Read "The Devil's Advocate" by Fred M. White online for free on Textopian. Full text with search, annotations, highlights, and AI-powered reading aids.
Peterson gasped and choked in the fullness of his emotion at this unexpected blow. The surprise was almost cruel in its intensity. He had been getting on so splendidly, and everything had been going so right, that the check knocked him off his feet for the moment. It was fortunate, perhaps, that he was dealing with an old woman who was past heeding much in the way of surprises. So that Peterson was able to pull himself together instantly and carry on as if he had heard nothing to his disadvantage.
"Oh, quite so, quite so," he said, coolly enough. "I know something of Mr. Macrae; but that is not the point. I want to make sure, because your people seem to be exactly what I am looking for. There is not the slightest doubt, I suppose, that the coat this tab came off was one that Mr. Macrae brought here to be dyed about a year ago. You see, I am so--well, faddy----"