NEW ZEALAND STORY.

Auckland Star, Volume XLV, Issue 186, 6 August 1914, Page 10

NEW ZEALAND STORY.

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(ByJllVtSr-H; !•£Wit/I'ON.)

J.p'mu Hayward, district manager of the Phantom .Insurance Company, was deafly in a state ".'of' trepidation' as he -talked up and di>vy.n life luxurious olliee. Luxury was abiiost an essential-to the lUiui's life. Not that he had'been "to the manner born," but his was one of i'a-o-c natures. that.'revelled iv .ease and greatly disliked physical effort. For four years now he had been enjoying a gositi.m that was a perfect sinecure, and had lived right- «p-.to. the.Ja.st *p&iny of His income—aiul"lstuneivlr*rt: IjcJ-ond it". . He had made sure that his subordinates should do the work, while he drew the fattest salary. He was really an excrescence. He only maintained his job by reason of. his ■uomplaisaiice and an unbounded ability to deceive. He had jjone aloug comfortably with the idea T,hat he was "in for life." and now the irew board of directors bad disillusioned Vi'iii. They had ordered a special, audit of the company's district. office—a thing unheard of previously, and" as unexpected as it was unwelcome. HnywartL walked to the window, tlien back to lift desk, aimlessly, and with trembling-ringers, turning over a paper here ami there. He could not rest. As the minute*.qiussed" his nervousness in••reaseil." On the carpeted~lloor"his footfalls made uo sound, and the silence wabroken only by the slow, monotonous tick-tick of the 1-ig clock on the wall. "Mt.' 'Harvard. *"* Ir -was the voice o! nTe"<oiiipany"s auditor. Hayward turned without a word, and. crossing the hall, entered a room opposite. He glanced apprehensively at a sheet of foolscap which ■was lying near the auditor's left hand, and his gaze seemed rivetted by 'the lino ■of-figures and-margina-l note*-thereon. 'The auditor-c(*»g!ie'tl apologetically.. . ' T l hnJrtltcre are several diserep.nuies in your accounts. Mr. Hayward." lie said, blandly. "1 presume you are able .o explain these satisfactorily?" Hayward's mouth opened and shut spasmodically. "Wha —what are they?" he said at lust. - **There is a matter of .Clfl.l shortage in;lhc cash. At least, judging from previous entries, this appears to be an unusually large amount -for cash in hand." • -~ The auditor was not looking at the manager. He was thoughtfully gazing at the foolscap sheet, which he was now holding up between his hands. Otherwise lie might have seen the managers face blanch, and have observed the bunted look which came into his eyes. Hayward's thoughts travelled with lightning speed. So it was out! Rapidly his mind.evolved a scheme to temporarily meet the trouble. Seating himself comfortably, he drew out his cigar Vase. Leisurely he selected a weed, and as-leisurely lie lighted it. With the tiUho-' sang-froid he watched the blue smoke-rings curling upwards, for a few seconds, before he answered. "1 was aware of it." he said: "or. rather, to be precise. L became aware of it la»t evening. 1 liad meant to inform you. but in tiie pressure or other business the matter quite escaped my mcjuory. Tiie money was placed to my private account by the bank in error. I ha-ve -asked them to transfer the amount company's account.'' For a few moments Ihe ituhtor was nonplussed. "1 can find no record oi this* amount anywhere. When did you send it to the bank:'' **Let rue sec. This is Thursday. Augu-t 10th—1.1th —oh. it was on Wednesday of last .week." ■"lYery good. "Well, T will just 'have the matter verified by the bank, and then my work is finished.; 1 -; ; The manager walked liack to his olliee. Ting-a-lina\ .ting-a-lingl "Hello!" •'ls that the Joint Stock?". "Yes." • "Granger speaking. I ail. making an inspection of the Phantom Company's books. Has Mr. Hayward instructed you to transfer some money— CIDo —v •the company's account':" "Half-a-minute; . . . -. . Xo, no in etfuctiolis .have been given." "Ah! .... His account U good fji that amount, f suppose? What? . . Yes! Overdrawn! 1 see Ye- Thank you!" In his olliee Hayward sat dejectedly He looked a picture of abject terror, ex cepting that the brightness of his eye: showed how keenly thelpl'iii)}'behind wa t working. Again he heard "the auditor's voire. For a second he hesitated. 1 -Th( next moment lie was facing Granget ■without a shade of anxiety apparent'on his tVitures. Once more tlie auditor coughed apologetically. "I am sorry." he said, "bti! J shall have to ask for a fidelity guarantee for you, Mr. Hayward. 1 cannot possibly do less, and I have no doubt yon wiH be abe to make same arrangement vviWi the chairman of directors." Hayward nodded acquiescence. IU recognised tlm: there was no more to bi said. That night was a sleepless one for the manager. He knew he was "all in.' From nowhere could he expect assistance. Plan after plan followed each other in his mind, none feasible, none practicable. Alxcrnately ..lie .cursed the folly which had- led 'to hi-< speculating, and the pestiferous new board for ordering the special audit. v lie had lieen in deeper than this before. He could have pulled out e.t-.ily before. the. annual balance, but these meddiing fools had been his undoing. Whirt would it mean: He would have to —work! and giv up ease and luxury! They might gaol him. Good hcaven=! Several times lie went to the drawer of his escritoire, and looked at the shiny thing lying there. Once he picked ii up. The touch of the oold metal sent the sweat out on his forehead, and he cowered on the floor with his face in his hands. Xat that— ifcmd God —not that! '. _ And, so his thoughts-ran nobv-umfrß the grej- dawn, peeping throngli 'tSe- hart-drawn- blinds revealed a haffr;ird thing that was only a semblance of tlie once complaisant district manager of the Phantom Insurant Company. "Mr. Piolf to see you, sir." "Hayward turned as the door of j hif office opened, and saw the chairman ol directors. He rose hastily, and ther reeled and almost fell as he caught sight of a second man standing just outside the door. Deteotive-Mergeant Bradley! He knew him we'll. Mr. Rolf did not anpear to notice the ananager's pertnrbat ion. He vvamaking a hurried explanation of some kind, but it fell on unheeding ears. A; though ho were speaking from a dis tance "Well we'll say 'fcoHDboei"o*T: scr-:». Thaturil* In convenient for jen?" \| ". '". AVitli an JrEayTCaxd forced 'Mm self Lo listen. 'Tes, yes, to-jnoreow ai Sil" he replied, like a man in a dream.

