C. S. Montanye

“ Paying no attention to the valet, who was busy tidying up the room, the young man strode to the space between the windows, pushed aside a frame etching by Morini, and exposed the dial of a small wall safe which reposed directly behind it. The valet's mouth opened as the young man clicked off the combination.
During the four months of his employment with Mr. van Pelt, he had never known of the existence of the hidden safe. His eyes blazed as he saw the other open it and withdraw the leather wallet. Then with a brief “Good night,” the young man tucked it into an inner pocket and went out. ”

“ When Mr. van Pelt returned in the evening, the valet's face was white and haggard.
The young man noticed this.
“I say, Williams,” he exclaimed, “You look like the devil! What's the trouble?”
The valet flushed. “Nothing, sir. A bit of a cold, sir, or something of the sort.”
His employer nodded absently. “Run my bath, Williams. I shall remain at home to-night and complete my packing. I'll need you.”
Then, before valet's eyes, Van Pelt took the leather wallet from his pocket, went to the safe in the wall, opened it, and tossed it in, slamming the door. ”

“ The longest-living author of this work died in 1948, so this work is in the public domain in countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 75 years or less. This work may be in the public domain in countries and areas with longer native copyright terms that apply the rule of the shorter term to foreign works. ”