Argosy All-Story Weekly — page 34: what you’re looking at

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

190 the Pendorf, which meant that he would better place a good part of the city between him and that pretentious caravansary. Hil- win’s wealth was causing him more worry already than the last six months’ labor in Simpson’s cotton office. At the Mastodon, where he arrived in another taxi, he registered under his own name before he thought that’ it might not be the best thing to do. Docilely he fol- lowed the bellhop to the elevator, a deep furrow in his boyish brow. Once in his room he stretched out on the bed and tried to remember all the detective stories he had ever read. He didn’t recall any of the heroes of light fiction who were in his peculiar predica- ment. There were plenty of persons who eloped with bags of money or securities, but they never seemed worried about ways and means. Here he was, with a fortune come by honestly, so far as he knew, and he was completely embarrassed. He im- agined he had aged years since morning. One idea came to him as he Jay flat on his back. He would put the packages of hundred dollars bills in a neat bundle and have them locked in the office safe. He would also carry as much as he dared in the pockets of his clothes. He felt, and rightly, that he was in a different world at the Mastodon from the business section down town and the Jersey suburbs. Those hundreds of thousands of underpaid clerks who inhabit the tall office buildings of lower Broadway during the day, and live in the backwoods of Jersey or Brooklyn in small flats or installment cottages were as remote from the Mastodon and Park Avenue as if they were living in a different planet. Occasionally a naughty stenographer might invade these precincts financed by her employer; but the clerks? Never. And even the theater district of Times Square would be completely blighted if its patronage depended upon the work bees of the lower Broadway hives. No, Hilwin felt he could stop at the Mas- todon, spend money freely and get his treas- ure safely deposited somewhere without danger of recognition from his former as- sociates. A telegram to his relatives in Jer- ARGOSY-ALLSTORY WEEKLY. , aN rap eke , ' MPA watt sey that he was spending a few days with - friends in New York would allay that anxiety. And for the first time he began to con- sider the delights of money. Remember - that Harry was a college man. In his salad days he had enjoyed glimpses into the sunny places of life. To live luxuriously at a first class hotel. To purchase tickets for the front rows of the musical comedies from the speculators. To dine in the ex- pensive restaurants and look at che beauti- ful women in their jewels and furs. To become acquainted with such beauties and entertain them himself. To travel in a deep cushioned and glittering automobile. To golf, and ride horseback. To attend Bo- hemian parties where wine was drunk from satin slippers. To exchange persiflage, per- haps even to make love to actresses whose photographs he had admired in the maga- zines. Money could secure all this for him. And being young, fairly good looking, and : unmarried, these things seemed worth while to Hilwin. He shivered with delight just thinking about them. And he was inclined to be- lieve that a year or two of such delights would be worth any penalty. ‘Supposing I could live like a million- aire for a couple of years. And supposing then they found out that I had no right to the money. They couldn’t take away the fun I’d had, and jail wouldn’t be much worse than going back to the grimy grind I’ve just escaped from.” There was no key for the closet in this hotel room, but Hilwin locked the bag, after abstracting his packages of hundred dollar notes, and carefully wrapping them up in hotel stationery. Then he sauntered care- lessly to the office and, shoving them through the cashier’s grill, said: “ Kindly put these packages in the safe.” CHAPTER IL. A CLOSE SHAVE, ET us pass over the next couple of days, Hilwin summoned courage to open ac- counts in two neighboring banks for five thousand dollars.each, fering. cash.