Evening star., 1924-01-05
Continued from Yesterdays Starr

knew the cause: that somebody had
took up mother ones quarrel with
him. Didn't you say you'd always
thought the letters or the dates they
came on brought back somethin' from
the past to him? 1t must a-been
young Shirley you was a-thinkin o.
Why didn't you tell the doc bout him
81 was thinking of him and on the
point of mentioning the affair, but
the. utter impossibility of it's having
had anything to do with the murder
came over me. 1t seemed to me
that it would be abominable as we'll
as useless to rake up the whole
miserable tragedy once more, and
not let the poor boy sleep in his
grave. mercifully forgotten. That
was why | said the other day l had
only known him through his trading
with me. but he never did" Dunn had
regained his composure, but his
voice trembled slightly with his last
words. Naturally / thought Mr..
Bernhard must have associated the
letters with Larry's death because
of dates, even as 1 had done. but l
do not believe now. on reflection,
that either of them had anything to
do with the murder. The letters
stopped coming last October"
"Mr Bernhard always made out he
figured they was sent by some luna
tic. you say?" Geoff seemed to be
following out a train of thought of
his own. Didn't it never kinder
-- strike you, Mr. Dunn. that mebbe it
was true? Mebbe some relation o.
TINS here young Shirley brooded over
his suicide till they went crazy and
imagined that Mr.. Bernhard was re-
sponsible for it?'
William Dunn shook his head
Larry was alone in the world"
I've heard tell there's some who
don't make no bones bout sayin' even
now that Mr.. Bernhard was actually
responsible for it in sort o. way
They that mPhhp hH didn't
aforehand bout the stealin'. but he
certainly did play on the fever for
Speckilatin' young Shirley had caught,
and led him into bigger temptation
than he could turn his back on"
Geoff appeared to be watching the
last pink glow fade from the western
sky, but in reality he was noting
every change of expression upon the
others face. Some goes so far's to
opine that young Shirley lost because
= Mr.. Benkard brought bout the crash
IN Consolidated Lead, after givin'
him the wrong tip, sames he done to
SO many other folks, and the boy
went to him for help and only killed
himself when 1t was refused. Didn't
You never hear no sech talk yourself,
AIR. Dunn? You was pretty close 10
Mr.. Bernhard for some years, and you
know this here Wall street game
back'ar The mans dead now, and
anyway YOU wasn't workin' for him
when that happened. so you amt in
you think. What's your idee bout
II haven't any 10 express.
Godfrey" Dunn rose and began to
pace back and forth with short. un-
steady steps. 1T would be difficult
for any one TO place the responsible
ity for a tragedy like that, and they
are neither of them here to defend
or accuse. ! myself did not dream
what Larry was going through. and
! suppose l knew him as we'll as any
one except-except Mr.. Bernhard. He
never discussed his financial affairs
] knew he was pretty hard hit when
the bottom fell out of Consolidated
Lead, no one would have had an
inkling from his manner that he was
facing almost certain ruin ana
How long did you know him. Mr..
Dunn?"
since the spring before his death
when ] moved into the Harrington.
He had a very good position for so
young a. man-Larry could not have
been more than twenty-five at the
time of his death-and, of course, he
was keeping his speculations on the
market strictly under cover. For
month or so after l took the rooms
across the hall from his We had mere
]y a nodding acquaintance, but l often
wondered about the good-lookfng boy,
with a smile always on his lips, who
lived as staid and methodical an
existence as any confirmed old bache-
Tor. He had reckless, devil-may-
care air about him and light in his
eyes that boded danger if he ever
cut loose, and yet he apparently had
no vices no desire for any sort of
dissipation. There were never any
wild parties in his rooms and he kept
regular hours, coming in quietly at
night and going out about the same
time as l did in the morning" Dunn
was still pacing the floor. but more
crept into his tones. "Gne evening,
carly In June, l met with slight
taXicab accident and he heard them
helping me into my rooms-the door
man and elevator boy, | mean-and
came across the hall to insist upon
taking care of me. That was the be-
ginning of it, and during the long,
hot summer that followed we became
friends in that strange intimacy
which sometimes springs up between
two lonely men who are congenial
and take each other for granted.
asking no questions because they are
incurious.
we dined together frequently and
occasionally went to roof gardens or
rcvues but more often we would
spend whole evenings in his rooms or
mine, smoking and talklng-Gad! l
can see him now.
Dunn halted, and stood staring
blankly for moment out of the
other window; then Geoff asked:
Didn't YOU never learn! nothin' bout
him, Mr.. Dunn? Not where he come
from, nor what his folks had been
like, even if they was all dead?'
They had been gentlefolk, Geoffrey.
one could see that. his host re.
sponded as he turned once more. Il
noticed when 1 first met him that he
had soft but pronounced southern
accent, and now and then he told me
some little anecdote handed down in
his family which showed they must
haE hig neODlC
back in the days before the civil war.
1t wasn't until late summer that he
told me about the girl. and then 1
realized why he lived such a quiet
clean life and the dissipation of the
city could have no attraction for
him.
What girly' Geoff sat up straight.
THE one he hoped to marry. He
showed me her photograph, too, but
1 can only recall that she was very
tall and blonde and beautiful, though
rather proud and disda nful looking,
a if you know what l mean"
Geoff nodded.
'Pve seen 'em, like the earth wasn't
good 'nough for 'em to walk on. Did
he tell you her name?
"I think he mentioned it, but I can
Katherine" Dunn replied uncertain
ly. "She lived in his home town in
Virginia and they had grown up to-
gether. He wasn't altogether happy,
though, when he talked about her and
especially when he looked at her pic
rure, and 1 could see there was some
sort of a cloud between them. He
never told me in so many words, but
gathered that her people had mad
a great deal of money and then met
with reverses and she wasn't taking
it very graciously.
what was his home town? Kin
you recollect, Mr.. DUNN" Geon was
beginning to grow restless under the
Int, diva aXgr N V.