DESTINY'S TOY.

Press, Volume LI, Issue 8929, 20 October 1894, Page 2

DESTINY'S TOY.

By Phil May and Sir Gilbert Campbell. CHAPTER Xir.—At thk Bans. The Metropolitan and Midlands Banking Company, Limited, had it* bead office in Bank Buildings Equity-lane. Mr Trevelyan was managing director, and in reality the sole proprietor;for the other six shareholders were his nominees, and each of them only held one ten pound, fully paid-up share. The banker had started in business, and had acquired a moderate fortune, at D«rkingham ; and when he bought the business <<i' the Equity Banking Company, he bepan to trade ac the London and Darkinglmm Banfc. This bank did not carry on business in exactly the same way as the great joint stock banks. Deposits were obtained by 1 offering a low rate of interest on ordinary I current account*, and a higher rate to thoee I depositors who did not require cheques, j and were content with an account book j similiar to those usually issued by the Post j Office and other Savings Banks. The greater part of the money thus obtained was lent on mortgages or invested in land likely to be available within a short time for building purposes ; and several builders were financed by, and numerous building societies were connected with the bank. The total amount of business done was very large, and the proportion of profit was much greater than is usually derived from banking operations; but the risk, if not proportionate to the profit, was at any rate sufficient to induce the proprietor to limit bis liability; and when he had opened several more branches in the Midlands, Mr Trevelyan put by £IGO,OOQ as a reserve for himself and bis family in case of accidents, and turned hit business into a limited company, which was duly registered as the Metropolitan and Midland* Banking Company, Limited. For several years the balance sheets of the new company were most sati"factory, and the business increased steadily; but when the value of land fell considerably, the bank suffered severely, and, strange to say, each loss was reported and commented upon by the Financial Adviser. Thin paper ceased its attacks for a time whilst Mr Trevelyan was at Folkestone; baton the day that he returned, a leading article had been inserted in the Financial Adviser, which, with the figures that supported it, had caused a run upon the bank. The next morning the Financial Adviser contained another attack upon the Metropolitan and Midlands Banking Company; and when the doors of the bank were opened, as the clock of the hew law courts struck tea there was quite a little crowd waiting outside for admission. Many a one uttered a nigh of relief as he entered and taw the clerks in their places; others, who had struggled to be amongst the first to fight their way in, looked a little ashamed for having shown so much i unnecessary excitement; and one man, J who had waited until the crush was over and the steps clear, walked quietly in, picked his way deliberately, through the surging crowd, to the manager's room, and there handed his card to the porter. "Mr Trevelyan will see you at once if you will, go in, Mr Moses," the porter said when he had taken the card to the manager} and the detective entered, and bowed to the banker, who was walking up and down his room in a most excited manner. "Take a neat, Mr Moses/ said Mr Trevelyan, who continued, however, to pace up and down, until the detective began :— " 1 came to see you, sir, abont the case of Forest Gauntley, who, you will remember, was convicted of forging a cheque j upon "your bank, at about the time you adopted the system of limited liability. What I want to see Iβ Mr Ashurst's cash book-—" • "You suspect Mr Ashurst?" the banker exclaimed;'-' •■'■■.■■.•■:•.-•..■-'■ : - ' ..j...,''.. " Oh I I do nob say that afcsJLialr;but—— * • " But what?" the banker added hastily, as the detect ire hesitated. ; "I suppose Mr Ashur3t is still with you, sir?' . .v. ■ ■■■'■■ ■■■ •'■ l * - •-•■ " He is at Darkingham," the banker replied, 4i As Branch Manager?" Paul Hoses asked. ■ - • - ■ • • ■'. ';" No, a* caßhier. I had some reason to suspect that he was abusing my confidence , in supplying private information about the _bank to the Financial Adviser. Remember, I do not say he did this; had I been positive, I -should have discharged* him; but the Adviser always reported any losses we sustained, after I refused to advertise I anylopper in that paper; and when Mr ! Ashurst was removed to Darkinghnrn, the Financial Adviser ceased to give any new figures, though it kept on distorting those of which it had previously obtained possession. But I am afraid I cannot waste |iany-more time in- discussing this comparatively unimportant matter. Last night's business, U more serious." The : bank manager paused, and then/ added >— ! "1 suppose you have heard of the robI bery.'V «: . ■ • '* The robbery ? " repeated the detective interrogatively. •- .