Willmar tribune., 1900-09-12
CHAPTER XII.-CoNr1NuEp.

CHAPTER XII.-CoNr1NuED.
Continuation of Abrogast's letter:
THAT afternoon, as soon as the bank had
closed, called at the address Chatham had
given me. He evidently expected me.
With him was man whom he introduced
as James Withers, the depositor in whose
favor my blunder had been made. Had
I not been laboring under great excite
ment, it is likely that my suspicious would
have been aroused by the strangeness of
Withers' presence in Chatham's room. Tho
two men received me pleasantly, and the
alleged Withers, even before could broach
the subject, expressed his regret at hear
ing Of the error which had been commit
ted, and assured me of his willingness to
reimburse the bank; but-ah! there was an
oIninous but He was short Of ready
money just then; everything he had was
tied up In a promising enterprise which
was bound to bring in ? magnificent profit
IN the course of a few days if only he could
raise few paltry hundreds to enable him
to'hold out little longer. If he failed
o"scrape together this small amount, all
would be lost. Insidiously and relentless
ly they drove ME toward the trap they had
prepared, and I was weak enough to fall
into 1t. Before the interview was over,
I had consented to allow Withers to still
further overdraw his account, and I had
fore the end of the week, the entire amount
he owed the bank. Then Chatham suggest
ed that 1t would be wiser to let the Sec
ond overdraft come from another ac-
count. Withers agreed with him and stated
that the check could be made in the name
OF Henry Seymour, a relative of his, who
had recently opened small account with
the knickerbocker bank. I strongly OBJ
jected to sharing the secret of my infamy
with any others: but finally allowed my
self to be overruled by the plausible scoun-
drels into whose clutches 1 had fallen.
1.-THE next day I took my first step in
crime, by making such entries as would
insure the honoring of Seymours check.
After that was completely in the power of
these two men. It was not long before
discovered that I had been their dupe
Chatham's acccomplice was not the true
Withers; for this man, few days later,
made large deposit, which more than
covered his previous Overdraft. The false
Withers was Henry Seymour himself.
"As soon as had committed felony, it
became unnecessary for Seymour to keep
up any further pretense of a desire to re-
fund the money had helped him to steal
l was now in the meshes of crime as deep
~ as my accomplices; and. from that time
to this they have forced me to act as their
cat's-paw. During this period of two years
the bank has been robbed in this way of
over $3.50, 900, every cent of which has
gone to Chatham and Seymour.
You can perhaps imagine what hell
my life has been during that time. With
prison and disgrace staring me in the face:
and with the absolute conviction that ex-
posure must inevitably come sooner or
later. l have suffered the torture of the
damned. At the bank, have been in a
perpetual state of suspense. have start
ed at every word spoken to me: have
seen suspicion in every glance which has
~ mi hoSy I>I
every approach of one of the officers of the
bank. And yet I have not dared to alb
sent myself from my desk for an hour, lest
an examination of my books during nv
absence should reveal my crime. have
been the first to reach the bank in the
morning, and the last to leave it at night;
l have not even taken the few minutes
during the day which would have been re-
Qulred to enable me to obtain a hurried
meal On one pretext or another during
the last two years, have had to forego my
annual vacation. I have dragged myself
to my post when I was so ill that could
hardly stand, because I could not afford
to have anyone take charge of my books
for even an hour. And all that time, with
full realization of my degradation and
tnfamy, have been forced to continue my
frauds, knowing that each one brought
me nearer to the inevitable final exposure;
but knowing equally we'll that refusal
oA NY part " commune my SIedInS would
result in an instant betrayal by my ac-
completes.
AT last further concealment became i'm
possible. A week ago the yearly examina-
ton of the books took place. The expert
accountant employed was, as usual Thomas
Chatham, and of course, as usual, his re-
port was entirely satisfactory. 1t seemed,
therefore, as though discovery could be
postponed little longer: when suddenly,
this morning, we were informed that
change in the system of bookkeeping would
be adopted after the 1st of January. saw at
once that all was over. The discovery of
my crime Is now matter of hours. must
be out of the way before the crash comes
or I am doomed. can already see the
felons stripes upon my back; the clang of
the prison gates ring in my ears.
u am too dazed to think; but feel that
my only escape Is in death. And yet cling
to life. know that the happy days of the
past are gone forever; and yet feel sort
of numb relief at the thought that the
worst is now certain to come, and to come
at once.
II have carefully prepared my flight, so
that shall have plenty of time to reach
a place of safety. Once there, shall be
free from pursuit; but shall be an exile,
and shall carry with me to the grave the
burden of my sin.
"The most bitter pang in my remorse is
SnuSSO Ny l4AS tuOUSAI O1 TIE great wrong
| have done you, dear wife. You will now
be forced to face the world not only un-
protected by the one whose duty and whose
desire 1t was to smooth the way for you;
but, what Is worse, oppressed by the bur-
den of his sim
What little money have left in the saw
ingS bank have transferred to your name
You may use 1t all with clear conscience;
for every dollar of it was honestly mine. I
swear have never had a single cent of tho
money have stolen. It has all been drawn
by Henry Seymour, and used I know not
how.
LAS soon as 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
could once more place my hand in yours,
an honest man. Though you may find it
hard to forgive me now, perhaps in time
through all his crime and degradation has
'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 inclosed papers, which
will reveal to him the full extent Of my de-
talcations g = tss3 - , - !
II do not hesitate to betray Chatham and
Seymour; they did not scruple to ruin me-
I have sent for Chatham, and shall give
him warning Of my intended fight. If he
sees fit. he can take such steps as he may
choose to escape his own richly deserved
punishment .a>~@~sg ..s.,>,.
While Sturgis was reading Arbogast's
letter, Dunlap, restlessly pacing the
room, had observed him furtively.