Evening star., 1914-07-26

in less than year: otherwise he wouldn't
be my sisters husband now, l suppose"
Il think it's because of the fortune, Lady
Daura. that Emmons' spite came in."
"No doubt! Go on.
@Well, according to him, he knew the
whole thing, because he had something to
do in the mint himself, he didn't say what
cashier. with Mr.. Conway just above him
as chief clerk
"A twin brother!" Daura spoke the words
aloud: but she kept back the thought that
followed. @Then he told the truth when he
said he had never seen George. l ought to
have known it. He would never lie. What
he came here to do was for his brothers sake.
And when George saw him in the motorcar
he thought he was the other man."
@That is what Emmons said." Conal was
answering her first words. "A very fine.
promising young fellow. engaged to girl he
loved, the daughter of a rich politician in
Washington. The wedding day was fixed.
when suddenly it was found out that there
was thirty thousand dollars shortage at the
mint. Some big detective was sent for, and
he questioned the three head men,-the
superintendent, the chief clerk, and the
cashier,-as well as the under ones, as to
what they knew of the business. All three
of the first seemed to be above suspicion in
shortage was in the cashiers vault, and it
turned out that the superintendent, Mr..
Grey, and Mr.. Conway, the chief clerk, a
great friend of the superintendent had ad-
vised wiring for detective.
@Troy, so said the superintendent after
ward, in evidence, had wanted the thing
kept dark, and only private investigations
made at first: but Mr.. Grey and Conway
both insisted. So suspicion pointed more and
more to Gerald Troy. There was time
lock on the vault where the shortage was,
and only Troy had the combination. There
was one copy of it, in the hand of the super
intendent, to be used in case of the cashiers
death; but it didn't seem to have been tam
pered with. and there was never any sus-
picion against the superintendent. The
whole thing lay between the chief clerk and
the cashier; and eventually doorkeeper
named Morton was suspected of helping to
smuggle gold out of the mint in a travelling
bag;
they found out that years before he'd been an
expert thief, reformed, who'd taken another
name and through influence had got place
in the mint. Nobody there had any sus-
picion of what his past had been. Several
small things missed from time to time by
officials were found at his house; so he was ar
rested for theft, and got heavy SENTENCE
too heavy for the small charges proved
against him. But there was prejudice be-
cause of the big crime that couldn't be fixed
on him."
CONAL, 1 believe Emmons must have been
speaking of himself when he told you
these things about Morton, Daura broke in
excitedly. Il believe he was the doorkeeper
at the mint!'
@I've thought of that myself tonight, of
course" Conal said; @but he was so plausi-
BILE and talked so much of his detective work,
the idea never came to my mind before.
And he described the man as very different
from himself
3There may be an explanation of the diff
ference. But go on, Daura said.
AThe way they found out the shortage was
against Troy" Conal took up the thread of
his story, 3he was suddenly i'll one day, and
Mr.. Grey or Mr.. Conway got onto some
thing wrong. Yes, remember now, the
superintendent was the one, and he talked
it over with Mr.. Conway, who advised Troy
to turn suspicion from himself by asking for
investigation. When the big detective ar
rived he looked into the books, which seemed
all right: but he found that the time lock
had had a little arm in it bent in such way