■..-,• "I was thlriklng of sending for you when your card was handed to mc," Mr Trevelyan continued., "I was.robbed,last J night' df nearly ten tbousaftd'pounds in notes and of securities which it will coat mc twelve thousand three hundred and i fifty pounds to replace."' ".When did you find out; thai; you had been robbed f" the detective asked. ""About a quarter oflanhour aeo. The head cashier, Mr Berkeley, went down into our strongroom to unlock the note safe, and found that it had been opened and emptied since laet nighfc, when he and. I saw everything locked up securely." ."You were with Mr Berkeley when Jie •locked up. do you cay, or were you at the top •of the stairs and -he' beio w* ?" "I went into the inner-room, of which I alone had the key. Is is from this room, where securities upon which we have lent money are kept', that the bonds have been stolen. Mr Berkeley locked up the cash safe, secured the padlocks of the door leading below, and then left the bank. Hβ was the last person to leave, and the night porter was already oa duty, as it was then nine o'clock." " Everything was safe then at that hour?" "Yes. The bank was locked up, and access to the banking premises was only possible through my own private apartments above. Every quarter of an hour daring the night Westerman. the night porter, has to go to the dock near the entrance to tht strong rooms, and touch a knob that l»ave* a mark on a revolving sheet of paper. He is an old man now, and ban been nearly forty years in my service. Sometimes he fails to prove, by bur patent timekeeper, that he has been awake all night; but this morning the paper shows that Wester man touched the knob of the clock regularly from nine last evening until eight this morning. In, conveqaenee of the ran upon the* bank, Mr Berkeley, some other clerks, and I, were only just leaving when he came on duty, and we were here this morning when he left; so how the thief managed to enter the strong room and then escape is a mystery to mc." "Which you wish mc to solve?" Paul Moses afcked. " If you can";" the banker said donbtf ally. There was a knock at the door, and when the bank porter was told to come in, he said that Mr Majoribanke had arrived. "It iv the gentleman who owna the stolen bonds,** Mr Trevelyan explained. "I must ask you to let mc see him alone for a faw minutes." "Time is precious. I must not waste mine. You will tell one of your clerk* that I can see che books which bear upon

the matter I spoke to you about just now." "John." said Mr Trevelyan to the bank porter, " tell Mr Mejoribanks that I will see him in a minute." And he continued, j when the man. had left the room, "Yoa think it worth while to consider that matter?' ' " Most certainly," the detective replied. "Abankcashierseldora, if ever, stops at his first crime, unless that is discovered." " Very well, Mr Moaes." . ; | The banker whistled through one of the speaking tabes to bis deck, and soon afterwards Mr Berkeley, the head cashier, entered the room. Mr Berkeley was a young man g£ about seven or eight and twenty, slight, short, and clean shaven except for the moustache, which, like his hair, was brown with a touch here and there of red. He did not speak, but waited to be spoken to; and when he had received his orders, he opened the door for »he detective, who was to accompany him to his room. Passing out, the detective met Mr Majoribanks, and elared rather hard at that gentleman ; and then he went to the cashier's room, and was soon busy with Mr Ashurst's pay book. "Mr Berkeley," said the detective, "you were one of the witnesses at the triaLof Forest Gauntley for forgery, were you not?" "Ai unimportant witness." the cashier replied. " I merely proved that when the cheque was passed to mc. it was foreiahty and not eight pounds. I entered eighty pounds in the ledger ——" " Ah! I should Hkar to see that ledger If yon do not mind. Mr Ashar*t fieems in the first place to have entered only eight pounds in his cash book, and he seems to have altered the entry subsequently to eighty pounds. Of course, you understand that thte is entirely a matter between ourselves." "1 quite understand that*" the cashier replied, as he lefc the room to fetch his ledger; and when he returned he opened the book at the right page, and showed the detective that the sum of eighty pounds bad been debited to Chick and Tasker