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

''Sllence-wil your" Kissed out MI.
Mason, in an angry whisper. Il can't
give You a hundred pounds. for l
haven't got it. But 1 will give you
fifty new. and fifty next month. After
that you can split If you like, for you
shall get no more out of me-. Anything
would be better than living as a slave
to a man like YOU"
Hand we the fifty, them" said the
other after a pause; and then there was
a 81 jgh rustic of bank notes.
You had better leave the country, j"
said MI. Mason in a low tone. 1.-The
bank cashier who cashed the check
might meet you in the street."
''I'll take care of that" replied the
stranger; and after a few mOr words
had passed the two men left the office.
All this time Carter had been stand
ing half ~paralyzed, first by fear of dis
covery and then by establishment. But
he understood this much, that this
stranger was the man who had cashed
the forged check under tue name OF
Beckman; that Mr.. Mason knew it, and
80 far from denOunclng him to the
police, was giving him money to hold
his tongue. Yes; and more than that,
the stranger was threatening to split
upon Mr.. Mason.
What it could all mean Carter could
not comprehend; bat he saw one thing
plainly enough. The important point
wa TO find out who this man was, and
where he lived. In a moment Carter
ran out of the room, seized his hat, and
rushed down stairs.
He was Just IN time. MIR. Mason
was leaving the foot OF the stairs, going
up the street, while a well-dressed man,
who had Just evidently parted from
him, was walking rapidly In the oppo-
site direction. Carter followed the
stranger to the Mansion House, and
saw him take a Bayswater omnibus.
This suited Carter exactly. He went
round to the front of the vehicle and
got up beside the driver. Then he
clambered along the roof and seated
himself above the door.
At the Holborn Restaurant the man
whom he was following got out and
stopped to refresh himself. while Car
ter waited patiently outside. AT last
he ~reappeared, and Carter quietly fol-
lowed him down Holborn, up Gray's
Inn Road and into a dingy street in the
~nelghborhood of Kings Cross. Here
the pretended solicitor stopped at a
door, Which he opened with a latch
key.
''AhI" said Carter to himself, 81
have you nowl'
He waited "a few moments, and then
knocked at the door.
1t was answered by a dirty, slip.shod
girl.
docs Mr.. Williamson live herep"
inquired the young man.
"No, he DOESN'T
Wasn't that Mr.. Williamson who
came in just now-Mr. Williamson, of
PETERBOROUGH"
mo. 1t wasn't. That was u first
floor, Mr.. Cromer. You've made a
mistake"
$50 | have Beg pardon, Pm sure"
and Carter turned away,
From Kings Cross he went straight
to Scotland Yard and narrated his ex-
p~eriences. That night Mr.. Livesey re-
ceived a visit which caused him some
surprise-and 30 did Mr.. Cromer. No
sooner was the latter gentleman in the
hands of the police than he confessed
the whole matter.
Mr.. Mason had known Cromer, who
was a scoundrel with a respectable ap-
pearance and a plausible manner, for
some time, ana had selected him to be
lis tool. He had sent poor Crump to
the docks on the afternoon before the
morning when the check was missed;
he had come back to the Office after the
clerks were gone. and had then opened
Crump's safe with his own key and
distracted the blank check. This
check he had himself filed up and
signed with the firms signature in the
usual way, so that there was little Won
der tuat the cashier at the bank paid it
without any suspicion. He had, no
doubt, calculated that the bank would
have to bear the loss; but, as it was, he
had cheated Mr.. Livesey out of two
thousand pounds, for. as he himself
had but a third share in the business,
only one thousand out of the three
had to come out of his W pocket.
Mr.. Mason saved his partner the
trouble of trying whether he could
make HIM criminally responsible for
what he had done, for when the police
went to look for him he had disap-
peared. Probably, he had seen Robert
Carter following his accomplish, and,
scenting danger, had saved himself
while there was time. 1t turned out
afterward that he had been specializing
largely on the Stock Exchange and wal
sorely in need of money to pay his
losses. 1t was some consolation to
Mr.. Livesey to think that his dishonest
partner had not pro6ted much by the
theft.
AS for Walter Crump, he was offered
his cid place, with an apology and a
handsome present to boot; and he still
keeps the books which he had 8 long
under his care. He has not quite
overcome his prejudice against Robert
Carter, and he always regarded it as a
hard thing that he should have to owe
his reputation and his deliverance from
povel,y to that particular young gen
tleman. However, as things were he
could do no less than inform Carter
that he had done him an I'M ~ustice. and
that he would be happy TO see him IN
the evening whenever 1t pleased him to
call. The color came back to Armies
cheek and the light 10 her eyes when
she heard the good news; and 1T was
not many weeks before she became the
promised wife of the young man who
discovered the secret of The Mysterious
Forgery.
Proud OF His Sister.