Newspapers / The Elkin Tribune (Elkin, … / Feb. 6, 1930, edition 1 / Page 7
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EWDAY FEBRUARY 6, 1980 BY EDGAR WALUACP was a stupid question to Pot he had a private phone lie knew that any message came from Margaret would itfttirough to him direct. I manager shook his head ifpßd business, sir. I have token to you about it be- I realize bow badly you be feeling. The Northern outhern have been OH the morning about ikecMQrou remember they d signature yester- NERVES rent to Pieces •offered a long time, before •d Cardui,- says Mm lillie tt, 180 "K" St., Anderson, S. C. was badly run-down in th. My nerves "went to M*! aw IJh*d to go to bed. got aqfTbad off I could not have anybody walk floor of my room, least little thing upset me. •times I became hysterical. 3 W pains in my back and t, and my bead and limbs Id taks spells of aching, h almost set me wild. M day I saw where a wo , who had a trouble like my , had been relieved by Cardui. sided at once to try it. It be to help me from the very I took Cardui regularly, for ral months, and my improve* t was so remarkable my fami* id friends were delighted." y Cardui for your troubles. «•«■* ■—TAKE—V CARDUI] srfllflv WOMEN FOR j OVSI SO YEARS / tobacco Mr. Brummit began farming ten years ago without capital—today he has 248 acres all paid for 1° Oxford, N. C., a long-time user of Royster's, Mr. T. B. Brummit, made $68.50 (Ew. :i net profit per acre on his last tobacco crop, using Royster "Bonanza Tobacco Guano." Plants were hardy, leaf ripened and cured uniformly, and was of good weight and color. "Royster increases my acre profit*by 25%," says Mr. Brummit. Field tested for *> ' ' . 45 years, finely ground, well mixed and [ aged, Royster Fertilizer will help your crops. Ask your dealer for ROYSTER— every bag full weight. F. A. Brendle & Son The Store With The Checkerboard Front }GYSTER~ SEEMS TO HAVE SOMBTHINC THE OTHERS DO WOT HAVi day?" "Yes, yes." Luke's usually gentle voice was harsh. "Tell the manager it is alright." "I told him yesterday, as a matter of Mr.. Btiles was inclined to linger on the subject which was hateful to the other. In desperation Luke reverted to the question of the Gulanga Oil Concesioi*, and for once Mr. Stiles father interest in the buisnes irritated him. "Of course ,sir. I know that Maddison is as sound as a bell of brass, but there no getting away frbm the fawt that we have beeir making rather heavy losses during the past six months, and I am afraid I shall have to call upon your reserves. Personally," he went on, obivious of Luke's growing resentment, "I have al ways believed we mada a mis take in not selling out to a joint stock concern. In private banking business the personal security play 8 too big a part for my liking—" Mercicilly the house phone rang at that moment. Luke snat jceed up the receiver and listen ed with a frown. "Yes, show him in please." And as he replaced the receiver: "I am seeing Mr. Morell and I do not wish to be interrupted," he said. Mr. Stiles made a little grlm ance. He had been all his life in the firm of Maddisons & Sons, and he did not feel called upon to dlsquise his dislike of the caller. "There is something about that fellow I dislike very much Mr. Maddison I hope we are hot going to carry his account?" Luke shook his head and nod ded toward the door. Mr. Morell came into an at mosphere which he, sensitive In such matters, ' realized was charged with hostility. Neverthe less he was his smiling self, and laid his carefully brushed silk hat upon the table. Luke did not! fail to notice that he wore a. mourning tie, and that for some: was a further strain upon his jangled nerves. "Sit down, will you?" His manner and voice were brusque. THE EI.KIN TRIBUNE, EEgIX.S. C. "You were a friend of poor Rer's?" I)anty inclined hia head sor rowfully. "Yes, I was completely in his i confidence," he said. "I think 1 told you tbe day following his unfortunate —" Luke cut short the recollec-" tion. "Were you so much in his confidence that you accompanied him to the Northern and South ern Bank three days ago when he cashed a check Jot eighteen thousand five hundred pounds?" Danty opened his eyes wide in well-stimulated suprise. "Why of course," he said. "Rex had made very heavy loss es in the City and I advised him to see you. I understand you gave him a check t6r that amount—" | "Did he tell you that?" Lukes blue eyes did not leave the man's face. "Certainly. Why. what's wrong I saw the check myself." There was an uncomfortable pause, and then: "Did yon him sign it?" asked Luke deliberately. Danty s enze did not falter. "I am afraid I do not under stand you," he said evenly. "I saw him endorse it—" ''My name wa 8 forged to it. 1 did not give Rex a check for that amount. 