Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-04-17

had the right to know, and now-and
| now
"But. Jean. you don't understand
| Dick Forsythe cried wildly.
"Oh. yes, / do. l understand that
you do not really belong to me. You
| belong to Miss Morgan there, even
| though you have arranged with her
! to keep your affair silent"
She drew off her engagement ring
and held it out to him.
| But, Jean---" began Dick For
/ sythe.
| Just then the lights went out.
! A babel Of voices came through the
darkness to Clifford, who still was sit
| ting behind Bradley's desk. Several
| minutes passed The lights went on.
| Clifford noted that all eyes were
drawn from him to the scene between
| Miss Fenton and Dick Forsythe. even
| those of Mary Regain, who stood just
| where he had last seen her
* * x y
| 4 ND then Clifford's attention re-
4 verted from this interruption OF
| Jean Fentons tragedy to his owr
calamity. and his gaze lowered to the
| desk. He started. At his left hand
was a sheet of paper 1t might have
been there all this time; he lad not
noticed. On that paper, in the small.
distinctive letters of Bradley's PER
sonal machine, were typewriter these
words:
Memoranda Forsythe Case Upper
Left Hand Drawer"
Bewildered as he was. this sheet
Clifford slipped into a pocket. Under
cover of the scene between Miss Fen
ton and Dick Forsythe, which still
held all eyes, he drew open the upper
left hand drawer, took out sheet OF
paper. closed the drawer, and slipped
the sheet upon the desk.
The sheet was covered with typed
data. all done by Bradley's machine.
Attached to the sheet by clip was
slip of paper with perforated edges.
| In a moment Clifford's brain had pho
| tographed the sheets and the slip
every fact. For a moment he was
stupefied by the things he had read.
| Then his senses came back. He folded
| the paper. slipped it into his inner
| coat pocket, and went through the
grolp in the study His right hand
gripped Dick Forsythe's shoulder.
"Come through Forsythe! ne
cried. give got your number! |
know your record since child. you
thief, you forger, you check-ralser'
yOu----- -
Dick Forsythe interrupted with an
agonized cry to Bradley.
"Stop him! Stop him. You prom
ised this should never be known.
But Clifford, giving Bradley no heed,
| continued his shaking of Forsythe.
The young man turned to ms
mother. Mother" he gasped wildly.
Il simply can't stand it any longer.
Not with jean believing what she
| believes. And it's no use trying to
keep it up. So I'm going to tell the
| truth"
NO. you don't" harshly snapped
Bradley, showing in toward Forsythe:
Keep back, Bradley" Clifford
checked him.
in his mother, 'let me tell 1t, since l
| know more about it and am most TO
blame"
broken woman.
clean" she quavered, ''as small
how Dick was a kleptomaniac. If l
had admitted his weakness, l might
have cured him and there would have
been nothing more TO it. But | was
horribly ashamed. So l tried to hide
it. The instinct grew worse as he
grew older and more able to see clev-
erer ways to steal He got TO forging
and raising checks-mine ana othef
peoples"
But. Jean" Dick Forsythe inter
rupted huskily. 1--WE done nothing of
the kind for over two years. l swear"
mo, Jean; he HASN'T corroborated
his mother. mot once---not a thing.
He's cured. think he just woke up
to what he was becoming and cured
himself OF course, / made good on
all the bad checks and hushed every
thing-eXcept with a Mr.. Mortimer.
Dick had forged his name to check
for 81 900. Mr.. Mortimer wouldn't let
me settle. He didn't need the money
and he had an old gFudge so he pre-
ferred to hold that check over us. MI.
Bradley got possession of this Mortl-
mer check and all the facts. finally
offered Mr., Bradley 100000 for the
check and his silence. He wouldn't
accept. The only condition under
which he would agree to return the
check was that / was to get Dick TO
write compromising letters to girl
he'd pick out and
Clifford was staring in amazement
at Lolette Morgan.
'.No need to be surprised. Mr., Cliff
ford Lolette interrupted. My direc-
tions were to string you along with
some business about a bunch of let
ters, and l think you'll admit | did the
job rather neatly-though | had no
idea why l was doing it. And now.
Mr.. Forsythe," drawing a packet of
money from her bag, here is the
$4,000 you loaned me for this pur-
pose"
miss Morgan" Clifford said, do
you know, believe I'm beginning to
Ia Co. l. -aH ha OLD
Harrison case and Sc. the police after
YOU"
Don't be sorry for me" she re-
turned. You were expected TO find
that Harrison evidence and use it to
force me to expose Mr.. Bradley. That
evidence was all planted; not bit of
it will stand up if an actual charge
were made 1 know nothing at all !
about those Harrison jewels, nor does
Jack Bantry; he also was just acting"
"But-but, Miss Morgan, it was
Jean Fenton who spoke. Miss Nor
gan--those---those letters"
Listen" said Lolette. those let
ters. written during terrible love
affair a year or two ago with a siren
of Broadway, are actually pre-dated
letters which are three or four weeks
old. Further. Miss Fenton, this is
just the fourth time l have ever seen
Mr.. Forsythe. and the most intimate
moment of our torrid love affair was
when | once shook his hand. / was !
paid to hold those letters, +"
+ X y
Jean FENToN neither moved nor
spoke.
Tell me. Forsythe." Clifford asked. i
''how YOU managed the business of /
that raised checks,'
II gave You Two checks, though you /
did not know ii. The first check was
for 81 900. and for that check / took |
your receipt. According to prear- /
ranged plan, s4ay ianther had been i