Argosy All-Story Weekly, April 18, 1925 — page 97: what you’re looking at

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

SOFT MONEY. the custom of steamship companies, when selling tickets, to ask many apparently trivial questions which are carefully record- ed and sent aboard the ship. The reason is to provide the ship’s officers with certain facts for just such occasions as this one. “Howard Campbell gives his residence as Kansas City, age as twenty-six, parents ‘John and Helen Campbell, address, 467 Baltimore Avenue.” “ He is supposed to be very wealthy and travels with a secretary. Send a radio to the police of Kansas City asking for infor- mation regarding him. If they don’t O. K. him, we'll go through his effects and give him what the Americans call the third de- gree. He seems a pleasant, decent chap, but you never can tell.” “What are we going to do if we find he didn’t take them?” asked the purser.. “‘ We can’t search the persons and effects of everybody on board.” “Yes, we can. I had a similar case ten years ago on the Cretia. I called all the pas- sengers together, laid the facts before them, and asked how they felt about submitting to a search. There happened to be a duchess on board who was an awfully de- cent sort and I told her my dilemma before- hand. “She arose immediately and asked that the search begin in her cabin and on her person. That settled it; every blessed woman on board rushed forward and plead- ed to be searched, and of course the men made no objections.” “ And did you find them?” “No, we didn’t, but there was an ex- planation which developed afterward. The woman had sold her jewels and brought paste imitations on board. She threw them out her cabin window. They were heavily insured and she made a claim to the insur- ance company. They had to pay, but the detectives of the company afterward located the jewels in New York and proved that she had disposed of them before sailing. “Her husband hushed the matter up by paying the insurance company back its money. She was a gambler and had enor- mous bridge debts which she feared to dis- close to her husband. Afterward he got a divorce.” 247 “Nothing lke this with Mrs. Potter- Dunlap, do you think?” ‘No, this seems like an actual robbery. You took an inventory of what was lost, of course.” “Tt have it here,”. said the purser, dis- playing a sheet of paper. ‘““T didn’t ask her if her jewels were in- sured? Did you?” “Yes, she has fifty thousand dollars’ worth of insurance upon them.” “Are there any suspicious persons on board? Anybody hanging around the smokeroom who is known to have a record?” “The smokeroom stewards have report- ed nobody. Ill stroll around myself to- night to see if I know any one. These gamblers patronize the de luxe ships. Usu- ally there isn’t enough card playing going on here to make it worth their while.” “Keep the matter as quiet as you can. No use in making talk,” admonished the captain. ‘““ Trust me, sir,” said the purser, opening the door for his superior officer. ‘ I'll get a radio off about young Campbell right away.” d - When Rod had suggested that Campbell assume the attitude of employer instead of himself, he certainly did not dream that weird complications would arise from an innocent masquerade. He had said that nobody in the East had ever heard of either of them, but he had never considered that the wireless and the telegraph brings East and West together like neighbors. ~ A wireless was zipping its way through the ether to a big shore station. From that it went over the wires to the agent of the Black Dot Line in Kansas City. The agent called upon the chief of police and that offi- cial consulted his records. “We have no evidence that a Howard Campbell ever did anything wrong in Kan- sas City. Is he charged with any crime?” “No,” said the agent. “It’s merely an inquiry from the captain of the Durania upon which he is a passenger.” “Well, ’m willing to oblige. Il send a man to the address given here, and have him make some inquiries around town. Come back to-morrow and I may have some information. Will that be time enough?” Comicbooks GO