Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1917-12-07


1 thought of early boyhood's days
and skating on n foot, as the sole of
n shoe struck a fat piece of banana
peel, and l went sliding irresistfbiy to-
ward a wooden crate cover set over a
manhole in the sidewalk.
Bang My feet met il, sending 1t
spinning halfway around on the un-
fastened pivot and down l shot through
the half-moon aperture.
Thumpi I landed ten feet down
amid utter darkness across an up
turned tub, knocking out its bottom,
and bringing hoops and slaves about
me in flying sections.
The shock was brief, my bruises tri-
vial. Then 1 congratulated myself.
If the under-sidewalk space into
which l had been precipitated connect
ed with the main cellar of the struc-
ture abutting upon 1t I would hail my
misadventure as a stroke of genuine
good luck. That grim old time-shat-
tered three-story building had been a
center of considerable interest to me
during the past week. 1 had haunted
its vicinity persistently. 1t was to lit
tie purpose, however. It's real was a
blank brick wall. It's sides were
guarded by heavy iron shutters. The
front had but one entrance, a double
doorway, and beyond it was a store
space shallow and narrow, more of a
hall entrance than a room, barred
0IncalT NIGHTS and in tho 6oUfimn
seated behind a bench hammering
away at various pieces of metal, was
a low-browed, keen-eyed man, evident
ly the guardian of the place.
I was on a still hunt for a missing
friend, and had been for over a month.
That was how / came to be interested
in what had vertically become to me a
house of mystery.
Acton Meserve had been a fellow
worker and close friend for something
like two years. We were both of us
expert e%ngravers and earned good
wages In the service of a leading bank
note engraving concern. 1t was just
after he had married and was gone
on his honeymoon that trouble began.
You must know that the working
economy of a confidential and impor-
tant business such as we were engaged
in calls for strict integrity on the part
of those employed. 1t was about a
week after my friend Meserve had left
on hiss memorable vacation when a dis
coyery was made that some govern
ment paper, some denomination dies
and a kit of fine engraving tools were
missing from the vault. When a
search was made in the office there
was found in Meserye's desk some Of
the paper. The company awaited the
return of Meserve to charge him with
Irregularities, possibly theft. But
neither he nor his wife returned to the
city at the end of two weeks, nor four,
nor six. In fact, although a detective
was employed to seek to gain a. trace
of their whereabouts, Acton Meserve
and his wife had disappeared as effec-
tually as though the earth had swal-
lowed them up.
One day / was summoned to the pri-
vate office of the president of the COM
pany. / knew that my close compan-
ionship with Meserve had aroused sus-
picion in the mind of the detective as
to a possible knowledge on my part as
to what had become of Meserve. The
disappearance of the well-guarded
property of the company pointed to a
probable scheme to do some outside
plate work. This surmise was empha-
sized by the strange absence Of Me-
serve.
"We shall require your services no
longer, MI. nlsley," spoke my superior,
definitely and with sternness.
81 am sorry," I said simply. IT will
not ask you the reason of this unwar-
rantable discharge, for I can guess.
You are wrong in attributing what you
imagine to as good a man as Acton
Meserve. l shall make 1t my business
to prove 1t to you soon."
81 hope So" coldly remarked the of
fetal, land I further hope you will
take care of yourself"
There was significance, almost in
suit, in this last remark, and l did not
resent it In words. l had made up my
mind that 1 would find Acton Meserve
If it took all / had saved up and a
year of my life to accomplish it. There
was something wrong, not only at the
engraving plant, but as regarded Me-
serve.
There was a dense mystery sur
rounding the abstraction of the prop
erty Of the company and the inexplica-
. BILE vanishment of Meserve and his
wife. l started to solve the enigma,
firm in my faith in my tried and true
comrade.
Ifound his relatives and friends anx
ious and grieved over his absence.
None of them had seen or heard from
him since the day they had seer him
started on his wedding journey. I
went over his presumable honeymoon
trip, to lose all trace of him utterly. I
rot,rnod 70 the citv. more In the dark