I did not know how this Agra
treasure had weighed me down, until now that it was finally
removed. It was selfish, no doubt, disloyal, wrong, but I could
realize nothing save that the golden barrier was gone from
between us. "Thank God!" I ejaculated from my very heart.
She looked at me with a quick, questioning smile. "Why do you
say that?" she asked.
"Because you are within my reach again," I said, taking her hand.
She did not withdraw it. "Because I love you, Mary, as truly as
ever a man loved a woman. Because this treasure, these riches,
sealed my lips. Now that they are gone I can tell you how I love
you. That is why I said, 'Thank God.'"
"Then I say, 'Thank God,' too," she whispered, as I drew her to
my side. Whoever had lost a treasure, I knew that night that I
had gained one.
Chapter XII
The Strange Story of Jonathan Small
A very patient man was that inspector in the cab, for it was a
weary time before I rejoined him. His face clouded over when I
showed him the empty box.
"There goes the reward!" said he, gloomily. "Where there is no
money there is no pay. This night's work would have been worth a
tenner each to Sam Brown and me if the treasure had been there.
Pages:
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164