Evening star., 1921-12-04

dime. The company owes nearly a hum
dred thousand over its assets"
Oh. Dean" cried Jessica. putting his
sut to he nef asns taten aDy Of
money!" remarked Mrs. Thornton sa-
gaciously. Even il the company is
bankrupt you can start In again on your
own capital, can't you?"
paid off the corporations creditors" he
retorted rather grimly. 'The best l can
do is to keep the ship afioat and begin
new cruise"
A proud look came into his mothers
wrinkled face.
"Silly." she murmured protestingly.
But your father would have done the
same thing!"
Jessica lifted Deans hand. turned it
upward and kissed his palm.
wait" she said heroically. Then she
suddenly threw her arms about his neck
and burst into tears.
The Weed-Jackson failure turned
out to be worse than the accountants
had prophesied. But sympathetic
temporary receiver saved the cor
poration from, actual shipwreck.
Nevertheless. the statement presented
at the meeting, held as 1t happened
upon the Saturday afternoon of
Squinty Phelan's visit to New York
showed past due Indebtedness OF $97, 900.
Thornton. dogged but cheerful. asked
for weeks delay before they should
apply for trustee in bankruptcy.
His accumulated savings would have
enabled him to go ahead and marry
Jessica, and there Was no reason but
a perhaps Quixotic sense Of honor
why he should not let the corporation
be dissolved or settle with it's cred
itors on the usual percentage basis.
But that was not Thornton's way.
He had 1t out with Jessica before she
her father. who. she protested, would
not think Of letting them postpone
the ceremony. Her father was fool
ishly rich. she said, and she and Dean
could live with her family until he
could get fresh start. But he was
his taking her ''as is''-well. she must
take him the same way. He would
never live with or on anybody-even
his wife's parents. The wedding would
have to be put off until he was able
to offer her at least a makeshift for a
he would join her in Boston and tell
her how much could be saved out of
the wreck.
During the next week Dean finished
his investigation Of the corporal ton s
financial condition, 1iquidated his pri-
day after the collapse invited the
creditors to dinner at his club, where
each guest found under his plate a
certified check for the full amount of
! his claim. Dean made a little speech,
in which he explained that friend of
the company who had perhaps un-
warranted faith In its future and his
own had opportunely come forward
| to relieve the situation.
| 80
THERE is nothing like an unsx-
= pected dividend to stimulate
geniality, and the dinner resolved IT.
self into q financial love feast. It
was half after eleven before the final
creditor had departed rejoicing and
Thornton, having slipped his last five-
dollar bill to the club waiter. put on
his overcoat and started toward home
the home that had already been
sold to meet the Weed-Jackson Com
pany's debts. He was cleaned out,
all except his hundred shares Of Pujo
Limited. which, after five years of
detection, had within the last month
worked mp from the digits to around
fifteen. Il would keep his mother and
himself going for few. months II he
sold It. and It had seemed A-Good
aeg 2 jssgsf ~ =