I Tlie chairman of directors and the ;'detective withdrew. Hayward* sat down helplessly.. Then it-he chairman's words slowly -formed themselves in "his mind. What hud he said? Oh. yeshe would be ibusy that day. Bradley had a case of; .'arson to unravel. Yea, yes. Then they hadn't come for him, inter all. But'they>would next day; "To-morrowjaJt "l!" • "-To-morrow at 3!" The wards were bnaiting a ta'ttoo'on liis brain. Well, they wouldn't find 'him. he decided. Drowning was ; on easy death, people said. He would walk over the wharf, and He was wondering if .his.'body would ever be found: what the papers would say: would many mourn for him? He didn't want to die. but 'he couldn't face the ignominy and disgrace. Xo; there was only line way out "Goal), sir. you did give mc a scare — you did look queer!" It was the messenger-boy from the telegraph olliee. Hayward 'took the cable message from the lad and mechanically opened it. Then the blood rushed to his face and fore-head, and made Oiira ■rasp for breath. "Consuls two: live thousand, lir-4: Artillery. Congrats.— Charlie. Hobart." That was from Charlie Werner, clerk in "Tatt's." ami the message meant that he ha.l won .C 3.000 in Ta.ttersaU's Xo. 2 • Consultation —rfist horse Artillery! He wanted to shout, to scream out aloud.

•but the sound died as a mere gurgle in his throat, and his 'head pitched 'forward on the desk., Extract from the ''News"-of Angust 18th, I!>— :— KILLED BY EXCITEMEXT. "The death occurred suddenly, yester-d-.iy afternoon, of Mr. John Hayward, district manager of the Phantom Insur-ance-.Company. The medical . opinion gives the cause of death as heart.failure. Mr. .-Hayward had a few minutes'preriously received a cable, congratulating him upon a successful deal in Xo. 2 Consuls, through which he had cleared a modest £5,000. and the consequent excitement, acting upon a weak heart, completely overwhelmed him, resulting in his death, as stated."