The Bemidji daily pioneer., 1906-12-28

WE ANOW THAT 4OO Of6NkGO THIS Elm.
vELOPE."
was by accident that he found 1t in
drawer which he had not opened since.
it was put away.
The envelope had been torn and was
empty.
Dazed and ashamed, Billy laid it
upon the desk without word, and the
two men looked into each others eyes
moment.
"You have no idea who did this 2"
said Winser.
Billy shook his head.
'What was In it?" he asked with the
dull manner Of discouraged man, and
he made vain search of the drawer.
Winser had not replied. He was
bending over the envelope and smiling.
'There is a strange thing about my
penmanship," said he at last. 1T is al
ways legible, but usually not in the
right way. Yes: that's Mr.. Mousoud
sure enough, but when wrote it sup
posed that it was two thousand
The breath went out Of Billy in a
gasp. He took the envelope out Of
Winser's hand and stared at the writ
ing.
1.-TWO thousand? Not two thousand
dollarsT'
eyes," responded Winser. II put the
money into an envelope and wrote the
amount on the outside because had an
other-two others. In fact, with different
sums"
Il found $1,000 on this desk," said Billy.
''and I've lost It,"
"Lost it?"
'In a weekly magazine-Truth. Proba-
bly, you haven't seen copy. It's fail
ure."
'sYou surprise me. It certainly looks
prosperous. Did you invest my money
there?" @ a,
Upon this, Billy told the whole story.
and it sounded to him like a lie. but Win
ser gave no sign of disbelief.
'Of course I should not have used the
money without knowing where 1T came
FROM" said he in conclusion, "but per-
suaded myself that somebody had been
my good angel. There are two or three
men in this city who were close friends
OF mine in college and are now very
rich. Miss Vincent had often heard me
speak OF them, and though she knew that
the acquaintance had been entirely broken
of because Of the difference Of our cir
cumstances she might have found means
to communicate, my need to one Of them.
The theory was wild, but so extraordinary
an event seemed to excuse a little dream
Ing. OF course never connected this
money with the Mousoud letter. which
had practically forgotten"
'"The money said Winser, "must have
been left on your desk that afternoon
when you found It, Had any one been
here?''
II questioned the servant as soon as
she was well She said that q man had
called for me twice. but she described a
poor devil Of an artist-a friend of mine
who had been here before. He wasn't
the man, however,
Winser took some seconds for refiec-
II am q good Questioner. May see
this servant ~
"certainly,'' said BILLY. and he rang
the bell. ,a.
The meager servitor answered the SUM
mons promptly. 1
Madam" said Winser, 1--WE know that
you opened this envelope and took out
the money and put a part OF 1t under that
paperweight.. What did you do with the
rest Of it?' ~ q
She stood rigid for an instant. facing
Winser, and then turned to Billy in q
blaze OF wrath.
e.'.You liep' she screamed. ''You got IT
all Of 1t. I never got nothin', and you
| know it. You came In here that day, and
never was out of the room till you
! came. That's the truth, and don't care
what you say. The money was in my
hand. and ! put It on the desk. and you
took It, and
"That is all that we require" said
Winser. and with Billy's help he succeed
ed In persuading the woman that she was
charged with no crime.
'And now. Mr.. Allenwood.'' he resumed
when they were alone. I'VE have cleared
up this simple mystery, and the matter
stands between us two alone. II seems
that am In a sense partner In Truth
q very excellent magazine tosread. but
not to own. as judge from what you
have said. May venture to intrude q
little further into its analrs?''
Billy gave clear statement Of the con-
ditlon Of the magaxtne, and this was the
first OF several conferences between them
Tho flnaI result was that Winser agreed
/ to loan q certain sum OF money, with the
prorlso that he should name q new busi-
ness manager. What share Of the ulti-
mate success Of Truth should be credited
to Winser's appointee and what share to
his financial backing T would not wish to
decide, but the magazine is a great prop
erty today, rs everybody knows. The
shares held by Allenwood and Miss Vim
cent are worth a good deal OF money, and
there are salaries as well as profits.
These interests were recently consolidated
! by the marriage Of the parties, and one
Of the most priced and most valuable
OF the wedding presents was from Julian
Winser. who assumed for that occasion
Al A.E. ~. r .--.. t