Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1914-03-07
The Daily Story
copyrish.ea 1917 by Associated Literary Bureau

| fosolcR ma long int view win,
! Mr.. Converse, but he did lot u.aks d.
! known to others whether or not n. ~
gained any information from her. tn
! truth is he did not The wife did ~.
dare trust any one except her attn,
ney. Indeed, he strictly eujoined tb..
she should trust no one else.
At the interview between Mr. r..
verse and Mrs. Fosdick the lady re-.
resented to him that she had No &,
come; that she had studied bookkacn
ing and served as bookkeeper befora
her marriage. She asked If she njgh,
not be given her husbands place. Thu
fact that she had been left destitute
and that her husband was a murders
excited great deal Of sympathy for
her, in Difference to which the head 4,
the firm granted her request, and with
in a week after her husbands disan
pearance she entered upon her duties
During Mrs. Fosdick's term Of xerv.
fee with Converse & Co. her husband
was in South America and soon aftor
his arrival there secured a position IN
the interior OF Brazil as an accountant
on coffee plantation He dared nos
write his wife lest his letters be inter.
copied and his hiding place become
known, but she sent him advertising
cards, and he returned them with Ger.
tain marks on them which she alone
knew how to interpret
Although the details of plan TO
exonerate her husband had not been
in Mrs. Fosdick's mind at the begin
ming, there was a plan in embrvo.
She needed the income she derived
from her work, but this was not her
prime motive in entering the service
of Converse &c Co. She hoped by keep
ing her eyes and ears open and her
mouth shut to find a clew to the muir
derer. II Mr.. Coolidge had been muir
dered by any one connected with the
business this might be possible; IL be
had been murdered by some one on the
outside it would not be possible.
Mrs Fosdick noticed that John Car
ruthers, the head bookkeeper, kept
certain of his books and papers in an y.
old fashioned safe, opened by key In
stead of a combination lock. Shortly
before the end of the firms fiscal year
she announced TO Mr.. Erskine, who
had taken Mr. Coolidge's place, that
she must work nights. He asked her
if in view of the ragedy that had oc-
CURED in the Office she would not be
afraid Of being there alone She said
that her nerves were strong and she
would not mind it.
One night while Mrs. Fosdick was
working in the Office Mr.. Carruthers
suddenly appeared there and caught
her in the act of locking his safe. he
was white as q cloth, and when he
spoke TO her her voice, in spite OF an
effort to control it, trembled.
so it is you who have been tamper-
ing with my SAFE he said. Il noticed
bits of wax on the lock and suspected
an impression had been made as a
model for a key. 1 have been on the
watch, have caught you and shall re-
port the matter
II don't think you will, Mr.. Car
why not?'
Before 1 tell you 1 wish you to
know that I am armed. The only 9th
or person who possessed your secret
was doubtless unarmed, and his life
was at your mercy"
Carruthers staggered and caught at
iesk for support. Mrs. Fosdick took
,evolver from under her dress and pro
,eeded:
my husband worked here the night
If the murder and discovered Mr.. Coo
idge's body. Fearing that he would be
held for the murder, he fed. 1t is time
Tou took his place. The law works !
slowly and often unsatisfactory. lam
/ practical woman and would rather
ret on without it. I have been through
our books and have discovered
hortage of $4,000. Write me con
'ession that you murdered Mr.. Coo
idge-the only person who had knowi-
.dge of your deficiency-and you ma!
20 into concealment."
1t did not take the man long TO see
hat he had been offered the only
nance there was for his life. He sign
d a confession. gave it 10 Mrs. los
lick, and about the same hour in the
corning as Fosdick had gone he sailed
way into oblivion.
The next afternoon Mrs. F0sdlcS
vent INTO MI converse pIiNdt N'"
nd was closeted with him for an houN
t the end of which time she left WIN
means to so to South America ana
ring her husband home.
Converse & Co, in order 10 avon
baking their credit, kept the dencienc!
secret. And when Mr.. Converse re'
eived a letter from Fosdlck in SCUM
.merica stating that he and Mrs. fos
ick would make that country tnsh
nture home it was determined to pup
sh simply n statement that the nm
al come upon undisputed evidence
nat Fosdick was innocent of the NUT
err and TO make no effort TO find Gar
ithers.
Fosdick and his wife concluded
smain in South America because tneV
ere those in the United States WIZ
'ould never believe in his innocenee
4 his new home no one knew tina, u'
nd fed from justice, or. rather HUE
&c.