Evening star., 1924-01-05
ABOVE SUSPICION
By Robert Orr Chipper6eld.
t Auhor Of "Ihe Second BuLe," "Unseen Hands"
"The Trigger Of Conscience" Etc.
Copyright by ". 4

thought it was just boyish en-
thusiasrn, for 1 had heard they were
friends. Mr.. Bernhard was only be-
ginning at that time to make him
what he was to become" Dunn paus-
ed. and then went on hurriedly: Il
knew, of course, that Larry had
money of his own aside from his
salary. although he was careful to
live within that; he had made
passing reference now and then to
investments which I knew were
sound in every way and he had also
put up his own bond-a heavy one
with his firm. That bond covered al
most third of the missing money
after his death.
During September l saw less and
less of my young friend. but l was
ensrosSed in my own affairs l spe-
cialized in a different field and did
not pay much attention to the metals
market, but toward the end OF the
MONTH every one knew there was
something big in the wind In regard
to Consolidated Lead. 1t was borne
in upon me then. too, how harassed
and strained Larry was looking when
we did run into each other. and 1t
occurred to me that he was rather
avoiding me.
Well, the crash came, and with 1t
Larry's last attempt to bring HIM
self to coniide in me wholly--if he
only had! He came to my rooms
, that night with his hair tousled and
the wild, reckless light shining more
feverishly in his eyes than ever. l
thought at a first glance that he
must have been drinking to excess
a thing which he'd never done since
we met-but then I saw 1t was some
| thing else, something very like
desperation. He told me, almost de-
family that he had lost $4,000 of his
; capital, he had staked those safe
Investments of his and plunged on
lead He never said word against
Bernhard nor intimated that 1t was
by his advice he had done this, and
when l started to preach to him like
hypocrite about speculating-I, who
; had the fever Of II In me to the mar
row of my bones:--he told me that
he had to have a certain large sum
of money by a certain time: that
was why he had brought all his
capital to New York. He didn't care
about speculation, the exchange had
no more attraction for him than an
ordinary gambling house, but 1t was
the only chance for him to realize
his ambition. He wouldn't tell me
the motive back Of IL, though
When he saw how seriously I had
taken his disclosure l think he re-
! GREETED having come to me. He
laughed and clapped me on the
shoulder and told me not to worry
about him, that he wasn't wiped out,
by a long shot. but he'd be mighty
careful before he was burnt again In
the same fire. II I had only suspected
the truth he might still have. been
saved. But | was going through a
critical period of my own In the
financial game that autumn, and when
Larry and I did get together-which
wasn't often-he had changed, grown
quieter. more repressed. Like a fool,
] took IL that his losses had steadied
him and was glad of it!
He lived just as he had before,
we'll within his salary. and of course
I could not guess he hadn't penny
talked speciousIy of other real estate
and first mortgage investments to
deliberately blind me. He was too
proud to have me know the truth
about himself. to say nothing of what
was missing from his firms accounts.
Larry told me he was going away
for the Christmas holidays, and al
though 1 fancied l heard some one
moving about in his rooms I didn't
investigate. 1t developed later that
he spent them there alone; he must
have been facing the immediate
future. when concealment would no
longer be possible, and making up
| his mind what to do.
Il went away myself for day or
two, and when 1 returned on New
Years eve he crossed the hall, knock
ed on my door and asked IL / were
going anywhere to celebrate. When
] replied that / wasn't, he suggested
that We have a little party of our
gether, and l accepted. He had some
rare old wine and whisky which he'd
brought from the south with him and
had been saving for such an occa-
supper and We talked till far into
the small hours. At the stroke OF
midnight, however, he rose and raised
his glass, and l shall never forget
the look in his eyes as he said: To
the New Year, and all the happiness
il can bring to you. The New Year
and what may come tomorrow"
William Dunn turned and walked
to the end of the room, without
speaking, and Geoff did not move.
level. monotonous tones in which 1t
was told made 1t all the more vivid
and real. His host returned slowly
and seated himself once more in his
chair, resting his head on his hand.
That's about all, Godfrey. Don't
haven't spoken of the boy for years
and 1 don't know why I should have
raked all this up now. The wretched
affair belongs to the past and has
nothing to do with what brought you
here"
1T was real good of you to tell me
like to hear the finish" Geoff re.
sponded. "Do you recollect anythin'
else young Shirley said that nlght?"
was keyed-up, abnormally high
spirited after that, and 1 laid 1t to
the liquor. though we'd both been
extremely moderate. 1t was very late
saw him alive again. l paid round
of calls that afternoon and dined out
and when / returned at midnight the
clerk, white and shocked. told me
what had happened. The elevator
boy was blubbering openly as he took
me up to my fioor-Larry had a way
of making every one love him with
out being conscious of it, 1 think
and I walked my rooms till morning
trying to make myself realize it, for
/, too, had grown to care greatly for
him. His body was never brought
back, but taken directly from the
morgue to an undertaking establish
! ment. When the truth was disclosed
Bernhard came forward with the offer
to pay for the funeral expenses, since
| no relatives of Larry's could be
located. a few Of us got together and
made made up ,I, a purse; somehow, even
easssy easss who eoua saa baawn besT to him bn only
him lying in a grave he owed to
the man in whose rooms he died.
We had an instructive feeling that
Mr.. Bernhard might have prevented 1t,
but SO could more than one of us by
using our influence and getting a
loan to cover the amount which was
missing from the firm, If the boy had
only come to us. That's all there in
to the story. Geoffrey, and it's for.
gotten now by almost every one
You see, even If it had been made
the excuse for the anonymous per.
secution to shake Mr.. Benkard's
! nerve, the writer of the letters must
have seen how useless the attempt
! was and dropped 1t last fall; it could
have no connection with the murder"
! Reckon 1t couldn't, Mr.. Dunn, but
the doc ii be glad that much more Is
| out from under foot You amt got
an idee. the things that'lIs crop up