"That!" he followed along, dusting himself off, trying out his joints. "Oh, yes. I left it in my closet, and it disappeared. Told you of it at the time, didn't I, Jerry?"
"You did not," I sputtered, down on my knees, working away at the catches. "You never told me anything that would be of any use to us. If this thing disappeared, I suppose Vandeman stole it to get a piece of evidence in the Clayte case out of the way."
"Likely." Worth turned, with no further interest, and started toward his own gate.
"Hi! Come back here," I yelled after him. For the lock gave at that moment; there, under the pale circle of the electric torch, lay Clayte-Vandeman's loot!
"My gosh!" mumbled Capehart. "I didn't suppose there was so much money in the known world."
Eddie Hughes, breathing hard; Jim Edwards, bending to hold the torch; Capehart, stooping, blunt hands spread on knees, goggle-eyed; my own fingers shaking as I dragged out my list and attempted to sort through the stuff--not one of us but felt the thrill of that great fortune tumbled down there in the open road in the empty night.
But Worth delayed reluctantly at the edge of the shadows, looking with impatience across his shoulder, eager to be on--to get to Barbara. Yet I wanted that suitcase to go into the house in his hand; wanted him to be able to tell his girl that she'd made him a winner in the gamble and the long chase. Roughly assured that only a few thousands had been used by Vandeman, I stuck the handles into his fist and trailed along after his quick strides. Edwards followed me. Laura Bowman opened the door to us; she stopped Edwards on the porch.
And then I saw my children meet. I hadn't meant to; but after all, what matter? They didn't know I was on earth. Creation had resolved itself, for them, into the one man, the one woman.
The suitcase thumped unregarded on the floor. She came to him with her hands out. He took them slowly, raised them to his shoulders, and her arms went round his neck.
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+ | | | Transcriber's notes | | | | Page 26, word "sowly" changed to "slowly" (Slowly he brought that) | | | | Page 26, duplicate "the" deleted (followed it with the other) | | | | Page 134, word "inconspicious" changed to "inconspicuous" | |(inconspicuous eye on Edwards) | | | | Page 156, word "expaining" changed to "explaining" (explaining | | how I'd have run) | | | | Page 172, word "Warf" changed to "Wharf" (land me at Fisherman's | | Wharf) | | | | Page 315, word "Los Angles" changed to "Los Angeles" (I bought | | in Los Angeles) | | | | Page 315, word "nonenity" changed to "nonentity" (to deduce that a | | nonentity) | +--------------------------------------------------------------------+