The commonwealth. (Scotland Neck, N.C.) 1896-1929, 1918-01-04
BY James knelland Shawvan


: [ thought of early boyhood's days
and skating on one foot, as the sole of
one shoe struck fiat piece of banana
peel, and went sliding irresistjbly to-
ward wooden crate cover set over q
manhole in the sidewalk
Bang! My feet met it, sending it
spinning halfway around on the I'M
the ha1;-mOOn aperture.
Thump! I landed ten feet down
amid utter darkness across an up
turned tub, knocking out it's bottom,
and bringing hoops and slaves about
me in flying sections.
The shock was brief, my bruises tri-
vial. Then l congratulated myself.
If the under-sidewalk space into
which had been precipitated connect
ed with the main cellar of the struc-
ture abutting upon it I would hail my
misadventure as a stroke Of genuine
good luck. That grim old time-shat-
tered three-story building had been
center Of considerable interest to me
during the past week. / had haunted
it's vicinity persistently. 1t was to lit-
tie purpose, however. It's rear 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 store
space shallow and narrow, more of a
hall entrance than room, barred
closely nights, and III the daytime,
seated behind 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 month.
That was how I 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 engravers and earned good
wages in the service of leading bank
note engraving concern. It 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-
in calls for strict integrity on the part
OF those employed. It was about @
week after my friend Meserve had left
on his memorable vacation when a dis
covery was made that some govern
ment paper, some denomination dies
and kit Of fine engraving tools were
missing from the vault. When a
search was made in the Office there
was found in Meserve'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 l was summoned to the pri
vate Office of the president Of the com.
pany. I knew that my close compan'
ionship with Meserve had aroused sus-
picion in the mind Of the detective as
to Il 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 sur1nise was empha.
sized by the strange absence Of Me-
serve.
1--WE shall require your services nc
longer, Mr.. Illsley,' spoke my superior
definitely and with sternness.
81 am sorry said simply. II will
not ask you the reason of this unwar
rantable discharge, for 1 can guess
You are wrong il attributing what you
imagine to as good man as Actor
Meserve. I shall make it my business
to prove it to you soon.''
Il hope So" col1ly remarked the Of
fetal, land I further hope you viii
take care of YOURSELF
There was significance, almost in
suit, in this last remark, and I did no
resent it in words. l had made up ny
mind that l would find Acton Meservt
if it took all I had saved up and {
year of my life to accomplish it. Ther'
was something wrong, not only at thu
dF1AS pAdIiIS DuC AC9dIOCo VIC
serve.
There was dense mystery sur
rounding the abstraction of the prop
erty Of the company and the inexplica
BILE vanishment of Meserye and hi
wife. l started to solve the enigma
firm in my faith in my tried and tru
co;nrade.
l found his relatives and fr!en,;s AK
ions end grieved over his absence
Nune Of them had seen Or heard from
him since the day they had seen Iii,
& started on his wedding journey.
went over his presu:nable honeymoon
trip, to lose all trace of him utterly.
returned to the city more in the dar
than ever, gloomily disappointed, al
most hopeless.
One day I struck q cieW, or fancie