The Oakley herald. [volume] (Oakley, Idaho) 1908-1961, 1915-07-09
WHERE THE MONEY WENT
BY GEORGE MUNSON,

The situation was this: Jim Flem-
ing's accounts were three thousand
dollars short at the end OF the day.
Three bills of the denomination of a
thousand dollars apiece were missing.
Fleming said that he had put them in
the drawer. But they were not in the
drawer, and could not be found.
The president accepted Fleming's
explanation. Fleming retained his po-
sition in the bank as assistant paying
teller. He was earning seven hundred
and fifty year.
Jim not only retained his position
but was promoted to be paying teller
the second year-still at seven hun
dred and fifty. Ordinarily the position
would have started at twelve hundred
and fifty. Then Myra, the managers
stenographer, and Jim could have got
married. Now marriage was impos-
sible. The fellows III the bank grinned
and wondered where Jim had sailed"
the money away
Old Moss, the president, was as hard
as nails. He never let up ON a man.
He had seen at once Fleming's idea
and determined to checkmate the man
whom he regarded as a brazen thief.
Out of his own pocket he paid the hire
or the detectives for the first six
months, but at the annual meeting it
was decided to spend the money which
would normally have gone to Jim's sal
airy in having him watched
Year after year the watch kept up.
Jim knew about it. 1t was impossible
for him not to know.
with that fellows genius for
secrecy he would make a first-rate
politician or criminal" said old Moss
grimly, at the second annual meeting
of the directors.
Talent misapplied," growled the
manager, my stenographer is still en-
gagged to him"
She'll be too old to marry him be
fore he gets raise" growled Moss.
And If they do marry, well know
where the money comes from"
Five, six, seven years passed The
detectives were less obtrusive now,
but they still followed Jim Fleming.
He was still liable to return home to
find that someone had tempered with
his desk or trunk.
Jim, dear, have saved up a thou
sand dollars" said Myra one day. Let
us be married anyway"
He shook his head grimly. He would
not marry her until the bank had Of
f1cially pronounced the stain upon his
character wiped away He had often
urged Myra to release him
IN stand by you till the end, dear"
she answered.
BY this time the directors had come
to waver in their opinion of Jim. Traps
had been laid for him, opportunities
placed in his way. He evaded them
or did not seem to recognize them. He
still remained paying teller His sal
airy should have been seventeen hun
dred and fifty. The bank was making
a thousand year out of him. Half
that money went to the detective
agency, but still Jim had almost made
up the missing money.
The town was growing. At last it
was decided to build new bank. 1t
had outgrown it's limited premises A
magnificent structure of marble was
going up. New desks and counters
had already been installed, and on the
day when the papers and money were
removed the old fixtures would be
turned over to the junk man.
Everything was ready at last. The
manager was experimenting the re-
moval of the money. Old Moss stood
grimly by, watching the ceremony.
Jim opened his drawer, which he had
pulled out and closed so many thou
sands of times during the course of his
service in the bank. He took out the
bills and packages of coins and hand
ed them to the manager, who counted
them and placed them in the safe.
which stood in the main office, ready
for removal
time in all those years. Jim pulled
it out half way. 1t would come out
no farther.
Moss, seeing him Juggling, strolled
up. The manager was looking at him
From her seat at her typewriter, Jim
saw Myra looking at him. He tugged
and tugged, and the drawer would not
bulge.
Suddenly he was lying upon his
back, with the empty, broken drawer
upon his chest, and the old counter
broken into half a dozen pieces.
Suddenly the manager uttered an ex-
clamation and stopped down. From a
crevice he extracted three-three brand
new thousand dollar bills He hello
them up significantly. Moss came for
ward. Jim got up and stood staring
at them speechlessly. Then, with q
cry, Myra ran from her place and flung
her arms round Jim and stood facing
them all with love and defiance upon
her face.
1t was easy to see what had hap
pened. The three bills had slipped
back when the drawer was opened,
and had lodged at the back in a crevice
OF the counter. Jim's hands must have
wandered above them score of times
a day, and he had never guessed
M fol- N, l.;