"Josie! Control yourself."
Instantly her form relaxed and became inert3. She breathed hard and her heart still raced, but she was no longer afraid.
There was silence for a time, while she collected herself. Then she asked in a businesslike tone:
"When did you get here?"
"Sunday," said he.
"Good gracious! You must have caught the first train after getting my wire."
"I did. A certain gang of unknown counterfeiters has been puzzling me a good deal lately, and I fancied you had located the rascals6."
"I have," said Josie exultantly7.
"Where?" he asked.
"The rascals are down below us this very minute, Daddy. They are at our mercy."
"Old Cragg and Jim Bennett?"
"Yes; and perhaps others."
"M-m-m," mumbled8 O'Gorman, "you've a lot to learn yet, Josie. You're quick; you're persevering9; you're courageous10. But you lack judgment11."
"Do you mean that you doubt my evidence?" she asked indignantly.
"I do."
"I've the counterfeit5 bill here in my pocket, which Cragg tried to pass on the storekeeper," she said.
"Let me see it."
Josie searched and found the bill. O'Gorman flashed a circle of light on it and studied it attentively12.
"Here," he said, passing it back to her. "Don't lose it, Josie. It's worth ten dollars."
"Isn't it counterfeit?" she asked, trying to swallow a big lump that rose in her throat.
"It is one of the recent issues, good as gold."
She sat silent, rigid13 with disappointment. Never had she been as miserable14 as at this moment. She felt like crying, and a sob15 really did become audible in spite of her effort to suppress it. Again O'Gorman passed his arm affectionately around her waist and held her close while she tried to think what it all meant.
"Was that bill your only basis of suspicion, dear?" he presently inquired.
"No, indeed. Do you hear that noise? What are they doing down there?"
"I imagine they are running a printing press," he replied.
"Exactly!" she said triumphantly16. "And why do these men operate a printing press in a secret cavern17, unless they are printing counterfeit money?"
"Ah, there you have allowed your imagination to jump," returned her father. "Haven't I warned you against the danger of imagination? It leads to theory, and theory leads—nine times in ten—to failure."
"Circumstantial evidence is often valuable," declared Josie.
"It often convicts," he admitted, "but I am never sure of its justice. Whenever facts are obtainable, I prefer facts."
"Can you explain," she said somewhat coldly, for she felt she was suffering a professional rebuke18, "what those men below us are printing, if not counterfeit money?"
"I can," said he.
"And you have been down there, investigating?"
"Not yet," he answered coolly.
"Then you must be theorizing, Daddy."
"Not at all. If you know you have two marbles in one pocket and two more in another pocket, you may be positive there are four altogether, whether you bother to count them individually or not."
She pondered this, trying to understand what he meant.
"You don't know old Cragg as well as I do," she asserted.
"Let us argue that point," he said quickly. "What do you know about him?"
"I know him to be an eccentric old man, educated and shrewd, with a cruel and murderous temper; I know that he has secluded19 himself in this half-forgotten town for many years, engaged in some secret occupation which he fears to have discovered. I am sure that he is capable of any crime and therefore—even if that bill is good—I am none the less positive that counterfeiting20 is his business. No other supposition fits the facts in the case."
"Is that all you know about old Cragg?" asked O'Gorman.
"Isn't it enough to warrant his arrest?" she retorted.
"Not quite. You've forgotten to mention one thing among his characteristics, Josie."
"What is that?"
"Cragg is an Irishman—just as I am."
"What has that to do with it?"
"Only this: his sympathies have always been interested in behalf of his downtrodden countrymen. I won't admit that they are downtrodden, Josie, even to you; but Cragg thinks they are. His father was an emigrant21 and Hezekiah was himself born in Dublin and came to this country while an infant. He imagines he is Irish yet. Perhaps he is."
There was a note of bewilderment in the girl's voice as she asked:
"What has his sympathy for the Irish to do with this case?"
