The Penn's Grove record., 1886-06-26
TYE MYSTERIOUS FORGERY.

1t was a bleak October morning, and
Mr.. Walter Crump. cashier to the firm
of Messrs. Livesey ~ Mason, q%uickened
his pace as he made his way along
Throgmorton street to the scene of his
daily toll. 1t was not that he feared
to be late that Mr.. Crump vas walk
ing fast. During all the forty years
that he had sat upon a high stool from
10 to 5, Mr.. Crump had e been
known to be late for his work. A
more methodical, careful man never
hung over a ledger or balanced a cash
book.
at length he reached the well-known
staircase, opened the office door, and
stood still for a moment in surprise.
Young Carter, the assistant book
keeper, was there before him, already
at bis work. Mr.. Crump smiled grimly.
$50 you've made a beginning, young
man." he said. "Well, we'll see."
Carter's face flushed a little as he
hade the old man good morning. The
fact was that Crump, who had married
late IN life, had a bright-eyed daughter
named Annie, with whom Robert Car
Ter had fallen very much in love. 1t
was only on the preceding evening that
things had come to a crisis, aRd, some
what to the young mans urPrlse, Mr..
Crump had rejected the proposed en-
gagement. He did not like young
Carter. He did not approve of the
Soung fellows fashionably cut collars,
Sor of his scarf-pin, nor of his cane.
Such things Mr.. Crump considered
were the signs of afrivolous disposition
and unsteady habits. Nor did Mr..
Crump approve of the snatches of comic
songs which Carter was continually
humming. He suspected that the
young man %frequented music halls, and
spent more money on cheap cigars,
novels, aud outings than was proper
for one i'll his position. Besides, Mr..
Robert Carter vas usually the last OF
all the clerks to make his appearance
in the morning, and this was, in Mr..
Crump's eyes, a very bad sign. 1t was
plain to the old man that Carter was
now making an attempt to earn his
good opinion.
"TIme will shOw-time win show
said Mr.. Crump, in rather al ~aggravat-
ing way, as he changed his coat, opened
his desk, unlocked his safe, and set
about his work.
Some of the other clerks began to
arrive, and then came Mr.. Mason, the
acting partner, a tall, pale man, with
long, black whiskers. MIR. Llvesey,
the senior partner, only came to the
office twice a week, to examine the
bank book and see how things were
going on. Mr.. Mason opened the let
tiers, and soon came to Mr.. Crump'S
desk with a small sheaf of them in his
band. These were letters in response
to which small sums of money had to
be sent, and 1t belonged to Mr.. CrumI
to attend to them, for he had authority
to sign checks for the firm for sums NJ
to five pounds.
Mr.. Crump made a list of the pay
ments he had made and then went to
his safe for his check book. As be
opened it to write the first check he
was surprised 10 find that the counter
foil belonging to the last check which
had been taken from the book was not
filled up. He could hardly believe his
eyes. Never in all his life had he
written a check without first filling uI
the counterfeit with particulars of the
amount, the date, and the person &c
whom the check was sent. But his
surprise changed to dismay when ht
took out his cash-book and found that
he had only drawn nine checks the day
before, t g c~ounterfoils of which were
all properly filled up, whereas a tenth
check had been torn out of the book.
For a moment he felt stunned,
Could any one have stolen the blank
check? He always kept the key of his
safe on his own bunch; but it was just
possible that some one might have got
hold of the key, taken an impression OF
1t in wax, and had a false key made.
He had heard of such things. He
leaned his head on his hands and tried
to think. When had he closed the saft
last nightp About 4 in the afternoon,
before any one had left the office fol
the day; for he remembered that he had
been sent to the docks about 4 O'Clock
with some documents for a ship that
was about to sail, and that when he
had got back at half-past SIX everybody
had left, and the place was in darkness.
If the bank check had been stolen,
the theft must have been committed
last night-or this morning. Gould
the safe have been opened before hi;
ARRIVAL He remembered Carter's I'M
usually early appearance, and threw
suspicious glance at the young a
Then a simple solution of the matter
occurred to him. 1t was very possible
that, in tearing out the last check he
had drawn the day before. he had torn
out two by mistake. folded them up,
and sent them off together. This
would, of course, account for the a
pearance of the check-book. He deter
mined to write at once TO Marshall n
Company, merchants at Liverpool, tC
whom he had sent his last check, and
ask whether a blank check had not
been sent TO them by mistake.
Then the question arose-shOuld he
mention the circumstance to Mr.. Ma
sonp On consideration Mr.. CrumI
thought that 1t was not necessary to dc
so. Nh. Mason was rather a hard
nan to deal with, aud a confession
would ruin the character for careful
ness which the cashier had so long en-
joyed And he fully expected that III
two days at most he would get a letter