Belt Valley times. [volume] (Armington, Mont.) 1894-1977, 1922-08-03
CHAPTER vI-cOntinued.

Wilton was astOnlsheu. Live a
Big Muskeg7 he cried.
until the work Is finished. Don
refuse me, WIFI" She clasped hei
hands together In her childish. plead
ing way that Joe had always found
Irresistible. Joe would have let me
/ won't hamper you, WILL" she begged
kitty, you're a trampl" cried VII.
ton. "But you can't go there to live
The loneliness would be awful. AND
there isn't a house anywhere. And
besides"
He did not dare suggest the thought
that came to him, that people would
gossip about her. That, he felt, rested
With her.
ut won't be lonely with-wlth the
work, Wlll," she answered. And I've
already made my plans. I'm having
u bungalow built there. And there will
be Molly Don't you want me TO come.
WIFI"
Kltty's pleas were irresistible. VIII
ton yielded, and he was glad for one
thing; her presence at the portage
would mean much to Molly. During
the next few days he WAS In %constnnt
consultation with the directors as
representing Kitty, who had given him
her power of attorney to act for her.
He went carefully Owe the books. He
was quite satisfied with their showing
If Big Muskeg could be crossed, the
company could remain solvent without
increasing It's capttHf.
Tie devoted his attention to the per-
sonnet, taking on new men and weed
ing out, a thing Joe had hated doing,
until he vas satisfied that Bowyer had
no representative on the STAFF.
Wilton and Belts had been named
executors In Joe's viii. Wilton had
already gone through Joe's papers;
but his task was much less satlsfac-
tory; for Joe, who was a capital d.
rector, seemed 10 have no personal
system at all. Everything was In con-
fusion-papers were missing, records
mixed up together. He had left Kitty
two thousand shares In the Missatibi,
and a comfortable little capital of
about forty thousand dollars. together
with the house In Clayton and some
property In Winnipeg.
The Mlssatibi shares, amounting to
two million dollars at their par value,
represented the bulk of his fortune.
and were In a safety-deposlt box In
the banks vault. The receipt, how.
ever, could not be found.
This was not OF much Importance.
but Wilton went with Kitty TO look in
Joe's box. Clark, the manager. took
them below, opened the vault, and
put In the master-key. Wilton CONS
pleted the opening. To his astonish-
ment there were only fifteen hundred
shares.
give hundred shares are missing"
he said to the manager.
Clark looked at him In some surprise.
"You are not forgetting that Mr..
Bostock hypothecated five hundred
shares with us as security for the
he asked.
: Wilton looked at Kitty. Ibid you
know that Joe borrowed on the Sc
curity of those shares?" he asked.
Kitty shook her head Joe had not
told her many of the details Of his
business. And the papers had shown
record Of the transaction.
"Mr. Phayre has just come in." said
the manager.
They went up to the presidents
Office. Phayre asked them to sit down,
and listened to wilton's statement.
"Mr. Clark. will you get Mr..
Bostock's blank transfer of the
shares7'' he asked.
The paper was brought. The sigma
ture appeared perfectly geaulae+Jee
Bostock had made out a transfer In
blank for ave hundred shares. In return
for q loan of three hundred and fifty
thousand dollars. due the 18th OF De
cember.
UDless the loan was repaid by that
date, the control of the Mlssatibi
would swing to the Bowyer interests.
Wilton was almost stunned by the
discovery. Joe bad spoken as IL hls
control was irou-clsd.