The little bride answered:  “I don’t know about that; but the Japanese must be awfully tricky, for Pinkey says so and the captain of the ship, who hates every inhabitant of the Empire, said the banks had to employ Chinese clerks.”

Why waste words?  What were real facts, or the experience of a lifetime against such unimpeachable authority as Mr. Pinkey Chalmers and the captain of a Pacific steamer!  Why condemn the little bride, for after all she was human.  Nationally and individually, the tighter we hug our own sins and hide their faces, the more clearly we can see the distorted features of our neighbor’s weakness.  There was more of pity than anger due a person who, ignoring all the beauty in the treasure house before her, chose as a souvenir a warped and very ancient skeleton of a truth and found the same pleasure in dangling it, that a child would in exhibiting a newly-extracted tooth.

Mr. Chalmers had been talking to Zura, but when he caught the word “bank” he included the entire company in his conversation.  “Talking banks, are you?  Well that is a pretty sore subject with me.  Just lost my whole fortune in a bank.  Had it happened before the wedding I’d have been obliged to put the soft pedals on the merry marriage bells.  Guess you heard about the million-dollar robbery of the Chicago Bank; biggest pile any one fellow ever got away with.  And that’s the wonder:  he got clean away, simply faded into nothing.  It happened months ago and not a trace of him since.  Detectives everywhere are on the keen jump; big reward hung up.  He’s being gay somewhere with seventy-five dollars of my good money.”

Tea was served and we indulged in much small talk, but I was not sorry when Pinkey said he “must be moving along” to the steamer.  He charged us to wireless him, if we saw a strange man standing around with a bushel of gold concealed about his person.  It was sure to be the missing cashier.  “By-the-way,” he asked, pausing at the door, “where is that chap I met when I was here before, who took such an interest in my business?  Maybe he is among those absent wanted ones.  What was he doing here anyhow?”

Zura answered with what I thought unnecessary color that Mr. Hanaford was in the city, and was soon to be promoted to a very high position in the educational world.

Pinkey looked into her face and, turning, gave me a violent wink.  “Oho!  Now I’m getting wise.”  At the same time humming a strain supposed to be from a wedding march.

Oh, but I wished I could slap him!  Think of his seeing in a wink what I hadn’t seen in months!

My visitors said good-by and went their happy way, but in the story of the missing cashier Mr. Chalmers left behind a suggestion that was as hateful as it was painful and haunting.

* * * * *

Page spent that evening with us.  He was lighter of heart than I had ever seen him, more at ease and entertaining, and as far removed from crime as courage is from cowardice.