Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1886-05-27


was the only other one of the family in
the room.
"What is it, father?" she cried, clasping
her hands. 'What is it you say Robert
knows more about than any one else? Oh.
tell me what has happened?"
$50 to your room, girl" said her father
sternly. "There is trouble enough with
out your meddling in it. Stop he
continued as the girl slowly left the
room. ''You see that young man. I for
bid you to see him, to write to him. to re-
ceive any letters from him. He-you will
know soon enough"
s'What, sirr' cried Carter, his ewes blaz-
ing with Indignation. "Do you say that I
took the check? Why, it was an impossi-
bility, even if I had wished to do such a
thing"
"Leave my house, sir!" was the old
mans reply, as he reseated himself in his
chair. He had by this time persuaded
himself that in some unguarded moment
he had left his key in the safe, that Carter
had taken an impression of it and had a
false key made, and that he had got some
clever forger to initiate the firms sigma
ture. But he knew that no one would be-
lieve him, that appearances were all
against him, and that 1t would be impos-
sible for him now even to earn his bread.
He looked upon Carter as the man who
had ruined him, and in his misery and
unreasonableness he fancied that one of
the young mans objects was to throw
suspicion upon him, to reduce him to
poverty and make it impossible for him
to refuse to accept him as Armies hus-
band. But in this the old man determined
he would never yield.
Carter protested one morning against
the Injustice of the cashiers suspicious,
and then left the room. At the street
door he met Annie, who was waiting for
him.
''Oh, Robert" she exclaimed in a low
voice, tell me what has happened"
'Somebody at the office has forged a
check for $4,000 and more" he replied
'It had been taken from your fathers
book, and-and-he fancies [ took it,
who had nothing to do with his safe
whatever"
"And do they imagine it was-''
Robert was silent.
"And you came here to say you didn't
believe it? Oh, how good of your
''But he thinks I am the thief. You
don't, Anniej'.
mo, Robert 1 am very sure of that.
Only, I can't see you so long as my
father
Roberts only answer to this was a sigh,
and with hurried good-by the lovers
parted.
X X X x x x
Weeks and months went by, and the
mystery of the forged check remained
unsolved. Mr.. Livesey insisted that the
firm should bear the loss of the $4,000,
which Mr.. Mason thought the bank ought
to repay, as they were legally responsible
for the money.
NO" said the old gentleman, 'they
may be legally responsible, but [ don't see
that they ought to suffer. The check itself
was in our hands, and we allowed thief
to get hold of it. The bank did all they
could. The forged signature is so like
yours that no one could tell the difference,
and the bank cashier tells me that the man
who cashed it showed him letters ad-
dressed to himself as Joseph Beckman'
(the name on the check, and showed him
his card saying that he was a solicitor. Of
course he wasn't. The thing has been
most cleverly planned, and I am quite at
loss to think who put that poor fellow
Crump up to it; but it seemed to me we
can't let the bank suffer. We could not
afford to let it be known we had done so.
No other bank would keep our account"
Of course poor Walter Crump could not
find another situation, though he would
have been glad to take the lowest place
in an office. The wolf came to his door
in earnest. Annie, who had situation
in boarding school, was the chief support
of the family; and the poor girl was as
pale and thin from long hours and scanty
meals.
It was about five months after the day
when the bank cashier was dismissed in
disgrace that Mr.. Mason left his Office at
80 o'clock, his usual hour for going to
lunch. Half-past one was also the time
when it was Robert Carriers turn to go
out for half an hour; and Mr.. Mason had
hardly had time to reach the street when
the young man left his desk, went into
Mr.. MasOn's room, entered a small closet
in which wash-hand basin was fitted up,
and proceeded to wash his hands. This
was a high misdemanor, especially as &C
commodation was provided for clerks in
another part of the building, but Mr..
Robert Carter preferred Mr.. Mason's clos
ct, and always used it when he had a
chance of doing so.
On this occasion, however, he had bare
ly begun his additions when he heard the
outer door of the Office slam, and then he
heard some one, whom he judged to be
his employer, come into the room.
Fortunately the door of the closet was
nearly closed, SO that the young man was
invisible to any one in the center of the
room.
''He has only come back for his UNI
brella,'' said Robert to himself; "there is
no need for my moving. If keep quiet
he will be gone in a minute. No! Someone
else has come in with him. What shall
I do.
Mr.. Mason had already closed the double
doors that led from his room to the outer
Office, and Carter was screwing up his
courage to the point of confessing his
presence, when the first words spoken by
the stranger fell upon his ear, and made
him stand as still as stone.
''You can take your choice, as said in
my letter. Hand me over another e1OO,
or I'll split. What's e172 out of $4,000.
had all the risk, and you"
"Silence-will you?" Kissed out Mr..
Mason, in an angry whisper. Il can't
erivo Won r10O for T haven't pOt If Rut