Waterbury Democrat., 1900-12-03
eAHAaAaASA3A1Aoa3ae 3ae C ~ 3 5 THE STURGIS WAGER ! , A DETECTIVE STORY.
By EDGAR MORETTE
 Copyright, 1899. by Frederick A. Stokes Co. "S-avs |

S&H&0NoyS4 4-6aI&e&p&NNS My safety depends upon your keeping the contents of this letter secret for at least three days. After that time, please send to MT. Dunlap, president of the knick- erbocker bank the inclosed papers, which will reveal to him the full extent of my de- falcations.
 Il do not hesitate to betray Chatham and Seymour; they did not scruple to ruin mo. I have sent for Chatham, and I shall give him warning of my intended flight. If he sees lit, he can take such steps as he may choose to escape his own richly deserved punishment
 While Sturgis was reading Arbogast's letter, Dunlap, restIessly pacing the room. had observed him furtively.
 "Well?" he now inquired, stopping before the reporter, what do you think of that?"
 "Poor woInan!" exclaimed Sturgis, 5eelingly; 'it is terrible to think of the suffering brought upon her by her husbands guilt. l ought to be hard ened to situation like this; for it is the inevitable sequel of almost every crime that is ever committed. But [ an moved every time by the pathetic expiation of the innocent for the guilty"
 l differently; that it not what l meant. Did you note the amount which this scoundrel confesses he and his accom-. pliccs have stolen from the bank?'
 ''Yes; it is a large sum-"
 ''Two hundred and fifty thousand dollars! Why, man, if that is true, 1t Is enough to cripple the bank-No, no; l don't mean that. of course; the 6ank IS rich and could stand the loss of four times that amount. But quar- ter of million is q round sum, for all of that. It 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 i'll his letter to his wife he explains just how the thing was done. It IS simple enough when you know the trick; but it took fiendish cunning to devise it. | never would have thought that ras- cally bookkeeper intelligent enough to concoct such a scheme"
 If the scheme is work of genius,' said Sturgis, you may rest assured that 'N'-who may very we'll be Henry Seymour-wast the author of it.
 Well, at any rate" observed Dunlap, 'tthere is one thing that must be done at once; and that is to find both Chat ham and Seymour. It is not possible that in two years these men have spent a quarter of a million dollars between them.''
 Ut is at all events possible that they may not have done so," replied Sturgis: flor my investigations show that both Arbogast and Cbu5 n have been men oi regular and e. .nplary habits in their private lives. They do not ap- 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 double eX- istence, which might otherwise have explained the situation. Neither was a spendthrift or a gambler, and neith- CT 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 gou will be able to judge for yourself. And I, too, shall see more clearly where we stand; for the necessity of putin 2 ones thoughts into words is an aid to clear thinlling."