From Nevada; or, The Lost Mine, A Drama in Three Acts by George M. (George Melville) Baker

You did. One day he asked me to step round to the bank, and cash a check made in his favor by Gordon, Green, & Co. It was for twenty thousand dollars. I was not surprised at the amount; as I knew he was considered a man of wealth, and had large dealings with the concern. I laughingly asked him if he was not afraid to trust me with so large an amount, to which he replied, "No: if you are not afraid to draw it." I went to the bank, agreeing to meet him at his rooms with the money. On presenting it at the bank, the teller looked at the check suspiciously, and took it to the cashier. One of the clerks whispered to me, "Look out for yourself, Dick, that check's a forgery." Forgery! I started at the word: to me it had always been a horror. I left the bank, not knowing what I was doing. I flew to Corliss's rooms: the door was locked, and on it a placard, "Gone to Europe." I turned and ran, that word "forgery" burning into my brain, through the city, out into country, as if pursued by tormenting fiends. A fever attacked me; and, when I recovered, I found myself in the hands of strangers. Then commenced my wanderings, which have ended here where they should have begun,--in capture. (AGNES: Have you never communicated with your employers, avowed your innocence?) Never. (AGNES: Why, Richard, you have acted like a madman!) Haven't I? Perhaps the word "Fool" would be better. How easily I might have cleared myself. How--Oh, well! I'm not the first man who has been wrecked on the reefs of "Might have been."

Dick Monologue from Nevada; or, The Lost Mine, A Drama in Three Acts

Rehearse Dick's monologue