The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1907-04-14

ghost, II will not down"
What's the case. King" asked
Cheney. beginning 10 take notice In.
, tuitiyely his mind scented mystery.
ITS death claim for 800. 900. That
in itself Is not unusual. and the papers
are regularly made out. The policy
/ had only been In force 30 days. when
I the insured died. That. too. y not
unusual. but the claim comes up from
Mexico and everything from Mexico
. reoks of fraud"
Where does the hunch come ln?"
The 'hunch' says It's fraud But
| the papers have been passed on by the
/ various regular departments and com.
I mittees. and sent me for approval.
/ guess III have TO sign them up and
/ get them out Of the way" Mr. King
about to sign his name when Cheney
/ quietly said
"Walt-don't sign"
why not?"
We'll, I'm away on n vacation, and
this trip 10 Mexico looks good to me.
You give me the papers and draft for
100000. also give me authority to act
in the case. I'll go to Mexico. and
II | find everything o. X. I'll pay the
claim. II not, why I'll run down the
culprit for you"
by love. that's a good idea. You
bet I'll do II. and gladly" In n few
moments the check. papers and all
documents were In Choney's posses
sion, and after luncheon he badc King
good bye saying he would study the
papers an afternoon and that night
would leave for Mexico He did study
the papers carefully. from the appli.
cation to the death claim. The two
medical examinations. inspection re-
port. everything was In due form.
The insured's name was Juan Silva;
occupation. ranchcr, residence. near
Torrcon, Mexico. the cause Of death
was given as typhus fever, and the
hcncnciary's name was Maria Silva.
sister. The medical examination re.
ycalod the fact that Juan Silva had
one brother and sister living, none
q, I'd. the father and mother had been
led years ago by the Yaqui Indians.
Tic family history was good; Juan
Iva was 80 years old. wealthy and
healthy. and according to the Amer
lean table Of mortality had an expecta.
Il Of 3l7S years Yet one month
as or he was dead and his sister was
to get 100000. That's good deal
Of money for a Greaser," muttercd
c. cncy. II never saw one worth that
nlch' The agent in the case was
r. H. Thomas. agency manager at
T rrcnn. and the premium, $3.50, had
been paid In cash on delivery Of the
policy.
That night Cheney left for the
south and five days afterwards landed
In Torrcon The Mexican is n sus.
picious being at best, and once let a
well dressed American (GringO. as
+ he is called alight in one of their
towns and everybody, from the Jcfe
PrItico down to the humblcst peun,
n. a guess as TO what his business is.
{ 'ney was no different from the
re @ He spoke Spanish rather well
az allowed his landlord and others
, 10 imagine he had money and wanted
to purchase mine This was his
. N rst plausible tale, because the Sill
, vas. he learned lived <ack in the
Il ls and he would have to so there In
: c, irsc of the Investigation, Cheney
carefully looked up the parties in the
case. Thomas, the agent. was well
,, known He lived we'll wrote good
dcll of insurance. drank a good deal
..F nj usu hnr
familiar with monte. lie had claim
! OF two, and rumor had It that he was
{ going IN heavy for mines lie was re-
} pu ed to have wealthy brother back
r in the States who would back him
; In lncially. Thomas was trlno
81 rt,, perhaps, but not enough to
? CO, lcmn him. and his accounts were
In good shape That much Cheney
ha learned before leaving New York.
? IT, two doctors were named VIII
m rth and Suydam, both men Of char.
ac.cr. Wilmlrth being especially well
{ a. .ught of by everyone. lie had lived
b In rorrcon for years and had made
d many cures considered marvellous by
the natives. The inspector was
Charles VI Bull. a plain spoken, hon
? cs' gentleman. So much for the in
, SUI 'ncc side
, Naria Silva, the beneficiary, was
, ali ut % years old. and, like all Mex.
, ic,l women, looked great deal old
{ en- She wasn't very popular; in fact
the silva family, though reputed to
/ be wealthy, was not thought much OF
, in tho vicinity Of Torreon, Their
I hacienda was situated about 10 miles
/ due west of Torreon. midway between
thore and Guarda, Eduardo Silva
: brother of Maria, was a typical Mex
I lean high roller The bull fights at
Mt,iro City aud chihuahua We're al,
/. WAYS gracei by his presence. Juan
S..ra. the deceased for years had
, been recluso and was seldom seen
5 The application and examination
- had taken place in Torreon, and yet