Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1896-05-06

three times the amount of your sum-
The first feeling that followed my as
constituent at this disclosure was one
of dread that a trap was being laid for
me. The mans statement, IN view OF
his high standing in the financial world,
seemed simply impossible
He read me like book.
Il am speaking the truth. he said.
Il have the strongest motive for doing
so-that of self-interest. We can be
mutually useful to each other
"How?" l inquired.
Patience. In a comparatively short
time discovery must ruin you, as 1t
must me. But there is a hope. We
can combine with others in similar
position. We can form d league of de-
faulters for mutual protection
He looked at me with the triumph
of man who feels convinced that he
is putting grand idea into words.
looked at him in silence.
Here said he. lis list of ten men
holding at this moment responsible pO-
sitions in financial institutions. Every
one of them is a defaulter to large
amount and each cOnceals his villainy
with the greatest skill. The shortage
foots up 100000 all told"
Again he looked at me, and l saw that
failure to respond would injure ne.
After all, / was in the mans power. 1t
behooved me to clutch even at a straw.
Besides a glimmering of his scheme be-
gan to dawn upon me and felt GER
tain interest.
Your plan, [ see, is to get all these
men to unite in some method of mutual
protection against discovery" l said.
But how can you put such plan into
operationT'
Il have thought it all out" he said,
with the cheerfulness of a man who sees
a ray of hope grow brighter in the
gloom of adversely; TO begin with we
the trust shall have a monopoly of de-
falcation. They will crush out compe-
tition by ruthlesSly exposing all small
fry defaulters. But that is a mere side
issue. The main purpose of the trust,
as | said, will be mutual protection.
Suppose you, for instance, are suspect
ed. You will need 100000 to make
your books seem all right. Very good.
Your fellow members of the trust will
let you have the money. OF course,
when the examination of your accounts
is over, you will Immediately restore
the funds. In the same way you are TO
come to the aid of a fellow defaulter by
letting him have $4,000 to $4,000 for
a week or So"
Once more he looked at me in triumph.
l must say I caught his enthusiasm. My
practical knowledge of the workings of
financial institutions suggested details
in connection with the carrying out of
such a scheme. / mentioned them and
my interlocutor was enthusiastic.
''Glorious.' he exclaimed. L see my
Judgment was correct. You are just the
man [ have been looking for. In an
other week your midwinter vacation be-
gins. An examination of your accounts
then commences. I will see that you are
provided with funds to carry you safely
through the ordeal. Meantime you must
make tour through the principal cities
and force various defaulters into the
trust or into prison.
When he had left me, I yielded in
stantly to the happy relief of this provi-
Dental escape. | burst into tears and
looked at my Margaret's picture. |
could hope to enjoy her now for another
ten years. At the end of that time [
should probably die from my enslayement
to drugs which had eaten cruelty into
my physique. But those ten years!
The scheme itself worked beautifully.
threw myself into it with the despera-
ton Of love and carried it out success
fully. My position and influence with
the bank were strengthened greatly, for
l was instrumental in the detection of
clerk who lad stolen $500. All over
the country our syndicate ruthleSSly eX-
posed defalcatiOn.
Glorious, my boy said Mr. Meldon,
when [ saw him at his bank one day and
made my deposit to him. Our clear
ing house is doing WELL eh?'
He laughed in that peculiar mirth-
less way of brilliant men. [ have al
ways noticed that brilliant men cannot
laugh naturally and he was indeed a
very brilliant man. The fact that | was
much in his company and known to be
in a degree q familiar of his had greatly
increased my prestige in banking circles
and caused me to be looked upon as q ris-
ing young inancier.
SO the weeks ran on. By this time |
had married and was living in the pref
test little house in the suburbs. Even
now | cannot look back upon that time
without q feeling of wonder that |
should have been so unhappy. For [
was keenly, wildly unhappy. Never
have | heard of such main as | felt every
time Margaret looked at me- Perhaps
l have given the impression that my
wife was a doll-like innocent, and per-
haps | thought she was al first But
soon had reasons to change my esti-
mate of her. Pure and good she could
not help but be, but there was a matur-
ity in her intellect and character that
made me perceive how futile all efforts
to conceal myself from her must ulti-
mately be. And that was the chief
| source Of my sorrow.
When L reached home after nv inter-
view with Mr.. Meldon, Margaret's face
told me plainly that some anxiety was
! pressing her.
May I talk a little business with Won
|
maternal way that made her seriousness
as sweet to me as her smile
One of my breads was dread of con-
versation with my wife As long as she
talked [ felt soothed, but long ago l had
found my own speech a pitfall 1 was
perpetually saying things that called for
explanation, and perpetually explaining
in the lamest way
1t is about money" she persisted
do you know no, we are living far beyond
She looked at me in playfully severe
way.
Il was not aware Of it." / replied.
guilty | thought CT my $4,000 in an,
nual stealings and of my $4,000 of an
nual salary and averted my eyes from
very shame and fear
'Of course [ do not censure you.v
Margaret went on. You love me SO
much that you cannot feel happy if lux
ury does not surround me-. But you mis-
judge me greatly if you think [ can feel
happy, even IN SO pretty a home as this.
when | know you can with difficulty af-
ford it,
| tried to find some words in which to