Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1913-01-21
The Argus Daily Story
A Valentine-By Edna Winthrop.
Copyrighted. 1913, by Associated Literary Bureau.


from him, the last at the beginning OF
the new year. the midyear of the nine
teenth century In this letter PoindeX-
ter said: II shall send you valentine,
calculating TO mail it so that it shall
reach you on the 14th Of February.
The mails are the sureSt means OF
TRANSFORMATION from here TO the east,
! but even they are not very regular. If
/ you don't receive my valentine, say,
within ten days after ST. Valentines
! day, go to the postofice and inquire for
/ 1t, writing me at the same time"
/ The 14th of February came, but no
! valentine. Instead. letter came from
/ a friend of PoindeXter stating that
! Poindexter had been taken i'll a fort
/ night before and had died. He had
/ struck vein of ore, which he had in
structed the writer to sell and send
her the proceeds.
The mine was afterwsrd sold for
$4,000 and the money sent to Miss
! Crane. She never married. but brother
I having died, leaving a little girl named
for her. Aunt Ellen brought her up. The
aunt died when little Ellen was twenty
years old. Ellen Crane, Jr., inherited
the $4,000 her aunt had received from
her lover in California. The niece was
engaged to be married to Walter
Browning, a young man occupying the
position of teller ina bank, and expect
ed soon to be a bride.
One evening shortly before st. Valen-
k tines day Walter Browning, who was
expected by his fiancee, came to see her
with every evidence of distress. A
thousand dollar banknote had slipped
through his fingers and disappeared.
He had handled a package of notes Of
the denomination of $1,000 each and
was satisfied that there were ten Of
them. They had been deposited as such
an amount during the day, but when he
came TO count them later there were
only nine of them.
The misfortune weighed heavily upon
the lovers, who were at the time eX-
pecting to be married in a few days.
Indeed, Browning assigned the error
he had made to this very cause. One
about to be married is not likely to
have all his wits about him, and he
realized that he was not, in his con-
dition, fitted for the very important
work he was doing. Ellen asked him
If he could remember any interruption
that had occurred while receiving the
money. He thought hard for a few
minutes, then said that after making
the entry in the depositor's passbook,
while the bills were on the counter,
> the cashier had called to him to ask him
a question. Browning had turned his
back to the money while he held a
brief conversation with the cashier
but had not left his cage.
Browning had no trouble in con
yincing his sweetheart that he was not
playing a game to cover up defalca.
; ton. But the bank manager was OF
a suspicious disposition, and since he
could see no way for thousand dollar
bill to disappear within a cage with
one man in it, except by means of thai
mans fingers, he suspected Ned. As
: soon as the teller had left the bank ar
investigation was made. The deposition
was tclephOned to know what amount
he had intended to deposit. He re
piled that he had handed in ten $1,000
bills. This eliminated that loopholC
for Browning, and it was the only pos
sible escape for him. The officers o.
the bank met later in the evening anC
decided what to do in the matter 81
far as Browning was concerned. Thel
knew that he was TO be married in {
few days. Brownings fellow clerk!
had bought a wedding present for tn,
bride, and it had been the intention o.
the president to send a check for 500
Owing to these conditions they decid
ed not to arrest Browning.
When Browning went to the ban
the next morning every person Their
looked up at him. He felt that he wa
a suspect and knew that he was IN
debted 10 the bank for 81 600, which h
could not pay. Ellen would have pai
. the money in his stead. but in the frs
place the fortune she had received froI
her aunt had been left TO her in trus
for her children, the income only to b
'. paid to her. and in the second place tn
y payment Of the last amount would nc
= remove the cloud resting upon lie
lover.
Browning went into his cage and bt
bt-A- ~ ANN'ANC CpOpitSs Out lilo lllDi
was so preoccupied by his trouble tina
he soon went to the manager and toll
him that, considering his condition q
mind. he feared he was not to be trus
ed at the window; that a substitute ha
:, better be put on duty and he he place
- temporarily at other work. His adm,
milton was needed and his reque,
granted.
The wedding was to take place O
the 18th OF February. On the evenin
Of the 18th Browning and his betrothe
talked over the matter of withdra win
the Invitations and being married pr
, vately. but had come to no conclusion
!. Browning took his trouble so much
II heart that he dreaded the ordeal
facing friends on what was intende
for IA joyful occasion, feeling that /
was suspected Of betrayal of a trust,
% larceny. and in danger Of arrest G
= the other hand, no one except Their
. looked upon her as a barbarian. Thei
- criticisms hurt because she had lef
, all that she had 10 love out there-th
graves OF her parents