Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1916-03-24
CONTINUED from Last Issus.I
synopsis of First Installment.

right hand Of one in each genera
ton OF the Borders. June Travis
| and her mother, interested in the ie-
form of ex-convicts. are awaiting
Bordens release. Borden refuses
their aid and is about 10 strike the
persistent June. when Lamar comes
| zap and deters him.
Bordens son, Ted, good-tor-.
! nothing loses his position, and des-
| perste for want of money. is about
| 10 steal a mans watch, when his
| father comes upon him and pulls
him away. the man raising cry OF
thief.
Pursued by a large crowd. Lamar
| amongst them. Borden and his son
| reach a secret passageway to his
rooms Lamar learns from a boy
playing nearby it's exact location and
sending the lad for aid, starts
/ through the subterranean way.
Old Borden. brooding over the deg
radiation of his son, seals the room
I'm which the boy is asleep and
turns on the gas Lamar reaches the
| room. bat his revolver is wrested
from him by Borden, who tells La
mar he will annihilate the Borden
family after he has killed the de-
tective.
a
| his office that morning. lie was i'm the
sort of lumor that makes poisonous
snake bite itself and die.
| lie was loud in his denunciatioEs of
the police who had thus far founo no
clue TO tine yelled thief. He was ven
cmously sarcastic at the stupidity of
Saals for having let the woman into his
private Office. and at his chauffeur S
IiCiocy for not realizing that the penciled
scrawl on the card was a forgery. lie
was even contemptuous at the thief her
self for merely stealing the promissory
notes. etc. and for leaving untouched
tat roll of money in big denomina-
ton bills. that had been in the front
of one Of the desk drawers.
There was but one CLEAN of comfort
in Grants sour heart this bright morn
ing. And that was his belief that the
men whose names were signed to the
missing documents would not know of
the theft He figured that they would
20 on, as usual, paying the lard-wrung
l!nstallments on their notes; ignorant
that those notes were no longer in
existence and that the debtors them
selves were now legally free from their
tyrant.
True. the morning newspapers had
told of the theft. But Grant was GER
tain he could bluff each debtor into
thinking his own particular note was
rot among those stolen.
The task of biuffing these poor delin-
quents promised to be absurdly easy.
Ii would be a refreshing bit of mental
stimulant-after the smashing losses of
the past twenty-four hours-to bully
into subsection any of his bondslaves
who might dare to presume on the
robbery.
He pictured, mentally, the visit of
such men to mis- office. They would
read the newspaper story. They wouiG
be buoyed up by the mad hope that
their own notes were among those
stolen. They would come-oh, so eaSer-
Iy-to learn if their hopes were we'll
founded. And then il would be bliss
FOR the temper-twisted Grant to assure
them that the whole story was fake
and that their letters were welded as
firm as ever.
And presently, as he sat morbidlg
gloating over such scenes, Grants first
opportunity came. 4 name was brought
IT. TO him. Joseph Brown had called, beg
ging for a word alone with him.
DAY laborer 10 whom he had lent
money when the borrower was eut of
work and had a sick child.
And, ever since, the workman had
been kept hustling to meet the interest
o. the loan. There was no chance for
- poor a man to pay the principal. The
interest-1O per cent a week-was as
much as he could scrape together.
Grown and others OF his type were
George Grants chief sources of income.
Tell Kim to come in said Grant,
Eieefully. as the caller was announced.
He settled back in his desk chair,
IL.
beating the man into submission. Brown
came into the inner office. clad in his
working clothes. Generally on such
visits. he paused at the threshold and
msekly waited his masters leave TO ad
vance toward the desk.
But today he walked confidently up
to Grant, his tanned face one broad grin.
Without troubling to say Good morn
ing" he handed Grant a folded letter;
Then:
That's all" he remarked. "Bye-bye. We
Shiny old mOney-spider. I'm out Of
your dirty net-for keeps.
He turned and staggered out of the
room before the astOunded Grant could
so much as swear at him. The loan
broker jumped to his feet to follow and
hale him back. But as he started for
the door his angry glance fell on the
folded letter Brown had handed him. He
opened and read il. Then ne sat down,
very hard. and read il all over again
choking and gurgling in helpless wrath.
I The letter was typewriter and very
brief II ran:
Mr. Joseph Brown: The notes which
YOU gave George Grant for loan at
outrag eous interest rates have been de-
stroyed. Therefore your debt is can
| celled.
ONE WHO PITIES THE POOR.
Grant was still raging, wordlessly.
when Saals came in to announce one
John Peterson: an elderly, stoop shou'-
dered man, VINO entered on the heels of
his announcer.
mir. Grant said the old man, OFFER
ing the loan broker letter. This came
by the morning mail. ] thought II was
only fair 10 show il to YOU
Grant. hts eyes blurred with fury. was
barely able TO note that this letter was
Y q t,pewritten duplicate OF Browns.
.It-S-it's = lie." he stormed.
trick. have your notes safe IN my
desk mere
/ yes politely returned Peterson.
..Tncn perhaps you would not minc
showing them = me2'
"You'u see them in court, tast
enough ragged Grant. III YOU try 70
/ ,.-oIcb on your debt to me
4 7 will take that chance, Mr.. Grant.
7 replied the old man. turning to go. j
believe this letter is genuine. May