Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1916-03-17


evil hour had put themselves in George
Grants clutches. Here were debt rec
ords that spelled financial shipwreck.
More than one pious debtor used to pray
that Grants office and Grants desk
might some night be destroyed by fire;
to wipe out these records and set the
loan sharks victims free. And al last,
in odd fashion. the prayers were answer
ed.
One day--it was the same. that Max
Lamar caught his fleeting glance of the
Red Circle on a woman's white hand, as
a closed automobile whizzed past him
George Grant got up from this famous
desk in his private office, stretched his
lean arms lazily. and went into the gLd-
joining room where stood his capacious
steel vault He wanted a record that
was filled in this vault And, instead
of sending a clerk for tit was de-
cidedly private paper-he went, himself.
Entering the vault and switching on
the electric light, he began to search
through the tiers of compartments along
the rear wall. The paper he wanted was
not easy to find; and his search con-
tinued for several minutes.
At last, he discovered what he sought.
Consulting the document, he made one
or two notes from it on the back of an
envelope; then switched off the light
and turned to leave the Vault.
But, instead of the sunshine from the
office beyond, he faced black darkness.
The vault door had been shut. So ST.
lently had it closed that, engrossed in
his searched, he had not observed 1t was
no longer open.
Grant pushed against the steel door.
1t did not yield to the pressure. 1t had
been shut tight. The lock had been
sprung And it could not be opened
again, except from the outside.
Grant swore, long and luridly. Then,
his brows contracting, he paused for q
moment in perplexity. The door was
heavy. 1t always required more or less
effort to open or close it. Therefore,
it had not now been blown shut by tho
wind or swung shut from i'll balanced
hinges. A human hand had closed and
locked 1t. Why?
Grant did not believe any one in his
employ would dare play trick on him;
for all his underpaid office staff held
him in cringing fear. Perhaps some
clerk, passing by and seeing the door
open, had supposed the vault was empty
and had pushed the steel portal into
place.
Grant drew in a deep breath and
shouted at the top of his lungs. The
vault resounded deafeningly to his bel
low. But Ln6 THICK Walls dOSOEOCu eAS
sound. With his fists he beat upon the
door; until HRS knuckles bled. No reply.
Within few yards of him, his en-
pIoyers were at work. Yet, he, their
overload, seemed in danger of smothering,
because he could not make his cries or
his blows reach their ears. cold sweat
of terror broke out all over this man
who so long had made better men sweat
at his orders.
Turning back into the vault and
switching on the light once more, he
pulled out y steel cashbox from it's COM
partment and, using it as a bludgeon,
began to hammer with desperate force
on the unyielding door, punctuating his
blows with shouts for help.
After an interminable time, a clerk
John Saals by name-who CHANGED to
pass through the adjoining room, close
to the vault, heard a muffied tapping and
paused to investigate. The tapping
seemed to come from the far side of
the steel door. Saals was curious; and
decided to investigate. He called the
cashier, who alone of the employees.
knew the vaults combination. The
whole office force gathered inquisitively
around the cashier as he unlocked and
threw open the door. Out reeled Grant,
more dead than alive; his lank face
streaked with perspiration, his eyes
bullying with terror.
who did that?" he sputtered. hoarse-
ly, what fool shut that door on me?
Speak up, or I'll fire the whole worth
less bunch. Who did it?''
There was a confused mumbling from
the scared employees. Grants ratlike
eyes searched every face. He read
there nothing but blank bewilderment
If some one was acting, then some one
was acting too cleverly to be detected
With a snort, Grant stamped back to
his own private office.
Still shaky in the knees from his
scare, he slumped into his desk chair
But, suddenly, as If the chair were up
holstered with hornet stings, he leaped
to his feet again; with a yell that
brought his employees in the outer Of
noes crowding wonderingly to the door.
Neatness was one of George Grant
hobbies. His desk was always kept in
apple-pie order. But, his very first
glance now revealed that it was in
condition that would have shamed his
most incompetent clerk.
Papers were scattered in every direc-
ton; and drawers and pigeonholes were
open-and empty! Feverishly. Grant
looked from pigeonhole to pigeonhole.
Every last one of them had been ran
sacked: and every document had been
lHOul
Cleaned outr' croaked Grant, dazed-
ly Robbed; I've been robbed!"
Then the numbed brain reawoke
These stolen documents were the prom
issory notes, the drafts, ETC., that gave
him his limitless power over an army
of debtors without such evidence he
had no legal hold over the poor wretches
who had so long been in his power. He
could not collect one penny from them,
That is, not if they should learn of this
loss.
The yell of horror had summoned his
employees They still stood crowding the
doorway; not daring to advance nor to
ask what was the matter; yet tensely
curious to know what had happened
At sight of their questioning faces,
Grant fought to gain some sort of con-
troll over himself.
(which of you have been in this room
in the last half hour?" he asked. as I'M
concernedly as he could force his dry
throat to voice the query.
For moment no one answered. Then
Saals timidly volunteered:
az was in there, sir, about twenty
minutes ago. Maybe twenty-five min
utes Or"
What in blazes were you doing in
here?"
81 just stepped inside the door, SIR
quavered Saals, ito show in the lady
THE lady?" snapped Grant what