on account of the cheque which Forest Gauntley cashed. Paul Moses thanked thecashler,and then passed into the part of the hank to which the public were admitted. Depositor after depositor was claiming his money, and all the cashiers and ledger clerks were busy: but the detective did not pay much heed to what was going on around him, as he crossed to where the bank porter was stationed outside the manager , * room. Havmz ascertained thafcMr M%jorib«ntes war still within, Paul Moses summoned a boy messenger, sent offthefcelegmm to Don Alfonso de Silva, and then became fora time apparently lost in thought. But when the owner of, the stolen bonds left the manager's office, the detective stared hard at that; .gentleman who wan still talking to Mr Trevelyan, and, in a louder tone than was quite necessary under the circumstances, "I must have either my bonds or my money. I can , settle up with you at any moment,-and I must press you to settle up with mc. Friendly relations are all very well, but business* , !* business." "Your bonds will be ready for you at three o'clock, Mr M joribanfcs," the banker replied an he turned away; and then Paul Mo«es began, as if recognising an old acquaintance-:— " Good morning, Mr— —, Mr—" " Majoribanks is—ah I—my name," said the owner of the bonds. "Oh ! lam afraid I have made a mistake, I thought——" ■■■•''• Bu«y mi»n ! Imnirfcint CHy gngment. ' Don't recognise you. You'll excuse—" Mr Majorihanke replied In quick shorfc sentence*, and then hurried out of the bank. Paul Mws then returned to the manager's office, arjd hn showed Mr Trevelyan the entry of Messrs' Chick and Tasker'* cheque in Mr Ashurnt's cash Jttook. "Mind, I don't say that this Im- ' pltcates* your canhler," Paul Moses said, when he had put the open account book cjown, "bub I should like to have a few Mr Aahurst as soon as po'ssiole. Now do you think you could send a wire to your Darlington manager asking him to send Mr Ashurst up by the first train—say to assist you here as the ejishier's work is unusually heavy. Jfc U best to give a reason, perhaps, -even if it does cost a few extra halfpennies." **Now that: I ha,ve placed the matter in your hands, Mr Moses, I shall be happy to do anything that will assist you in your attempt to unravol the mystery," -Mr Trevelyan said, as he wrote out the telegram. - Shortly /ifter this had been despatched, two detecrivea from Scotland Yard arrived at the bank; and Paul Moseasald he would lodic round the bank and satisfy himself as to whether it was possible, for .anyone to have got in from outside without the night porter's knowledge, and have a chat with Westerman, wbil«t Mr Trevelyan was engaged with the pilice derectiven. " Mr Berkeley," said the banker through the epeaking-tube," be good enouph to ask Westerman tojehow Mr Moses round the bank, and tell Westerman that hv is \:o give Mr Moses any information he can.'* "Wesierman wa\ a tall, Rtrongly-huilt man of ahnut six and sixty, with grey hair and bqard, an open countenance, bloodshot eyes, and a weary,.sad, tired look. 5' 1 did nor. fall flsleep lant night, indeed I Hid nbt," ho protested, directly he knew who the gentleman warn that he wa* »9 show round the hank. " I have been with the master and the master* f ther over fifty yesrs.hov and man. A few months ago, I Ailed a. bit, and couldn't keep awnke o' nights ; and matter he thought of getting rid of mc, a Densioninzof mc ofF. But I Rays, says I, 'Master, I' ought went wrong, after I lefr. you, hnving served you all these ;years, how could I forgive myself? Fojks ain't all honeat, as I am,' says J, and 'c eaye, «ay« 'c, * I'd trust you, James Westerman, wl' untold gold,' a-wringing my hand us if I were a gentleman like him. And I stopped on, and now he has been robbed. , *' The man spoke in a tone of anguish, and Paul Moeea noticed that his eyes were full | of tears. , I " Well, well," said the detective, " cheer up. my man. W-e may catch the thief yet, and recover"'*he property; bnt you must; tell mc the whole truth, yoa know, and if yoa did go to sleep, I am sure Mr TreTelyan won't be angry with you. Tell mc ail thai happened from the time you time o6~daty." - * i "I was wide a wake all last night, indeed . I was 11 knew of the run upon the bank, and how anxious the master, the mistress, and Miss May, all were. When £ went to j my sapper last night at a quarter paßfc nine—the master's very kind to mc, yoa . know, and there's always something for mc to eat, and a enp of good strong tea, and in winter soup maybe——" Paul Moses seemed a little annoyed at this wandering from the point; and Westerman, noticing this, continued :— "Bat this