Rock Island Argus., 1902-04-28
THE DAILY
SHORT STORY.
THE STORY
OF A THEE
tcopyrieht. laOa. by c. B. Lewis.l

the fact he ndded:
james. you have been elected to
very responsible position, and it is usu-
al in such cases to exact a bond. You
come from an honest family. All of us
believe you to be an honest. straight
forward young man. There are a dozen
men fin town willing to go on your
bond, and for these reasons we feel Sc
cure without any. We shall trust you
implicitly. All of us have known you
from childhood. and we have no fear
that you will go wrong"
For three years all went we'll I'm the
factory. AS matter OF fact, did de-
velop n talent for financiering, and
those who had predicted well for me
were not disappointed. After the first
year the capacity was increased three
times, and at the end of the third year
we were able to declare n dividend of
II per cent. That jumped our stock
AWAY above par. In the three years my
salary was increased three times, and
the Semiannual examination of my
books and accounts proved right to n
cent. At the beginning of the fourth
year. when there was another issue OF
stock, was presented with $4,000
worth and the thanks of the board of
directors for my untiring vigilance and
sterling honesty. Wasn't that n thing
% be proud of? I had n social standing
second to none. and during the last
month of the third year was engaged
to the beautiful and accomplished
daughter of our president.
The beginning of my downward ca
1t, 1o. ,.fv.r fgl No
or, rather, two circumstances in one.
In looking over the safe one day 1
came across n package of $500 which
had been mislaid by my assistant. 1t
was Just after an examination of my
books, and the examination had been
so much a matter of form that this
money, paid in weeks before, had not
been missed. You may say we had
rather 4 loose system. l admit it.
Find me a place where the cashier is
not under bonds and is implicitly trust
ed, and I'll show you the same careless
system. Things are careless because
he is strictly honest or because he is
dishonest and wants to cover up short
ages. The finding of that money was
no temptation TO me. I'd have chop
ped Il hand off before embeZZling it.
On that very day, however, one OF our
best customers in New York, who had
happened that way almost by accident,
paid the factory n visit. He had Just
cleared S2S.OO0 in a pork deal and
naturally wanted to talk about it. I
had kept clear of all sorts of specula-
ton. but when this man explained his
deal to me and told me of other spec
ulations in which he had cleared
handsome sums he started the fever
which proved my destruction. He did
not advise me one way or the other,
and | never blamed him.
! did not wait to think the matter
over. I had invested my savings in
real estate. and of course i could not
sell my stock without questions being
asked. l would take the $500 have
referred to. 1t never entered my mind
that might lose 1t. l should win. OF
course, and the money would be re-
turned to the cash account. l called it
temporary loan from the factory. After
| had invested it had twinges OF, con-
science 1t wasn't exactly dishonest,
but il was q breach of trust, and felt
degraded. For the first time in my life
found il an effort to look other men
squarely in the face. That should have
been the turning point. l should have
replaced the money and taken warn
ing. l believe 1t was the worst thing
that could have happened to me that
that $500 made me $1,000 within Il
fortnight. Didn't / stop there? OF
course not The fact that l had hit il
right satisfied me that I had the neces-
sary nerve and acumen, and reinvest-
ed. / made 81 800 on the next deal. but
on the third was wiped out. You can
guess what followed. i managed to
dispose of my stock without suspicion.
ond it was swallowed almost at gulp.
Up to the 1st day of June on my fourth
year ! had embeZzled $4,000 Of the
company. My books would be examin-
ed on the 1st of July and the shortage
discovered.
1t is wonderful how rapidly the ruin
OF u man can be effected under what
may be termed favorable circumstan-
ces. In the course of four or five
months my degradation was complete.
One night toward the last Of June,
having paved the way for a week or
more, l robbed the safe of SoS,0OO and
fed. ] made for New York and got
aboard q sailing vessel bound Tor Eng
land. About half of the money l took
belonged to outsiders. who had it in the
safe for security. | ruined grocer,
jeweler and n builder. all honest. up
right men. robbed an orphan child OF
legacy. took the last dollar belong
ing to n widow with five fatherless
children. My father gave up his all
and then drowned himself. The young
lady to whom was to be married
lived out the rest of her days in an in
sane asylum. crippled the business
OF the factory and sent its stock down
10 60 and ruined two or three Of my
best friends
am an old man. 1t is nearly thirty
years since my flight. All this time
have been an outlaw from my country.
have never been able to secure po-
eiff1v, 1P frt,ok ho cnarnad a. If f1v-