The Falls City tribune., 1909-07-30

1Ha11A1A ~ A3H++ 1AARhAa >
With a great show of emotion.
Now, Clinton rejoined the presi-
dent. don't jump at c~onclusionsl |
asked that question for an entirely
different reason than you suppose. If
Benson, here. is accustomed to spend
his leisure hours in gambling, II is to
the interest of the bank that we know
a few particulars. Perhaps he is a
dangerous person to intrust with the
handling of money"
For half an hour longer one expedi-
ent after another was considered and
rejected; at the end of hat time they
were no nearer the solution of the
problem than at the outset, and even
the optimistic Griswold began to lose
heart-Clinton had already done so.
The Indifferent bookkeeper was yawn-
ing. 1t was at this j%uncture that
Hakko, who had been deep in thought,
suddenly exclaimed, his face beaming
with assurance:
"Oh, now | see what we can do"
Then for heavens sake tell it,"
commanded the Respondent cashier.
Why not draw a draft?'
"A draft?" sneered Griswold, "a
fake draft, suppose you mean? You
forget that We live in the age of tele-
graphs and the fraud could be exposed
in 20 minutes"
Not this draft" assured the Jap.
Nonsense! Upon whom could we
draw for $4,000 with any safety?"
THE sultan of Turkey"
The sultan of Turkey?' gasped
both Griswold and Clinton in a
breath. Even the sleepy Benson
opened his eyes in wonderment.
1T is very simple" explained the
complacent j~anitor, "and | think it
would go through all right. The bank
examiner would never suspect any,
thing was wrong. He would not sup
pose you would draw upon the sultan
without the right, but If he should ask
questions, o car tell him the draft
was discounted by a Japanese mer-
chant of this city. l will get one of
them to agree to the use of his name.
Don't you know it is very common to
uldW Oh tlC 4 . w oIOW W
pay his debts. 1t would be nothing
strange to the examiner
The idea looks good to me-" com
mented Griswold. However, the Off
cials Intercepted Hakko minutely and
discussed the scheme in its various
aspects before they finally came to re-
gard seriously the possibility of its
adoption.
There is positively no harm in the
idea, even though 1t may be irregular"
said the conscientious cashier; "be-
sides in two weeks u accounts will
have a different story to tell. No n
will suffer by the innocent ruse. When
the sultan inquiries about the obliga-
ton, all we have to do is to write him
that a mistake had been made In draw
ing upon him."
Its a cinch the bank examiner will
consider it good collateral" said the
president.
Thus the matter was settled and
the next day a satisfactory arrange
ment was concluded with a local ia
panese merchant, a friend of Hakko's,
and the $4,000 draft, drawn on the
sultan of Turkey. was dispatched to
that mighty sovereign.
An hour after the paper had been
mailed, Griswold, in his private office,
startled a business acquaintance by
bursting out laughing in his face, for
no apparent reason. 1t had suddenly
occurred to the president that the
sending of the draft to the sultan was
a piece of errant foolishness when the
mere record of the transaction was
all that could possibly concern the
bank examiner.
When Clinton was told the joke he
felt so chagrined at the stupidity that
he lost all interest in his work for
the remainder of the day.
Before the close of the week the
unwelcome examiner made his call;
inspected the banks books and de-
parted. He was evidently satisfied
with affairs as he found them and the
royal draft, if it excited his curiosity
at all, elected no inquiry from him.
According to the accepted notions,
this narrative should close here, or at
least after Hakko's salary had been
doubled, but by chance the end is not
yet.
Seven months passed and the Incl
dent of the sultan's draft had become
almost forgotten history when one day
a huge cracking envelope, emblazoned
with mystic Oriental symbols, arrived
at the bank. 1t was a communication
from the minister of finance of the
Turkish empire. With pompous sur
plusage of language the letter set
forth that the draft for $4,000 had
been duly received and that, after
careful deliberation, 1t was hereby
honored by the sultan. The epistle
stated further that the arrival of the
document had caused considerable
CONSERVATION among the secretaries
of the royal household, for, be it con-
fessed in all humbleness, no trace of
the debt could be found or the books,
which fact was undoubtedly due to
carelessness on the part of the sui
tan's clerical force. In closing the
minister, yerbosely polite, begged to
suggest that in the future, when the
Underwater Bank of Commerce had