours as easily" 5
Mr.. Popes face afforded atrare study
of conflicting emotions. Pity and In
dignatlon seemed to be struggling for
ascendency In .hls soul. He finally
compromised on doubt. yet the mental
tension to which he was subjected was
shown In his voice when he said: "Mr.
Scarborough, your statement Is, to say
the least, remarkable. On Its face II
is incredible. VIII you kindly show
me this dupllcateT Y
Perhaps unconsclously he Injected q
sarcastic emphasis into his enuncia-
tion Of the word duplicate" Jack felt
he Was n ruined man,