Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1900-11-29
but, what is worse, oppressed by the bur-


but, what is worse, oppressed by the bur-
den of his sin.
What little money have left in the saw
ings bank have transferred to your name
You may use it all with clear conscience;
for every dollar of it was honestly mine. L
swear have never had single cent of the
money have stolen. 1t has all been drawn
by Henry Seymour, and used know not
how.
AS soon as 1 am settled in the place to
which am going shall try. as far as lies
In my power, to redeem my past by life of
honest labor; and hope to be able to con-
tribute to your support in the near future
"Oh! my wife! my darling wife! Would
that the past could be blotted out and that
i could once more place my hand in yours.
an honest man. Though you may find it
hard to forgive me now. perhaps in time
you may be able to think gently of him who
through all his crime and degradation has
remained
Your devoted husband,
JOHN w. ARBOGAST
my safety depends upon your keeping
the contents of this letter secret for at
least three days. After that time, please
send to Mr.. Dunlap, president of the Knick-
erbocker bank the incosed papers, which
will reveal to him the full extent of my de-
falcations.
II do not hesitate to betray Chatham and
Seymour; they did not scruple to ruin me-
l have sent for Chatham, and shall give
him warning of my intended flight. If he
sees fit, he can take such steps as he may
choose to escape his own richly deserved
punishment"
While Sturgis was reading Arbogast's
letter, Dunlap. restlessly pacing the
room, had observed him furtively.
"Well?' he now inquired, stopping
before the reporter, what do you think
of that?"
Poor woman!" exclaimed Sturgis.
feelingly; sit is terrible to think of
the suffering brought upon her by her
husbands guilt. 1 ought to be hard
ened to a situation like this; for it
is the inevitable sequel of almost every
crime that is ever committed. But 1
am moved every time by the pathetic
expiration of the innocent for the
guilty"
Eyes, yes; I know" said Dunlap, in
differently; that it not what meant.
Did you note tho amount which this
scoundrel confesses he and his accom-
plices have stolen from the bank?"
Yes; it is a large sum-"
1.-TWO hundred and fifty thousand
dollars! Why, man, if that is true, it
is enough to cripple the bank-No, no;
don't mean that, of course; the bank
is rich and could stand the loss of
four times that amount. But quar-
ter of q million is round sum, for all
of that. 1t does not seem possible that,
in spite of all our care, they can have
succeeded in making away with SO
much money. But they did. There can
be no doubt about that; for in the pa
pers which Arbogast inclosed for me in
his letter to his wife he explains just
how the thing was done. 1t is simple
enough when you know the trick; but
1t took fendish GINNING to devise it..
1 never would have thought that ras-
cally bookkeeper intelligent enough TO
concoct such scheme"
IF the scheme is work of genius"
said Sturgis, you may rest assured
that 'X'-who may very well be Henry
Seymour-was the author of it,
well, at any rate" observed Dunlap,
there is one thing that must be done
at once; and that is to find both Chat
ham and Seymour. 1t is not possible
that in two years these men have spent
q quarter of million dollars between
them"
1T is at all events possible that they
maynot have done So" replied Sturgis.
"for my Investigations show that both
Arbogast and Chatham have been men
of regular and exemplary habits in
their private lives. They do not APP
pear to have been living much. if at
all, beyond their means. There does
not seem to have been, in the case of
either man, any room for a double ex-
istence, which might otherwise have
explained the situation. Neither was
a spendthrift or gambler, and Meth
er was dissipated.''
"Then you have not the faintest idea
of the present whereabouts of Chatham
or of his mysterious accomplice?'
LET me tell you exactly what have
done up to the present time; and then
you will be able to judge for yourself.
And !, too, shall see more clearly where
we stand; for the necessity of putting
ones thoughts into words is an aid to
clear thinking"
CHAPTER XIII.