Western Carolina Democrat and French Broad hustler. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1913-1915, 1915-09-16
WHY A DEFAULTER KEPT HIS
JOB.

l z y
Chilly" Sunday in Scranton:
Late one night after the famous
evangelist had had a specially hard
day in Scranton and had gone to bed
unusually tired, the telephone rang
loud and long in the house where the
Sunday party were Installed. One of
| the associate workers who answered
heard a mans voice at the other end
OF the wire demanding insistently that
Mr.. Sunday be called to the phone.
An. attempt to get the mans mes
sage first, and then more strenuous
attempt to persuade him that it was
unjust to call the tired evangelist
from his bed, both failed to quiet the
insistence that the speaker simply
must talk to Mr.. Sunday" Finally
the persistence of the demand broke
down the workers resolution to pro-
tect his chief, and Mr.. Sunday was
awakened and summoned to the tele-
phone.
The attendant standing by heard the
evangelist gradually giving way be-
fore the importantly which had con-
quered him. Mr.. Sunday was saying:
4 will see you in the morning.
First thing in the morning. real
ly need the sleep. 1 cannot afford to
stay up any later. Won't tomor-
row morning do just as well?. -. Oh,
we'll, then come on. I'll SEQ you.
Yes, I'll wait for you"
So, before any minutes had passed,
the bell rang at the front door and a
much-agitated young man was admit
ted to the parlor, where Mr.. Sunday
was waiting for him.
AS the other members of the party
pieced the story together afterwards,
it appeared that the young man had
come to confess a sin which was tor.
menting his conscience so unendur-
ably that he could not brook the
thought of spending another night
alone with his remorse. He was con-
fidential bookkeeper and cashier in a
big business in Scranton, and he had
been manipulating the books and
stealing from his employer All OF
this accusation against himself he
poured out volubly, and the listening
evangelist in response searched
him through and through for details
of how and why he had committed
the thievery. When finally he dismiss
ed the man at the door, it was with
the instruction, You be here early to-
morrow morning, and we will 60
down to see your employer"
The man was on hand next day at
the early hour named, doubtless after
a sleepless night. Sunday set out with
him Immediately in order to meet the
employer at the very opening of bust
ness. Leaving the man in the outer
office, he asked to be shown to the
private rooms of the proprietor. There,
the owner of the bust
ness, the evangelist startled him with
the cool statement that his trusted
cashier was defaulter.
The amazed business man fairly
shouted his vehement denial. 'Impos-
sible, sir! That man is the most re-
liable of all my employees"
Not so impossible as you think"
said Sunday. GO and look at your
books" And the evangelist, out at
the cashiers desk a moment later with
the proprietor, pointed out one page
and another where the books had
obviously been dishonesty manipulate
ed. Back in the private office again,
the business man broke loose in
great rage against the man he had
trusted
IL nlu1 lie
cried. "And I'll have him arrested"
Sunday spoke slowly and smoothly
mo, don't think you'll discharge him
and you won't have him arrested,
either. That won't bring you back
your money and it will spoil a man.
You will have to fill his place if you
him with some fellow you
don't know, and that fellow may be as
unreliable as this man has proved to
be. But if you keep this man, you
know what you have got He will
never do it~again. 1t has cost him too
much this time. I know a man who Is
ashamed of himself when 1 see him
and this man is ashamed. He will
have religion after this to back him
up. You had better keep him. 1t is
the best thing for him and for YOU"
The business man was SOLDERING
down under this argument and the
good business sense of it began to
dawn on him. And besides the sense
of it, he saw it was going to be an
awkward thing to discharge and ar
rest man who had the championship
of so powerful and popular a friend.
So in moment or two the answer
me-half-reluctantly perhaps, yet
promising heartiness and good will
later:
All right, I'll do as you say. I will
take him back and put him on the
desk again.
That's good" responded Sunday,
heartily. "And now, let me have that
pen."
AS the big right hand of the evange-
list reached for the pen, his left hand
found an inside pocket and pulled out
cheque book. Calmly he wrote into
it the sum which the defaulter had
named to him the night before. It
was something over seven hundred
dollars. The evangelist added his
signature and laid the cheque on the
desk, saying, "Now you haven't lost
anything" And, turning, he disap-