THE MILLION-DOLLAR SUITCASE

CONTENTS


CHAPTER PAGE

I WORTH GILBERT 1

II SIGHT UNSEEN 16

III A WEDDING PARTY 27

IV AN APPARITION 45

V AT THE ST. DUNSTAN 57

VI ON THE ROOF 65

VII THE GOLD NUGGET 75

VIII A TIN-HORN GAMBLER 87

IX SANTA YSOBEL 101

X A SHADOW IN THE FOG 110

XI THE MISSING DIARY 124

XII A MURDER 137

XIII DR. BOWMAN 147

XIV SEVEN LOST DAYS 155

XV AT DYKEMAN'S OFFICE 164

XVI A LUNCHEON 171

XVII CLEANSING FIRES 181

XVIII THE TORN PAGE 188

XIX ON THE HILL-TOP 196

XX AT THE COUNTRY CLUB 209

XXI A MATTER OF TASTE 214

XXII A DINNER INVITATION 225

XXIII A BIT OF SILK 231

XXIV THE MAGNET 240

XXV AN ARREST 250

XXVI MRS. BOWMAN SPEAKS 261

XXVII THE BLOSSOM FESTIVAL 273

XXVIII THE COUNTRY CLUB BALL 293

XXIX UNMASKED 303

XXX A CONFESSION 311

XXXI THE MILLION-DOLLAR SUITCASE 320




THE MILLION-DOLLAR SUITCASE




CHAPTER I

WORTH GILBERT


On the blank silence that followed my last words, there in the big,
dignified room with its Circassian walnut and sound-softening rugs,
Dykeman, the oldest director, squalled out as though he had been bitten,

"All there is to tell! But it can't be! It isn't possib--" His voice
cracked, split on the word, and the rest came in an agonized squeak, "A
man can't just vanish into thin air!"

"A man!" Knapp, the cashier, echoed. "A suitcase full of money--our
money--can't vanish into thin air in the course of a few hours."

Feverishly they passed the timeworn phrase back and forth; it would have
been ludicrous if it hadn't been so deadly serious. Well, money when you
come to think of it, is its very existence to such an institution; it
was not to be wondered at that the twelve men around the long table in
the directors' room of the Van Ness Avenue Savings Bank found this a
life or death matter.