Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1895-11-28

want to know Is what mas brought yo'
to MISREPRESENTATION | cannot be
lieve that you have voluntarily adopted
the life Of a."
"Of tramp" he said, finishing he
sentence with a bitter smile.
"Pardon me-" she added, hastily; q
have no right to question you. Pray
don't misjudge my motive. know thai
you are not to blame for the change ir
your fortunes; know that you are in
capable Of o wrong act"
He gave her a sharp look, as II HI
would read her thoughts.
"That is a remarkable statement" he
said, slowly. "Can 1t be that you have
forgotten why ] run AWAY from home
five years ago?''
II have not forgotten the miserable
story that was told at that time" she re-
piled, firmly; "but have heard a differ
ent story since Mr.. CRANKY, my unhap-
by brother has told me everything"
The man started.
ale has told me-" continued the wom-
on, her face white with suppressed ex-
citement, "tliat it was he and not you
who forged the check for $l5,O0o!'
"lIe told you that? Good heavens!
does your father know?'
my father and mother have both
zone TO another world, Mr.. CRANKY.
Robert and have been orphans for
three years. 1t was not until after their
death that he made his confession to
me. lie told me Of his youthful in
fatuation for gambling and horse races;
how he became no deeply involved that
in moment Of desperation, TO avert
the disgrace he snw staring him in the
face, he forged the signature Of de-
posltor in fathers bank, hoping thus to
retrieve his losses andreplacc the money
before its withdrawal was discovered
You, ns teller Of the bank, cashed the
check without suspicion. Afterward,
when the money WAS squandered, and
Robert realized that he could not hope
to conceal his crime, he conflded In you
and begged you to help him out Of his
trouble. He said that his exposure
would kill his mother, bring disgrace
upon his family, and cause his father
to forever disown him. Then 1t was
that you sacrificed yourself to save
him and his family. You told him you
would divert suspicion from him II he
would keep his own counsel and promise
on his oath to never gamble again. Yon
kept your word by suddenly disap-
pearing, thus bringing suspicion upon
yourself, so that when the forgery was
discovered nobody could doubt that you
were the criminal md that you had
fled to escape the consequences Of your
crime. Oh, II was noble thing to do!
Not one man in II million could have
made such a sacrificed" Miss Kings
ley's voice betrayed her agitation now,
and there were tears In her eyes. "l'ut
you do not know what shock 1t was
to-to-father and the rest OF us to he
forced to believe you guilty. We had
such faith in you. Thank heaven, the
story never got into tho papers. Robert
and ! have tried hard for two years to
find some trace of you, that we might
make such reparaton us lay in our
power. And Robert says that In some
way the bank has rccov-
cred the amount that was lost on the
forged check, including the interest
Maurice CRANKY, by this time, WINS
with the air of man who hns
Ind a great burden lifted from hismind.
II am glad you know the truth" he
said, with an expression Of profound re-
lief. when | left New York went
west md enlisted in the regular army
under IN assumed name served five
years. But was In communication
with m Intimate frend--a young law
yer-and when my aunt In Vermont
died last spring, making me her sole
heir, had my friend convert the prop
erty into cash and turn 1t over to the
bank. There was just enough. with
what had been able to save from my
pay as a soldier, to replace the $4,000
with the accrued interest ! had as-
sumcd the debt, you know, and thought
| ought to pay 1t. On leaving the army
| started back to New York, where
still have q few friends. | had not
to take me clear through,
80 | concluded That tramp Of a hun
dred miles or so would do me no harm
am accustomed to marching
you have outdone Don Qulxote him
self" exclaimed Miss Kingsley. "0f
course, every dollar Of that money will