Dick offered to go through with the
plan as Barney Palmer and Jimmie Carlisle had shaped it up--go through
with it to-night--and then after money had passed, we'd have a
criminal case against them. By reminding him that Larry Brainard knew
just what we were up to, and might spoil everything if we didn't act
at once, I got Barney Palmer worked up to the point where he was going
to pose as my husband and take the money. Dick Sherwood was to come a
little later, after he'd first telephoned me, with a big roll of
marked money."
There were stuttered exclamations from Barney and Old Jimmie, which
were cut off by the dominant incisiveness of Joe Ellison's words to
his daughter:
"I think you're lying to me! Besides, even if you're telling the
truth, it's a pretty way you've taken to clear things up! Don't you
see that by letting Dick Sherwood come here and play such a part,
you'd be dead sure to involve him and his family in a dirty police
story that the papers of the whole country would play up as a
sensation? It's plain to any one that that's no way a person who
wanted to square things would use Dick Sherwood. And that's why I
think you're lying!"
"I had thought of that--you're right," said Maggie. "And so I wasn't
going to do it. He was going to telephone me--just about this time--
and when he called up I was going to fake his message.
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