The Lamar register., 1910-10-26

But here again i was driven back.
Louise was sitting in deep chair.
looking the happiest / had ever seen
her. with Halsey on the arm of the
chair. holding her close.
The next day, by degrees. / got the
whole story
Paul Armstrong had a besetting
evil-the love of money. Common
enough. but he loved money. not for
what it would buy. but for its own sake.
An examination of the books showed
no irregularities in the past year
since John had been cashier, but be-
fore that. in the time of Anderson. the
old cashier. who had died, much
strange juggling had been done with
the records. The railroad in New
Mexico had apparently drained the
bankers private fortune. and he de-
termined to retrieve 1t by one stroke.
This was nothing less than the loot
ing of the banks securities, turning
them into money, and making his es-
cape.
But the law has long arms. Paul
Armstrong evidently studied the situa-
ton carefully. Just as the only good
Indian is a dead Indian, so the only
safe defaulter is dead defaulter. He
decided to de. to all appearances. and
when the hue and cry subsidized. he
would be able to enjoy his money al
most anywhere he wished.
The first necessity was an accom-
plice. The conniyance of DIR. Walker
was suggested by his love for Louise.
The man was INSCRIPTIONS. and with
the girl as a bait. Paul Armstrong
soon had him fast. The plan was APP
parently the acme OF simplicity: A
small town in the west. an attack of
heart disease. a body from a medical
college dissecting room shipped in n
trunk to DIR. Walker by colleague in
San Francisco. and pa.med OF for the
supposed dead banker. What was
simpler?
The woman. Nina Darlington, was
i the cog that slipped. What she only
suspected. what she really knew, we
never learned. She was a chamber
maid in the hotel at c.. and 1t was
evidently her intention to blackmail
Dr. Walker His position at that time
was uncomfortable: To pay the wom-
an to keep quiet would be confession.
He denied the whole thing. and she
went to Halsey.
1t was that that had taken Haisey
to the doctor the night he disap-
peared. He accused the doctor of the
deception. and. crossing the lawn. had
said something cruel to Louise. Then.
furious at her apparent connivance.
he had started for the station. Dr.
Walker and Paul Armstrong-th lat
ter still lame where | had shot him
hurried across to the embankment
certain only of one thing. Halsey must
not tell the detective what he sus-
pected until the money had been re-
, moved from the chimney room. They
stepped into the road in front of the
car to stop it. and fate played into
] their hands. The car struck the train,
and they had only to dispose of the
unconscious figure in the road. This
they didpas I have told. For three
days Halsey lay in the box car. tied
hand and foot. suffering fortunes of
thirst. deiirious at times, and discov-
cred by airamp at townsville only in
time to save his life.
To go back to Paul Armstrong. At
the last moment his plans had been
frustrated. Sunnyside. with its hoard
in the chimney room. had been rented
without his knowledge Attempts to
dislodge me having failed. he/ was
driven to breaking into his own house.
The ladder in the chute, the burning
of the stable and the entrance through
the cardroom window-all were in the
course of a desperate attempt to get
into the chimney room
Louise and her mother had, from
the first, been the great stumbling
blocks. The plan had been to send
Louise away until 1t was too late for
her to interfere. but she came back
to the hotel at c. Just at the
wrong time. There was a terrible
scene. The girl was told that some
thing Of the kind was necessary; that
the bank was about to close and her
stepfather would either avoid arrest
and disgrace in this way, or kill him
self. Fanny Armstrong was q weak
ling. but Louise was more dimcult to
manage. She had no love for her step
father. but her devotion to her moth
er was entire. self-sacrincing. Forced