The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1907-06-02
The Case of the
Expert Accountant

friend, however, Mr.. Ralph Moseley,
whom you may wish to employ in my
place. He is an expert accountant,
familiar with all details of the work
to be done, and will vouch for him in
all respects. If 1 can return day after
tomorrow, or earlier, L VIII do so and
join you at the bank. That will depend
upon the condition of my wife. You
will find Moseley in every way capable
and thoroughly reliable, and l shall be
glad If you can use him. He has done
this sort of work before. Hope to see
you Thursday. Yours as ever,
JOHN VOLNEY."
The face of Mr.. Felix Boyd before he
finished reading the above might have
served an artist for study.
do you know this hand, Ham
mond?" he asked. with startling alb
ruptness.
"As well as my own" declared the
other, still very pale and agitated. 1.-THE
letter certainly was written by Volney.
The paper bears. moreover. his house
address. He must have written it at
home Tuesday evening, for l saw him
as late as o'clock that afternoon
Did you expect to meet here yester-
day morning."
II did"
ITO begin the bank examination
here?"
Precisely
He knew about that?"
Certainly. We had planned for it
the previous day."
yet you were met, instead. by the
bearer of this letter."
Exactly. He was waiting here
when Damon and / arrived
"A stranger to you, do you say?"
Yes. l never had seen him"
What did he say to you? When had
he seen Volney?''
THE previous evening" said Ham
mond, meeting with ready replies
Boyd's rapid fire of questions. He
said he dwelt near Volney, and that the
latter had called on him that evening,
before leaving for Troy, to ask him to
fill the engagement with me. Moseley
further stated that he would be glad
TO do the work, as he had been idle for
some little time, and he named an
other of our bank examiners with whom
am acquainted, by whom he claimed
to have been employed at times. He
appeared like a gentleman-in fact, all
that Volney's letter implied-and 1 did
not for moment distrust him."
yet you certainly must have real
lied the danger incurred in employing
a stranger for such work" remarked
BONQ, a DIT CONSCIOUSLY
A tinge of color rose over Hammond
pale face, and he FASTENED to reply:
I'm the light of Volney's letter, Mr..
Boyd, did not regard Moseley quite as
a stranger. I should not have en-
ployed a total stranger. am. how
ever a very busy man, and having ar
ranged for this work. ! did not wish
to defer it. Knowing Vilney to be the
soul of honor, and believing he knew
Moseley to be all that he had stated.
consented to avail myself Of his SER
vice. Heaven above, / would give my
entire fortune had / declined his aidt''
Against the fortune of which Nose
ley has relieved this bank. you proba-
bly, we'll could afford to- said Boyd
dryly. TELL me, now. Mr.. Hammond
what work you assigned to Moseley.
Answer me briefly, please. We must
get after the scoundrel with the least
possible delay"
Naturally" replied Hammond. az
assigned him the work laid out for Vol
ney, that of examining and tabulating
the bank securities. He worked at that
all of yesterday and part of this morn
ing"
stop a moment Did he leave the
bank an any time during his work."
HE did not. He cannot thus have
removed any of the securities, nor"
wait again, sir. Was he visited by
anybody during business hours?"
Eyes, Boyd, he vas put in Cashier
Taft impulsively. Twice yesterday a
young man called to see him. and for
several moments they talked in the pas
sage between this room and the public
office"
''Humph," cried Boyd, half derisive-
ly. "Well out of general observation,
7 A fY-on Of of cfn
limited only by the capacity of their
pockets. could have passed between the
two. In that way some of your bonds
took wings out of doors, Mr.. Taft; take
my word for that. Tell me, Hammond,
how was Moseley clad?"
He is large man." groaned Ham
mond we'll nigh in tears; land wore a
long frock coat, quite loose and
And in the pockets and Innings of
which were brought the worthless sub
stitutes for a part of the bonds and
certificates removed in the same way
and under your very eyes" cried Boyd,
with scathing austerity. TIN sur
prised. Hammond, that you could have
been so lax"
But / assure you. Boyd"
well. well, regrets are useless, Ham
mond, and so colossal a trick could
hardly have been anticipated" inter-
rupted Boyd, more considerably. De
scribe Moseley for me. What type of
a man is he? Haste, sir, for every mo-
ment is of value
HE is a noticeable man, one to
quickly impress yOu." cried Hammond,
anxious to extenuate his own culpabili-
ty. HE stands fully six feet, with
broad. slightly rounded shoulders, yet
a distinguished carriage. He is about
90 years old. with full, shaver features,
hair shot with gray, and with
with thin lips, hooked nose, a pair
of narrow, gray eyes, a sonorous yet
carefully modulated voice.
You appear to know him-you must
know him, Felix Boyd" shouted the
bank examiner, with the hopeful en-
thusiasm of one intensely relieved.
That's the man. sir, the very man.
Yet Boyd, with an utterly indescriba-
BILE expression. had thrown both hands
into the air and was loudly swapping
his thumbs.
Yes, the very mani" he echoed. in
accents of swelling excitement and dis
may. Know him ?-yes, indeed,
know him, The greatest crook of the
century. The one and only man ca
pable of devising such a crime as this
and bold enough to have executed it.
Tho mo ctor criminal of tho ma 81 docade