The Houma courier. (Houma, La.) 1878-1939, 1903-12-19

deposit box and convert my securities /
quick enough, so I did a most {ndiscreet
thing. took S15 600 in A. T. & s. bonds !
from che box and used them to cover
with. That is the same thing / have my
money invested III. ] did not go beyond
the limit and will get my bonds in the
vault the first thing ia the morning. I
only speak Of it to you, old man. SO il
anything should happen for a minute
In the morning you win understand"
IL Gerald Fuller could have seen the
look Of maIevolent hatred and triumph
which passed upon the face Of his friend
he would not have slept so well that
night. He knew, to be sure, that Nor
dyke had been a lover Of his tianeee, but
1t had been years ago and it was allset-
tied now. 1t had been fair fight and
Gerald ii his simple gentleman's soul
saw no reason why there should be a
grudge. But there was, as he Was to
ind or the morrow.
The next morning things were so busy
at Durand, Durand e Durand's that Full
lei had no opportunity to slip out to get
his securities from the safety deposit
I boy before noon. Long before that, how
/ ever. his 'friend" Mordyl1e had time to
get In his perfect work and there was a
quiet examination Of the vaults by one
/ of the Durands, with the result that the
absence OF the securities was noted, and
iUst as Fuller was stepping out for
bunch, lie was tapped on the shouldeI
by an oficer and placed under arrest
4 He saw at once the terrible position he
\ was placed in and the futility Of ex.
n plantations. "A weaker man would have
gone to pieces, but Gerald Fuller cam,
of the Fullers, whose line extended bacl
az far as there was any local history
The blue blood which flowed in his veini
had the real quality. With full ap
probation Of all the horror the crisi'
meant--t0 him, to his honored name
and most Of all, to Edith-he never wa
vessd, nor begged. His motives hal
been absolutely honest; no such posi-
bility had even suggested itself to hin
but he saw at once the hopelessnes
Of trying to explain. He sent for the oil
family lawyer and explained 1t to him
[ 1t was a time, however, Of embezzle
ments and breaches of trusts and EN-
, pIoyers were inclined to be merciles
, in making examples.
} The frst thing Gerald did was t
write to Edith and without making fu
/. explanation, to assure her OF his perfeC
: integrity and then to insist upon he
) spu liberty from the engagement.
2 The trial came on and despite a
3 efforts to show intention, Fuller wa
convicted and sentenced to six years /
9 the .penitentiary. The newspapers CON
: nented upon the case with OWl-like Wil
a dom. calling attention to the degenel
: acy OF the descendants Of honorabl
y families--and it was all forgotten, eI
v cept to the broken-hearted boy worzin
n out the miserable years in q shoe she
s IN a state prison. Three years later II
S matter, then long forgotten, WI
r brought for moment to the public a
l. tion by his pardon by the governor, tt
e gether with a statement that the entii
c amount involved had been sent to ID
rand, Durand & Durand before tine tri
-e began with an envelope marked not
g be opened until the trial closed.
St Edith, then Mrs. Vernon Mordyk
n reaa the item with some interest-n
ie that she retained any sentiment for Il
e man who had deceived her and fall'
g by the Wayside, but her life was so ba
et rem that even. such a matter was a reli
CT to think about. OF course she had be
u shocked and deeply offended at the fall
her idol and had proved an easy co
- had hnnm
Pc vaneed for his vigilance In detecting t
r Fuller lapse But somehow she had
,l- found her married life all she had hop
iy for. Her husband was successful
20 business and all the luxuries OF life We
Ut hers, but she found no camaraderie wi
70 him and they lived their lonesome liz
e even as so many Of US DO in upper e
ne dom, without sympathy without 70
and without understanding, even 4
,t- have the finest Of houses. the finest
ld, apparel, the finest Of food the finest
y horses and more money than we I'M
l ! how TO spend.
y. .S And so Gerald Fuller, scion Of one
lle the noblest houses in the metropc
ot was discharged from prison and far
- from the sight Of all who had kno
i@
ne Another brilliant reception at
on Vanderhoiis--thi time ten years la
= 4 than. the one noted at the beginning
,n- this story-for the Vanderhons Wer
Ter family whose social supremacy was
aoi confined 20 one decade. but which g
serenely on through the years and
i've ages. Black Fridays may come and
ee- other houses may rise ana fall, men
ow so to the penitentiary and be release
s 9 Il en- makes no diGerenee-the hous
ra- VanderhoR goes right on giving B
eie liant receptions and the great and
en- cesaiul Of the world blush with pleas
or At their invitations.
ON This particular reception was p
the cipally in honor OF an engineer from
un- far west, whose remarkable perfo
ITO ances In the line Of his profession
. 81 been much Ia the public eye for g
end years and who had only now solved
low great problem Of inter-oceanic ca
age % sinply and 60 plainly that eng
had adopted Ills plan and authorized