"Mr. Gaffney, I am afraid I have an unpleasant duty to perform," began Andrew Shalley, in a cold, hard voice.
"Why--er--what do you mean?" stammered the clerk.
"I refer to your dealings with my purser, Peter Polk."
"I--er--I haven't had anything to do with him--that is--we had some little business, but----" The clerk was unable to go on.
"You sent him a threatening letter the other day."
The clerk winced and the steamboat owner saw that the shot struck home.
"This affair is a very serious one--you know that as well as I do," continued Andrew Shalley. "The fact of the matter is, it is a state's prison offense."
The mention of prison had the desired effect. George Gaffney broke down completely.
"Oh, sir,--I--I didn't mean to do any wrong--Polk said it would be all right. He got me to go into it--it was all his doings. All I ever got out of it was thirty-five dollars and that I will pay back. Mr. Shalley, I--er--I hope you won't prosecute me, for the sake of my wife and children!" And the clerk wrung his hands in despair.
"Didn't you get any more than thirty-five dollars?"
"No, sir, not a cent more, I swear it. And Polk said that was due to me legally."
"If that is true, I will not prosecute you,--but on one condition."
"That you tell me everything you know about Peter Polk's doings."
"I cannot tell you all Peter Polk has done," said George Gaffney, on beginning his story, "but I can tell you all so far as it concerns his purchase of goods from Bann & Shadow."
"That will be enough," answered Andrew Shalley, and brought out a book and a pencil, to take notes.
"He came to our firm three years ago and began to purchase various goods for the _Helen Shalley_. At first he met all bills promptly and never asked for any rebate or commission. That lasted for about three months."
"He was. At the end of six months he made a claim of a rebate on a bill for a hundred and fifty dollars and we allowed him ten dollars. Then he got ten dollars more on another bill, and after that he claimed a rebate of ten per cent. on everything he bought of us."
"You have all those bills on your books?"
"He gradually got bolder and wanted me to aid him in getting a commission elsewhere on regular steamboat supplies. I was willing to make a little extra money and introduced him to the firm of Leeson & Bronette. Leeson is an easy-going man and he promised Polk a big commission on all goods purchased. Polk bought hundreds of dollars' worth of goods from them, and got, I am pretty sure, from fifteen to twenty per cent. on every bill paid."