The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1907-03-22

1
several successful ones I've got one
right now, have had it ever since
these papers came to ME for approva
yesterday morning, and. like Banco's
ghost, it will not down.
What's the case, King?" asked
Cheney. beginning to take notice. In
tuitively his mind scented mystery.
It's death claim for 500, 900. That
in itself is not unusual. and the papers
are regularly made out The policy
had only been in force so days, when
the insured died. That, too, is not
unusual; but the claim comes up from
Mexico, and everything from Mexico
| reeks of fraud"
Where does the bunch come in?'
| "The 'hunch' says it's fraud. But
| the papers have been passed on by the
various regular departments and com.
mittees, and sent me for approval
guess I'll have to sign them up and
get them out of the way Mr. King
dipped his pen in the ink and was
about to sign his name, when Cheney
| quietly said:
| 'Wait-don't sign
"Why not?"
We'll, IN away on a vacation, and
| this trip to 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
Il find l, n ! 1,<>
claim; if not, why I'll run down the
culprit for you" ''
by JOve, that's a good idea. You
bet III do it, and gladly" In a few
moments the check, papers and ali
documents were in Cheney's posses
sion, and after luncheon he babe King
good bye, saying he would study the
papers all 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, rancher; residence, near
Torreon, Mexico: the cause of death
was given as typhus fever, and the
beneficiary's name was Maria Silva,
sister. The medical examination re-
vealed the fact that Juan Silva had
one brother and sister living, none
dead; the father and mother had been
killed years ago by the Yaqui Indians.
The family history was good; Juan
Silva was So years old, wealthy and
healthy, and according to the Amer
lean table of mortality had an expecta-
ton of 31.7S years. Yet one month
after he was dead and his sister was
to get 100000. That's a good deal
of money for a Greaser," muttered
Cheney. II never saw one worth that
much" The agent in the case was
R. H. Thomas, agency manager at
Torreon, and the premium, $3,S75, had
been paid in cash ON delivery of the
policy.
That night Cheney left for the
south and five days afterwards landed
in Torreon. The Mexican is a sus-
picious being at best, and once let a
we'll dressed American (Gringo, as
he is called alight in one of their
towns and everybody, from the Jefe
Politico down to the humblest peon,
has guess as to what his business is.
Cheney was no different from the
rest. He spoke Spanish rather we'll
and allowed his landlord and others
to imagine he had money and wanted
to purchase a mine. This was his
most plausible tale, because the Sill
vas, he learned, lived back in the
hills and he would have to go there in
course of the investigation. Cheney
carefully looked up the parties in the
case. Thomas, the agent, was we'll
known. He lived well, wrote good
deal of insurance, drank a good deal
of mescal and pulque, and was rather
familiar with monte. He had a claim
or two, and rumor had it that he was
going in heavy for mines. He was re-
puted to have wealthy brother back
in the States who would back him
financially. Thomas was a trifle
sporty, perhaps, but not enough to
condemn him, and his accounts were
Ill SOOu SHAPE. udI luuCu SuGu6y
had learned before leaving New York.
The two doctors were named Will
marth and Suydam, both men of char
acter, Wilmarth being especially well
thought of by everyone. He had lived
in Torreon for years and had made
| many cures considered marvellous by
the natives. The inspector was
Charles M. Bull, plain spoken, hon
est gentleman. So much for the in
surance side.
Maria Silva, the beneficiary, was
about % years old, and, like all Mex
lean women, looked great deal old
err. She wasn't very popular; in fact
the Silva family, though reputed to
be wealthy, was not thought much of
| in the vicinity of Torreon. Their
hacienda was situated about 10 miles
due west of Torreon, midway between
there and Guarda. Eduardo Silva,
brother of Maria, was a typical Mex
| lean high roller. The bull fights at
Mexico City and Chihuahua were al
| ways graced by his presence. Juan
Silva, the deceased, for years had
been recluse and was seldom seen.
The application and examination