The river had been watched night and day. The net set
by the Burns operatives touched every settlement and village for many
miles around. And, finally, the battered and broken wreck of the lost
boat had been found some two miles below Elbow Rock.
". . . And so, my dear Auntie Sue," Banker Ward wrote, in conclusion,
"you may rest in peace, secure in the certainty that my thieving bank
clerk is not lurking anywhere in your beautiful Ozarks to pounce down
upon you unawares in your little house beside the river. The man is
safely dead. There is no doubt about it. I regret, more than I can
express, that you have been in any way disturbed by the affair. Please
think no more about it.
"By the way, you made a great impression upon detective Ross. He was
more than enthusiastic over your graciousness and your beauty. I
never heard him talk so much before in all the years I have known him.
Needless to say, I indorsed everything he said about the dearest
old lady in the world, and then we celebrated by dining together and
drinking a toast to Auntie Sue. . . ."
Auntie Sue went with the letter to Brian, and acquainted him with that
part of the banker's communication which related to the absconding
clerk; but, about her relation to the president of the Empire
Consolidated Savings Bank, she said nothing.
"Isn't it splendid!" she finished, her face glowing with delight.
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