The northwestern bulletin., 1923-02-10
something which rather made her

, anu IL was 70 enaDie nef 10 90 tnin
definite something that Susie, before
leaving the Office that afternoon, slyly
unfastened one of the ground floor
windows
1t was 1 o'clock that night before
Susie felt the time was propitious for
doing this thing she had decided must
be done. At that hour the night was
pitch dark-there was no moon-and
the town was almost wholly silent.
Through the night Susie stole to the
window she had unfastened. Softly
she raised this window and crept into
the dark office, her heart beating furi-
ousiy and only her determination to
60 through with the task she had set
herself enabling her to push onward.
In the Office she made her way past
the furniture to the desk which had
been Johns.
There was a certain locked drawer
in this desk she wanted to investigate.
A handy, heavy envelope opener
enabled her to pry the drawer open.
Greedily she caught up the papers In
the drawer and took them to an inner
room, where she cautiously turned on
q light.
A tremulous sigh Of satisfaction
came from her as she examined the
papers.
"I thought So" she exclaimed to
herself. 81 thought so"
But hark, what was thatf
Some one was steaithiiy opening the
side door into the office.
Susie switched Off the light. Fear
clutched at her soul. What IL she
should be dscovered7
She heard the sound Of voices and
finally made out that the intruders
were a man and woman.
She heard them move to the far end
of the room, where the vault was 10
Gated. Peering through the door she
saw the fash Of a light, then heard
the sound Of a clicking. The door
of the safe was being opened.
Susie, taking all her determination
and courage In hand, crept from her
hiding place into the larger room and
down the darkened aisles toward the
little partitioned space where the huge
vault was located.
| As she came nearer she saw that the
door OF the vault was open. She crept
to one side and looked into the vault.
BY a candlelight held In the hand Of
a man she saw that with his COM
panion, a woman, he was opening the
drawers at the back Of the vault
where the firms money was kept.
She heard the two talking distinctly.
The woman spoke first.
ut sure was lucky for You that
Hammond had to leave so suddenly"
said the woman.
"Sure was" said the man. ut was
a great chance-chance of lifetime.
Trust me to grab It. I've been afraid
his old mother out West would croak
before this and he'd come back before
l could get enough money In this vault
to make 1t worth while to take 1t"
"Well," said the woman, with Q
short laugh, "the stuff you've already
taken and charged up to Hammond
isn't so bad, you know"
Not 80 bad" said the man. THAT
was a happy thought-forging that
postal and sending It to Hammonds
girl-that put the final touch Of truth
to the thing"
A wild rage surged In Susie. She
leaped at the vault door, banged II
shut and whirled the combination!
Some days later Susie was safe In
Johns arms.
THAT was an outrageOusly clever
forgery" John cried, looking at the
postal which had caused Susie so
much pain. lotto Intercepted the let
ter I sent to you telling about my
mothers sickness and traced words
from that letter onto the postal. Later
he linked them In. II was just his
luck that there were words In the
letter which enabled him to make the
message the postal carried"
''Yes and then he got all the other
letters you sent me and held them out.
I found them in his desk the night we
arrested him and that girl he was
with"
But what / can't understand" said
John, "is how you got started on find-
ing out the truth"
Easy enough" Susie smiled. MY
woman's curiosity took me to Bramp-
ton to see whom you'd married. /
looked at the marriage licenses and ]
called up the ministers. And i found
you hadn't been married at ALL"
"And, oh, dearest" she cried, hold
ing him tight in her arms, Il was so
giadw