Argosy All-Story Weekly — page 140: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

T74 I’ve got wouldn’t help me against him with any jury.” ‘Then you have got something against him besides just your word!” Mary leaned forward across the table and something in her tone made Hill glance up quickly. Then he fumbled in his pocket. “I don’t believe much in those hand- writing experts, not after Lorrin’s trial,” he explained. ‘‘ They couldn’t even tell that it wasn’t his own endorsement on that check, let alone that it wasn’t him imitating old J. W’s. hand on the front of it, signature and all. I couldn’t expect them to tell whether it was me or King practicing Lor- rin’s and J. W’s. names on these pieces of paper, but I kept them just the same!” He produced a worn, creased envelope from which he took a note and several pieces of a scratch pad and passed them across to Mary. Dazedly she eyed them. The note, addressed unmistakably in Wesley King’s hand, was signed by him, addressed to “ Dear Dick ” and made a trivial engage- ment for that night, dated more than two years before. ‘The fragments contained mere disconnected scrawls, sometimes a single letter, then two or three joined, then whole signatures, “ J. W. Wharton ” and ‘George Lorrin!” The final paper even held a sum of money written out in a straggling imitation of Wharton’s hand: ‘(Five Thousand Dollars.” ‘““ Where did you get these?”’ Mary asked. “Have you shown them to any one else?” “No, Miss Greenough,” Hill replied to her last question first. ‘‘ He used to write them in my room nights when he was practicing up to fix a check and pass it. The note to me is in his natural hand and the rest are half like his and half like old J. W’s. or Lorrin’s. He usually burned the papers he scribbled on, but I managed to get hold of those.” “Why?” Mary replaced them in the en- velope. “If you thought you were both safe from discovery, and didn’t believe ex- perts could determine whether you or Wes- ley King had written these, why did you keep them?” Hill’s pasty face reddened and he moved uncomfortably in his chair. ARGOSY-ALLSTORY WEEKLY. “T thought they might be useful some- time,” he blurted out finally. “I knew he was bound to go up in the world, a fellow as clever as him, and I expected he wouldn’t do as much for me as hefpromised. I wouldn’t go to Lorrin’s people with them because it mightn’t have done any good, but if I waited till King got to be a rich man—well, he ought to pay something to get away with a thing like that. Mary felt a wave of repugnance rising within her at the incipient blackmailer’s naive confession, but she demanded coldly: ‘““Why didn’t you sell them to him last night?”’ “T forgot all about them, Mrs Lorrin had given me such a scare about knowing the truth, and I thought then it was her or some people back of her that was going to frame me; I never guessed it was King till I got home this afternoon and my wife told me about your call,” he explained. “ I thought of those old papers then and made up my mind I’d bring them to you. Do you think they could prove anything?” ““T think an expert could, with them as evidence and your story to back it up. Will you leave them with me?” Mary’s voice trembled slightly with suspense, but Dick Hill nodded casually and she thrust the envelope into her gown where George Lor- rin’s own note to her had rested so short a time before. “ Now, will you promise me that you will go straight home to your wife and stay there until you hear from me? You may have to repeat your story in court, but you’ll be telling it first.” ‘“T understand.” He picked up his hat. ‘‘ State’s evidence; I’ve looked all that up, and I’ve been running straight ever since. That ought to count. If King don’t make his getaway after all, and tries to frame me=’? He paused as a knock sounded upon the door, and gazed at Mary in fear-stricken silence. She waited in outward calmness while the low, insistent knocking continued, but her heart was beating wildly. Could it be that George Lorrin had come back? Then all at once the voice of Wesley King came to her ears. “Mary! Are you there?” TO BE CONCLUDED NEXT WEEK oO Eomichooks (S@)