"Hezekiah Cragg," explained O'Gorman, speaking slowly, "is at the head of an organization known as the 'Champions of Irish Liberty.' For many years this C. I. L. fraternity has been growing in numbers and power, fed by money largely supplied by Cragg himself. I have proof, indeed, that he has devoted22 his entire fortune to this cause, as well as all returns from his business enterprises. He lives in comparative poverty that the Champions of Irish Liberty may finally perfect their plans to free Ireland and allow the Irish to establish a self-governing republic."
"His work here is a violation24 of neutrality; it is contrary to the treaty between our country and England. According to our laws Hezekiah Cragg and his followers25, in seeking to deprive England of her Irish possession, are guilty of treason."
"Could he be prosecuted26 for sympathizing with his own race?"
"No; for sending them arms and ammunition27 to fight with, yes. And that is what they have been doing."
"Then you can arrest him for this act?"
"I can," said O'Gorman, "but I'll be hanged if I will, Josie. Cragg is an idealist; the cause to which he has devoted his life and fortune with a steadfast28 loyalty29 that is worthy30 of respect, is doomed31 to failure. The man's every thought is concentrated on his futile32 scheme and to oppose him at this juncture33 would drive him mad. He isn't doing any real harm to our country and even England won't suffer much through his conspiracy34. But, allowing for the folly35 of his attempt to make his people free and independent, we must admire his lofty philanthropy, his self-sacrifice, his dogged perseverence in promoting the cause so near and dear to his heart. Let some other federal officer arrest him, if he dares; it's no work for an O'Gorman."
Josie had encountered many surprises during her brief career as an embryo36 detective, but this revelation was the crowning astonishment37 of her life. All her carefully prepared theories concerning Hezekiah Cragg had been shattered by her father's terse39 disclosure and instead of hating Old Swallowtail she suddenly found sympathy for his ideals welling in her heart. Josie O 'Gorman was Irish, too.
She pondered deeply the skilled detective's assertions and tried to fit them to her knowledge of old Cragg's character. The story seemed to account for much, but not all. After a time she said:
"But this mysterious business of his, which causes him to write so many letters and to receive so many answers to them—what connection can it have with the Champions of Irish Liberty?"
"Very little," said her father, "except that it enables Cragg to earn more money to feed into the ever-hungry maw of the Cause. Cragg's 'business' is one of the most unique things of the sort that I have ever encountered. And, while it is quite legitimate40, he is obliged to keep it secret so as not to involve his many customers in adverse41 criticism."
"What on earth can it be?"
"It pertains42 to heaven, not earth, my dear," said O'Gorman dryly. "Cragg was educated for the ministry43 or the priesthood—I can't discover whether he was Catholic or Protestant—but it seems he wasn't fitted for the church. Perhaps he already had in mind the idea of devoting his life to the land that gave him birth. Anyhow, he was a well versed44 theologian, and exceptionally brilliant in theses, so when his money gave out he began writing sermons for others to preach, doing a mail-order business and selling his products to those preachers who are too busy or too lazy to write their own sermons. He has a sort of syndicate established and his books, which I have examined with admiration45 and wonder, prove he supplies sermons to preachers of all denominations46 throughout the United States. This involves a lot of correspondence. Every week he writes a new sermon, prints a large number of copies and sends one to each of his clients. Of course he furnishes but one man in a town or city with his products, but there are a good many towns and cities to supply."
"Is he printing sermons now?" asked Josie.
"Perhaps so; or it may be he is printing some circular to be distributed to the members of the C. I. L. Jim Bennett, the husband of the postmistress here, was once a practical printer, and he is a staunch member of the Irish fraternity. Cragg has known of this underground cavern for years, and at one time it was a regular meeting-place for his order of Champions. So he bought a printing press and, to avoid the prying47 eyes of his neighbors, established it here. That is the whole story of Cragg's 'crime,' Josie, and it is very simple when once fully38 explained."
"Do you mean to say you've discovered all this in the two days since you've been here?" asked the girl, in amazement48.
"Every bit of it. I came prepared to arrest a gang of counterfeiters, and stumbled on this very interesting but quite harmless plot."
"Where have you been hiding since Sunday?" she inquired.
"Why, I didn't hide at all," he asserted. "Don't you remember giving me a ride yesterday in the Hathaway automobile49?"