1 have been mak ing inquiries. I find that he was heavily involved in a derelict West African gold-mining syn dicate, most of the shares of i which you bought for a song lessj than a year ago. He has beem buying these shares on margin and they have been steadily dropping in value. On the day he paid you eighteen thousand five hundred pounds there came another amount for a larger amount." Danty's heart sank though he icave no visible evidence of his pert libation. This man knew more than he had dreamed could be known. Here was a crisis in Mr. Morell's affairs which might easily lead him to ruin and undo all, those fine schemes of his. "I do not exactly know what, you are BugestinK," he said. "My inteiest in the company U a very slight one, and i was horri fied when I learned that Hex had; been gambling in the shares T give you the fullest permission to make any investigation you wish." Luke opened the drawer of his desk and took out a check. From where he sat Danty thought the signature was a tol erably good forgery. He had r ,thought so when Rex brought Ithe check to him. It is the sim ' plest thing in the world to [forge a name and so far as he ' had been able to judge there 1 were no flaws in Rejj. Leferre's 1 essay in that dangerous game. "You realize what is wrong 4 with this check?" asked Luke. The other shook his head. > "Are you suggesting that I 1 knew the check was forged?" he asked. '* i Before he could reply there i was a tap at the dpor and Luke ' looked up angrily, i "Come In,*' he said. It was the apoligetic manager. "I am sorry to interrupt you, Mr. Maddison, but will you see Mr. Bird of Scotland Yard?" | In spite of his self-possession Danty half rose from his seat I The Sparrow wa B the last man in the world he wanted to meet that morning. Luke thought for a mom ent. "Just a moment." He rose and opened the door leading to the corridor. "I shall want to see you again about this check, Mr. Morell," he said. "Why not see me now?" It was a challenge, but . Luke could sense its insincerity'. "Mr. "Bird has come to see me on quite another matter," he said. "In due course we will in terview him together." He closed the door on hi 8 vis itor as the Sparrow was shown in through the other door. Mr- Bird came heavily into the room and favored every corner with a long scrutiny. "Havin' a visitor, Mr. Maddi son? I thought I saw somebody come in whilst I was waiting in the., street outside." , Luke nodded curtly. "Mr. Danton Morell." he said. "Do you know him?' The Sparrow smiled. "As one knows the Lord May or—from a distance. I'm humble. 1 'You never find me bargin' in on society. I've had one dress Isuit seventeen years an' wear it twice a year—once for the Po -1 lice Dinner and once to give the moths a cold." t # "Do you know anything about him?" | The Sparrows wide smile grew wider. "His name an"* address —an' that's as much as any policeman wants to know, about anybody. Bad business, this young Leferre case, Mr. Maddison. You don't want to appear in it I suppose?" Luke looked at him startled "I? How on earth do I come into it?'' Mr. Bird coughed. "Well you do and you don't." he said. "I happened to search the body an' the room. I found three loose checks on the North ern and Southern Bank—that's where you keep your private account, ain't it? An' this—" Very leisurely he took out a fat and worn leather case from his pocket, laid it flat on the desk and rummaged In the inside. Af ter a while he found what he was looking for—two folded sheets of paper evidently torn from a school execise hook. He smoothed thee flat and Luke saw a succession of signatures, one under the other: "Luke Maddison—Luke Maddison" "Looks almost a H though you had been scrlbblln' absent-mind edly.'* The detective's shrewd eyes were on the young banker. "But at the same ■, *■* • I couldn't imagine a business in like you doin' anything so silly! If you'll, excuse the liberty. I called at the Northern and Southern Bank yesterday, bnt they were 1 reticent—"reticent" is a good word—an' referred me to you. 1 But by an underhanded an' des picable trick I found that young Mr. Leferre cashed a check the other day for eighteen thousand.! "Yes—l gave him a check for that amount." For a second Luke was taken' aback. "If there were any reason for doing so, I could,(" he said cold ly, "but I see no reason." Mr. Bird was not abashed; he leaned his huge arms on the table, and when .he spoke his voice was serious. "I've no right to ask—l'm not the sort of man who would at tempt to pull a bluff on a gentle man like you. I'll put my card on Xhe table that check was met iu notes and I want to know where those notes went. There's a bird In London I want to catch I've got one of the best little cages for him that was ever built, an' while It's empty so's my heart. If that check wag a forgery it might get deceaed abad name but it would make It very easy for me to pull in a certain man for 'uttering.' "I'll tell you the truth, Mr. Maddison; I want that man's finger prints so much that I - wonder I don't kqpck him down i In the street take them!" s Lukes eyes were averted: he i gave no sign until the detective i had finished. | "I'm sorry I can't help you," t he said. "The check was drawn . by me and signed by me." r S*r. Bird arose with a sigh. "You're too kind to the crim- I inal classes, Mr. Maddison." he t said "No wonder Gunner Haynes • think'* you're a good feller—six » months he got yesterday for be i In' a suspected person. What a ; man! When I tried to pump him i about your friend he wouldn't let on that he knew him even." "Morell?" Luke was thrown off his guard, as he saw by the Sparrow's grin. [ "That's the name. What's the use of talking at cross-purposes? He's the—" i "I know nothing about Mor i ell.'' Luke was emphatic. "He I was a friend of Rex's —of Mr. Leferee's. I'd rather not discuss him." The Sparrow sighed again i gathered up the papers on which | the unfortunate Rex had prac i tised the signature and stuffed them back into his pocket-book, i "Nobody helps the police " he ; said dolefully. "All hands* are against the natural guardians of ■ the children' of the poor. I'll be .getting along now." I He offered a limp hand and ■ went heavily out of the room. The door had hardly closed be the telephone rang, and for the first time since the tragedy Luke heard the voice of the wo man he loved. "Will you see me tomarrow, | Luke?" Her voice was low. "Now if I may—darling let