The Washington times., 1935-06-01

He turned and left the office
Burnham had charge Of the
office, for Stephen himself had
gone to see Agent Lin, seeking
to collect the money owed to
the Company. But the number
two found no pleasure in his
position. Stephens absence was
a constant reminder of his own
failure, and a round Of petty
annoyanceS had cropped up in
the office.
Decide was now the only
bond between the second and
third floor, for the Company
stood between the two women.
Each morning Hester waited in
vain for Elsie's appearance. And
when she passed the Burnham's
bedroom and living room doors,
going down the stairs, Elsie,
hearing her light step, would
busy herself out of sight.
Caught in the backwash of
her husbands failure, she felt
H eSter's success, through
Stephen, as a constant irritant,
setting them apart.
H ester was proud that
Stephen was making good. Lit.
tie by little the code of a man.
ager was being made known to
her-Service, that asked nothing
for extra hours, or long periods
OF strain; expected no part in
the huge profits, accepting
whatever the Company cared
to give as an increase in salary.
She did not understand Elsie's
AloofnesS-she had loved Elsie,
and this GOODNESS growing up
between them troubled her. She
began to wish that she and
Stephen could have a house to
themselves, away from such ir-
ritations.
CHAPTER rs
Stephen had taken Ho with
him, when he went after the
money. Twenty thousand dol
lars owing! The sum stood in
his mind in bright red figures.
Red ink! A loss, a blot on his
record. AS he sat on the launch,
on his way to Agent Lin's shop,
he was tempted to write the
main office that it was not his
fault. .Burnham's. But there
was Deedee. No, he couldn't do
1t. Might mean Burnham's dis.
charge.
The agents shop, perched
high on the river bank. was
closed. Upon the door were large
strips of paper pasted criss-
cross. stamped with the magiS-
trate's seal. A groan escaped
Stephen.
Lets go to the magistrate"
said Ho.
After they had passed through
court after court Of the officials
dwelling, the magistrates SER
want came to meet them, hold
ing Stephens card high in his
hand, crying, "Chin!"-an in
vitation to enter the presence
of the great man. The magis-
trate then was willing to help
them.
False Accounts
AS the two men rose to 60,
the magistrate said he would
send an assistant to break the
official seals he had placed on
the shop-done to preserve it's
contents for the Keepers of
Light. But when the seals were
broken, the door opened on a
scene of desolation. Every ar
ticle had been removed.
Ho sent away the rabble that
had collected, and together he
and Stephen slid the great shut
terS into place. In the dark and
bare interior, in every silent
room around the court, they
hunted for the account books,
sticking their fingers into the
cracks.
Finally, under a bed in a back
room, they came upon small
chest; and, when it was opened,
there lay the small limp paper
books used for accounts.
Stephen turned to the last
page. and beginning at the right
hand corner he followed the
characters down the long row.
Yes, here were names Of various
small shops in the city, and the
amounts due.
"These would mean a few
hundred to u.s." he said. Then
something made him look at
the accounts more carefully,
and he saw that the entries
were false. The books had been
painstakingly prepared but he
noticed that each item was in
the same shade of ink.
The Chinese ink, rubbed