The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1915-06-07
...,f,. THE ss6.cY WENT :
sy GEORGE MUNsoN.

i
Copyright 1915. by W. q. Chapman9
Il believe in you. JIM" Myra had
said, and she was the only member OF
the bank staff that did.
| The situation was this: Jim Flem-
| ing's accounts were three thousand
| dollars s..o.t III The eAu Oh 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 a 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 in the bank grinned
and wondered where Jim had "salted"
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 hrazen thief.
Out of his own pocket he paid the hire
of the detectives Tor the first six
months, but at the annual meeting it
was decided to spend the money which
would normally have gone to Jims sal
airy in having him watched,
Year after year the watch kept up.
Jim knew abort it. 1t was impossible
for him not to know.
with that fellows genius for
/ politician or criminal" said old Moss
, grimly, at the second annual meeting
> of the directors.
= Talent misapp!ied." 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.
j And if they do marry. we'll know
4 where the money comes from"
d Five, six, seven years passed. The
{ detectives were less obtrusive now,
: but they still followed Jim Fleming.
p He was still liable to return home to
> find that someone had tempered with
his desk or trG"k.
Jim, dear, have saved up thou
y sand dollars" said Myra one day. LET
i us be married anyway
n He shook his head grimly. He would
not marry her until the bank had Of
ficially pronounced the stain upon his
character wiped away. He had Otter
urged Myra to release him.
g "Ill stand by you till the end, dear,
n she answered.
o BY this time the directors had conn
10 to waver in their opinion Of Jim. Trap
% had been laid for him, opportunities
b, placed in his way. lie evaded then
l or did not seem to recognize them. H
still remained paying teller His sa
IL airy should have been seventeen hun
Of dred and fifty. The bank was maxim
I a thousand a year out Of him. Hal
ID that money went to the detectiv
= agency, but still Jim had almost mad
up the missing money.
at The town was growing. At last
N was decided to build new bank.
u. had outgrown its limited premises.
n. magnificent structure of marble wa
- going up. New desks and counter
"a had already been installed, and on tn
n day when the papers and money wer
ct removed the old fixtures would b
to turned over to the junk man.
Everything was ready at last. TIL
#. manager was experimenting the r.
IN. moval of the money. Old Moss stco
". grimly by, watching the ceremon,
ra Jim opened his drawer, which he ha
pulled out and closed so many tho
ar sands of times during the course Of h
service in the bank. He took out tn
ha bills and packages of coins and han
Cd ed them to the manager, who counte
- them and placed them in the SAT
which stood in the main Office, reat
nv for removal.
The drawer had stuck-for the fir
time in all those years. Jim pullt
or it out half way. 1t would come o
,nt no farther.
~, Moss, seeing him Juggling. stroll'
- up The manager was looking at hi
From her seat at her typewriter, il
- saw Myra looking at him. He tugg
and tugged, and the drawer would n
~. bulge.
no Suddenly he was lying upon /
back, with the empty, broken draw
upon his chest, and the old count
;, broken into half a dozen pieces.
~ Suddenly the manager uttered an {
no clamation and stopped down. From
crevice he extracted three-three bra
"a, new thousand dollar bills. He he
them up significantly. Moss came f
ward. Jim got up and stood start
~ at them speechlessly. Then, with
cry, Myra ran from her place and flu
her arms round Jim and stood faci
'os' them all with love and defiance up
-" her face.
mo 1t was easy to see what had h;
u pened. The three bills had slipI
ne' back when the drawer was open
:. and had lodged at the back in crew
J! |. . of the counter Jim's hands must ha
lieo wandered above them a score of tin
mr. day, and he had never guessed.
Jim felt them clap him on the ba
T.. T. +.