me come to you now! But her level voice denied him. •Tomorroy—after this ghas ty husness. Luke, did Rex owe vo" i'iy rr> »" The unexpectedness of the question threw him off his "bal ance, and when Luke Maddison 'was flurried he was invariably incoherent, for the same reason as others are incoherent in the circumstances—he thought too 'quickly for speech. "Yes —but It wasn't worth dis cussing. He was heavily Insured, you know and I don't thing the policy is invadidated . .'' He heard the quick breath and grew panic-stricken. "I was thinking of you—that there was no use of worrying about his affairs. He owes me practically nothing. Before he could , reply he heard the click of the hook be ing depressed. • * • * "I see no reason in the world ' why the wedding should be post poned. Luke." The hideous business of cor oner's inquisition was only a day Tld. and an accountant's utate ment that the dead boy's affairs were involved was accepted and no details were asked. Margaret Leferee could not | understand herself; her own calm astonished her. Had she ever loved this suave man who stood before her, apperently ag reeing, as though Rex were his dearefet friend? Sometimes she was afraid that he would read her loathing of him in her eyes —she was amazed to find her self telling him now with' the greatest calmness and in a tone that was sadly sweet, that she saw no reason why the cere mony should be postponed. "My poor darling!" He took her in his arms, and she did not resist. Rather, she raised her cold lips to his, and hated herself. But the Judas kiss was his not hers—that was tat |tered comfort. "There Is nothing in the ] world I would not do to make life a little more smooth for .you," he saw saying. "If money could buy you happiness I would beggar myself!" j She smiled • faintly at this. Here was a man ready to betray .his gods. He had ruined Rex; he had always hated him. She remem | bered half-forgotten phrases of his little irritated comments up on "Rex's carelessness in finan cial matters. | He put her at arms length and scrutinized her a little sad- | | ly. The pallor and the soft shad- j ows beneath her eyes gave her an unearthly loveliness. "Naturally I have been wor- j rled sick. What a fool I was on | the phone to talk of Insurances j —lt was indecent. I just didn't ! know what to say—" "Luke, are you awfully rich?'' She was always staggering him with questions like that. "Why— yes, I suppose I am. The bank isn't doing terrfbly well—on the trading side. We are merchants a 8 well, you know —but I have over half a million private fortune. I thought you knew." She smiled faintly. "I have never asked you. I'm worried about—poverty. We have been poor—desperately. My fa ther left us nothing,'poor dear. It must be wonderful to be so rich —to have command of tnon ey—never to be bothered about bills, never to feel the frantic urge to go out and earn some thing." He was regarding her in open eyed astonishment. "But I never knew my dear how awful! I thought you had an income?" She shook her head. This time she wag not acting. "If money • will give you a; sense of security, and of course it will, I'll—why I'd give you control of every cent I have in the world—" He saw her incredulous smile and wag angry with himself, as though in that gesture of un belief he detected some reserva tion, some gesture of insincer ity in his offer. "Why not'.' Thousands of men put all their property iu their wive's names. It's a sane thng to di—it keeps a man steady and it will make us real partners. Wait.'' He was at the telephone—as eager, as enthusiastic as a boy pursuing some new and .delight , Ml) moist cold and dry cold in the saine refrigerator Frigidaire equipped with the new Hydrator now offers an extra service. Celery comes out of the Hydrator crisp and brittle. Lettuce takes on a new freshness. Tomatoes become firmer. Parsley, cress and other garnishes almost seem to grow again! See a demonstration at our display room—now. FRIGIDAIRE^"- Harris-Burgiss Elect. Co., Inc. Elkin, N. C. ' 3 1-2 to 1 « Lord Birkenhead, Chairman of the Great er London and Counties Trust, Ltd., visit ing America on business, said: I "A cheap and abundant supply of electricity is our aim. We feel that this will have a good effect upon British in dustry and alleviate the unemployment problem, and place Great Britain in a better position to compete in the mar kets of the world. "The superpower system has enor . mously extended the area in .which en ergy is distributable and rendered pos sible the interchange of service with other power stations." Is it an accident that the relative national wealth of the United States as against Great Britain, is almost the exact .relation ship of the relative per capita horsepower —three and one-half to one? "Electricity—the Servant in the home." Southern Public Utilities Company !ful idea. "Luke, is that your lawyer you're calling?" I Conscience overwhelmed her with a sudden fear; she realized I for the first time the enormity ;of her treachery and was terrifi ed. "Yes Hilton—it is Luke Mad dison speaking . . . you had the draft of the antenuptial con tract? Well, include everything! You have the list of my securi ties? . . . Yes, all. And the cash in the bank—■everything. My in terest In Maddison's . . . no, I'm not mad!" " You are!" She was standing by him now, her face was white as death. The words came tremulously. "You're mad, Luke—l didn't mean It." CONTINUED NEXT WEEK
The Elkin Tribune (Elkin, N.C.)
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Feb. 6, 1930, edition 1
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