Josie sat silent. She was glad it was so dark under that shelf of rock, for she would rather her father did not read her humiliation50 and self-reproach.
"Daddy," she said, with a despairing accent, "I'm going to study to be a cook or a stenographer51. I'll never make a decent detective—like Nan, for instance."
O'Gorman laughed.
"Poor Nan!" he exclaimed. "She's been more befuddled52 than you over this mysterious case. And Cragg is her own father, too. Come, Josie, it's getting late; let's go home."
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1
stifle
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| vt.使窒息；闷死；扼杀；抑止，阻止 | |
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crouched
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| v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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3
inert
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| adj.无活动能力的，惰性的；迟钝的 | |
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chuckle
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| vi.／n.轻声笑，咯咯笑 | |
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counterfeit
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| vt.伪造，仿造；adj.伪造的，假冒的 | |
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6
rascals
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| 流氓( rascal的名词复数 )； 无赖； （开玩笑说法）淘气的人（尤指小孩）； 恶作剧的人 | |
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7
exultantly
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| adv.狂欢地，欢欣鼓舞地 | |
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8
mumbled
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| 含糊地说某事，叽咕，咕哝( mumble的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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9
persevering
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| a.坚忍不拔的 | |
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courageous
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| adj.勇敢的，有胆量的 | |
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judgment
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| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
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attentively
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| adv.聚精会神地；周到地；谛；凝神 | |
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rigid
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| adj.严格的，死板的；刚硬的，僵硬的 | |
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miserable
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| adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的 | |
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15
sob
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| n.空间轨道的轰炸机；呜咽，哭泣 | |
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triumphantly
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| ad.得意洋洋地；得胜地；成功地 | |
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cavern
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| n.洞穴，大山洞 | |
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rebuke
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| v.指责，非难，斥责 [反]praise | |
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secluded
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| adj.与世隔绝的；隐退的；偏僻的v.使隔开，使隐退( seclude的过去式和过去分词) | |
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counterfeiting
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| n.伪造v.仿制，造假( counterfeit的现在分词 ) | |
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emigrant
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| adj.移居的，移民的；n.移居外国的人，移民 | |
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devoted
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| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
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23
secrecy
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| n.秘密，保密，隐蔽 | |
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24
violation
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| n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯 | |
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25
followers
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| 追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件 | |
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prosecuted
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| a.被起诉的 | |
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ammunition
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| n.军火，弹药 | |
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28
steadfast
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| adj.固定的，不变的，不动摇的；忠实的；坚贞不移的 | |
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29
loyalty
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| n.忠诚，忠心 | |
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30
worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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31
doomed
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| 命定的 | |
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32
futile
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| adj.无效的，无用的，无希望的 | |
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33
juncture
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| n.时刻，关键时刻，紧要关头 | |
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34
conspiracy
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| n.阴谋，密谋，共谋 | |
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35
folly
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| n.愚笨，愚蠢，蠢事，蠢行，傻话 | |
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36
embryo
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| n.胚胎，萌芽的事物 | |
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astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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38
fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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39
terse
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| adj.(说话，文笔)精炼的，简明的 | |
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40
legitimate
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| adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法 | |
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41
adverse
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| adj.不利的；有害的；敌对的，不友好的 | |
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42
pertains
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| 关于( pertain的第三人称单数 )； 有关； 存在； 适用 | |
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43
ministry
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| n.(政府的)部；牧师 | |
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44
versed
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| adj. 精通，熟练 | |
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45
admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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46
denominations
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| n.宗派( denomination的名词复数 )；教派；面额；名称 | |
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47
prying
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| adj.爱打听的v.打听，刺探（他人的私事）( pry的现在分词 )；撬开 | |
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48
amazement
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| n.惊奇，惊讶 | |
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49
automobile
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| n.汽车，机动车 | |
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50
humiliation
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| n.羞辱 | |
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51
stenographer
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| n.速记员 | |
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52
befuddled
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| adj.迷糊的，糊涂的v.使烂醉( befuddle的过去式和过去分词 )；使迷惑不解 | |
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