Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1906-09-11
DAILY STORY
WHERE THE SECRET LAY.


came to do the same. He called him
self John Seymour, but no one sup
posed that TO be his real name, and 1T
was not. He had entered the legion
for the same reason others had entered
it; that is, he was fugitive from JUS
tice.
At the first fight Seymour entered. in
the ranks of the foreign legion, he tried
so hard TO get himself killed that he
was promoted for bravery. He must
have tried very hard, for there We're
many others with shadowy pasts be-
hind them who were competing with
him in the same object. Be this as it
may, Seymour was made captain.
A few weeks before the Americans
admission to this corps of death seek
ers Samuel Barrett, banker of New
York, suspecting that all was not right
in one of the departments of his bank.
went one night TO his counting room to
Investigate for himself. Barrett had
no children except an adopted daugh-
ter. His wife had a son by a former
husband of whom he was very fond.
Barretts plan was to bring up this boy.
Everett Whittemore. to succeed to the
business and that he should marry
Irene, the adopted daughter. There
was no difficulty in either part of this
plan, for Whittemore was Il fine young
fellow with superior business talents.
and the two young people were in love
with each other
When Barrett entered the bank he
found his stepson there at work. TAX
ing a pile of papers. Barrett went into
his private office and shut the door be
hind him. Half an hour later the
younger man heard sound i'll Bar
rett's office. He listened, but it was
not repeated. Whittemore went on
with his work and when 1t was fin
ished concluded to ask his stepfatlrer
If he would not go home. Opening the
door, he found Barrett lying on the
floor with cloven skull. He was
dead.
Whittemore was hurrying to call as
sistance when it occurred to him that
he would he accused of the murder.
He stopped to consider and soon came
to the conclusion that nothing could
save him from n conviction of having
murdered his stepfather Should he
face the danger or flee? He chose the
latter course. Making his way across
the Hudson river, he found a steamer
on the other bank waiting for the tide
to serve. Ten days later WhittemOre
enlisted in the French foreign legion
under the name of John Seymour.
When the murder was discovered 1t
was found that Whittemore was miss
ing There was no use to look for the
murderer except in him. He had taken
money, but none belonging to the
bank. Indeed, the whole affair was
mystery. for what motive could there
be for him to murder the man who
was preparing him for his own place
and whose adopted daughter he was
engaged to marry? However. flight
was confession. and Everett White
more was eXecrated as the murderer
of his benefactor.
Not long after Whittemore's disap-
pearance letter bearing a foreign
post mark came for Irene Barrett She
took it to her room, read and destroyed
it. Barretts partner, EnOch Crowell,
was in charge of the bank, and Irene
went to hina told him that she desired
to prepare herself to be able to man.
age her own interest in the bank and
desired a position there Crowell de-
INJURED. but the girl was persistent,
and he consented.
Irene worked in subordinate places,
but principally studying the principles
on which the books were kept Nearly
two years after her fathers death she
commenced surreptitiously to go to the
bank nights for the purpose of continu-
ing the work while doing which her
father had been murdered. In peck
ct in her dress made for the purpose
she carried loaded revolver Of large
caliber One night she went to the
bank with skeleton keys and into what
had been her fathers Office, but now
occupied by Crowell. She entered by
the door leading from the bank. There
was another door leading to the rear
of the bank She had opened Crowell's
desk and grasped a bundle of papers
when this rear door opened, and there
stood Crowell. Seeing the papers be-
fore the girl, he raised an ak and was
about to bring it down on her head
when she shot him.
Taking up a telephone transmftter
she summoned the police, who found |
Crowell dying from a bullet in his
chest, near the, heart. Before his death |
he confessed that he was involved, |
that he had killed his partner in the |
same way he had intended to kill Irene |
to prevent his affairs from being |
known and to get control in order the |
better to conceal them.
Theinext day Captain Seymour was |
called before his commanding officer /
and a cablegram handed him, giving |
him summary of the events of Crow
ellis confession and death.
Seymour's or Whittemore's resigna-
ton was accepted at once, and he rel
turned to America. The meeting bel
tween him and the girl who had takena
up the work her father had begun and
brought back her lover to his own