Argosy All-Story Weekly, March 15, 1924 — page 105: what you’re looking at

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

734 Rich?” “ Rich—millions and_millions. Nobody knows how many. About five years ago on Se, the doctors told him he was going to die They gave him three of ~ tuberculosis. months to ‘live. Up to that time’ he had been only a little trader, but right then and there he expanded like a balloon. Now about every ninety days he gathers in a new fortune, and nobody knows anything about it until after the smoke has blown away. He has this whole town eating out of his hand: There are-men over on. Dearborn: Street who would give a half million to have an hour’s advance on one of his deals. I would myself. With that security I know where I could borrow it.” Forsythe dissembled the eagerness. within him. He ached to unloose a torrent of questions that would lay bare every de- - tail of the personality of Faxon. Here was the embodiment of his life dream not thirty. feet away. “ Know anything more about him?” he asked as casually ‘as possible when Clear- _ ‘water showed no indications of proceeding. ‘No, except that he has no kith or kin, so far as any one knows, though over his desk is the picture of a young man in uniform that looks something like him. He has a ratty old office about two blocks from , here with an iron faced woman, probably his stenographer, as his watchdog. I saw her one day when, no one else being available, I took a note over for Mr. Browne. “He doesn’t go out’ to lunch, but brings | apples with him and eats them here—eats them all except the seeds. You can’t get acquainted with hinr either. Nobody ‘can. He’s got a shell like an oyster. That’s all I know, and old Byeke 4 is motioning for you.” “Mr. Forsythe, one of our very y brightest young men, will look after you,” purred the president, beaming and all but Pasune John Forsythe on the head. ° Forsythe scarcely heard the order aiven, him, his mind being so full of the startling facts in his possession. He executed it only mechanically but with his usual courtesy, and in return received a graff é Thanks ” from the customer. He could not probe Clearwater further ARGOSY-ALLSTORY WEEKLY, that day because of Jack’ of opportunity, but in the succeeding days he, asked adroit. questions. Clearwater was anxious- enough to accommodate, but could not do so. The bookkeeper had reasons for desiring to sat-. isfy Forsythe, as Forsythe held: his. notes for an inconvenient sum, and the’ indications were that not-only would he be'.forced to ask for an extension but would have to bor- row even more, Failing with Clearwater, deavored to bring himself to ‘the attention of Faxon; but the old- man always.Iooked past or over him, his dead fish eyes. betraying in no way that he had seen the clerk. For-. sythe persisted, however, for Faxon became. a fetish with him. But though the weeks ran into months and the months into. more than a year, every business. day of which Faxon was in his- seat in the customers’ room, Forsythe accomplished nothing. - Again and again feeling that. he was wasting time in a useless endeavor, Forsythe . was often on. the point of. giving up, but always he returned to his objective. while he was not neglecting other visitors to the: customers’ room, and he made sev- eral friends, men of affairs who: dropped: in.now and then to do-a little quiet trading on margins—staid and respectable men of ‘the city who did not go-to: the older: houses because they did not wish their associates to know, that they were taking fyers | in the market. These men gaw in John Forsythe: a keen- witted, quick thinking young man. who could be depended on, and! who: did not do any unnecessary talking: Several learned the depth of his reticence by endeavoring to extract from him information relative to. the inner workings of Fyske, Fyske: & Browne. _John Forsythe knew thesé inner workings, as he had reached a point where Mr. Browne voiced. guarded: hints as: to. the prospects of a small. partnership when For- sythe had proved himself further. Though the probers failed -to- find that which they sought, their discouragement did not an- tagonize them. Instead, they respected John Forsythe for his. shrewdness and loy- alty. _ And still the n moving factor was far from being loyalty. It was nothing more nor less CONMUC F orsythe: ¢ en= Mean- - DOOK CO