The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1907-03-22

are regularly made out. The policy
had only been in force 80 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.
mlttees, 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, Ina away on vacation, and
this trip to Mexico looks good to me.
You give me the papers and draft for
$lOO,OOO, also give me authority to act
in the case. I'll go to Mexico, and
If find everything o. X. I'll pay the
claim; If not, why I'll run down the
culprit for YOU
by Jove, that's good idea. You
bet I'll do it, and gladly" In a few
moments the check, papers and all
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
beneticiary'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 IS years old, wealthy and
healthy, and according to the Amer
lean table of mortality had an expecta-
ton of S1.7S years. Yet one month
after he was dead and his sister was
to get 100000. That's a good deal
of money for Greaser," muttered
Cheney. Il never saw one worth that
much The agent in the case was
R. H. Thomas, agency manager at
Torreon, and the premium, $3,875, had
been paid in cash on delivery of the
policy. Vi.
That night Cheney left for the
south and five days afterwards landed
in Torreon. The Mexican is 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 a good
deal of insurance, drank a good deal
of mescal and pulque, and was rather
familiar with monte. He had claim
or two, and rumor had it that he was
going in heavy for mines. He was re-
puted to have a wealthy brother back
in the States who would back him
financially. Thomas was trihe
sporty, perhaps, but not enough to
condemn him, and his accounts were
in good shape That much Cheney
had learned before leaving New York.
The two doctors were named Will
,marth and Suydam, both men of char
acter, Wilmarth being especially we'll
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, a plain spoken, hon
est gentleman. So much for the in
surance side.
Maria Silva, the beneficiary, was
about Is years old, and, like all Mex
lean women, looked great deal old
er. 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 a recluse and was seldom seen.
The application and examinatiod
had taken place in Torreon, and vel
the physicians afadavit attached ii
the death claim had been made in
Guarda and signed by two Mexicap
doctors, Beltran and Aguiles by name
The undertaken also came from
Guarda; In. fact, in life the business
was transacted in Torreon; in death
in Guarda. The only man who figured
in both cases was Thomas, the agency
manager in Torreon, and the mau thai
wrote the policy. = ~ ew~. =
That's devilish funny" muttered
Cheney as he went over the case
why couldn't those death claim .pa
perss have been signed. here? s.. DR.
WflmAfth should have seen that
corpse Cheese determined to- tax.