ain't here nor there. As i< wasa-sayio*, last night as I was eating the leg of fowl, as Miss May had brought mc, I saw how sad she and her mother were ; and all night I Was hoping as.no grief would come to them or the bank. A* to my small savings, that are in the master's hands; it wasn'c them chat troubled mc j but it pained mc to think that poverty might come to Miss May,: who tried to cheer up in my .presence last night, but couldn't really bring a smile to her cheeks. When Mr Ashurlt Called, as she ran away and said I was jao£ to move until she came back under pain of her displeasure, at she had an apple dauipling for mc, she did her best to look cheerful: still her smile re. minded mc of one I once saw on the face of a yoahir woman who was hanged outside Darkiaftham jail,, when I was a/ lad. There were tears la her eyes; t too^

when she came back—without any damp- [ liofc, which I didn't mind much as, though I liked them very much a few, year* ags>, I find they don't »lt as eaiy ola one's cheet as they used. Well, a* I said, she looked miserable; but she wouldn't let mc go until I had eaten all the wine jelly she'd brought, instead of the duraplinjt—that window i* just as safe as all the rest you've seen; for. yoa see. though it ventilate* it will not open more than six inches at iub«t." "I ace," Mr Muses answered. "Ban yoa eat and enjoyed the wine jelly, and begau'to feel a bit sleepy, and theii ——** " I wasn't sleepy, not 11 No, .a* I eat it, I eaya to my*elf, says I, 4 1 fear you've been getting this for mc, Mies May, because you're afraid you won't have such good lee to offer mc riiueh longer.* Not a word did I say aloud, however, except that I was afraid a good quarter of an hour was up; bat Miss May didn't want j mc to go all of a hurry, and I stayed, it seemed to mc a long time, but when Mre Trevelyan came into the room, weeping as if her heart would break, and I went j below again, it was only about a quarter of an hour I bad been away, as the timekeeper shows, though it seemed longer to mc."Paul Moses expressed himself satisfied that no one could possibly have got in from outside, and he then asked Weeterman to show him upstair* to the residential part of the building. They went up the stairs, and then Weaterman explained that, at night, the door at the top of the stairs was kept locked. & "This little ante-room, with the door leading below, is where I generally have my suDper," the porter remarked. Did you have it here last night? ,, the detective enquired. "No," Weaterraan answered. "I had supper iv the housekeeper's room laet night." : *• When you go downstairs after supper, are you locked in?" the detective asked. "Yes, but there is an alarm bell, so that I could awake the whole house In a minute. I will show you that on our way back to the manager's room." Paul Moses looked at the bell, and then returned to Mr Trevelyah, who hard just received a telegram from the manager of his Darklunhara branch, saying " Ashurst went up to town yesterday. , * "Mr Ashurst was here last evening at about half past nine," Paul Moses remarked, "and at that time the night porter was having hla supper and the bank was unprotected." A bank porter then knocked at the door, and said Mr Ashurst wished to see Mr Trevelyan. The police detectives looked delight* d, bat the f"Ce of Mr Moses betrayed ho sign of satisfaction or surprise. "Perhaps," he remarked, "it would be as well if we knew what the stolen bonds were." •' i; "Spanish bonds to bearer. I should not like this to be known, as I do not u-ually lend upon such securities. I will ask Mr Berkeley to bring the Security Ledger, to give you the numbers." A message through the speaking-tube brought the head cashier wjtb the ledger; but when this was opened, it was found that the entry was in the handwriting of Mr Ashurat, and that the numbers hud been erased. , " Thank you, Mr Berkeley, you may go. Please see that Mr Ashurat is not allowed to leave tlie bank." " Could anyone have-got in, stolen the notes and bonds, and locked up again in a quartrr of an hour?" one of th« detectives from Sc'itl.-uxV YaH enquired. " E tsily, in ih'U; tinu , , if he had the keys I and knew how.to use them," the manager replied. "I have the only key of the Inner strong room, and even Mr Berkeley has , never had it in his hands. Mr Ashurst did have it for a few weeks, when I was ill Rome months ago, and went away for my health; but that room contains securities worth over two millions sterling, and whenever I go out, I always leave the key in a secret place. Besides, even with the key of that room, there are only three persons who could open that door. It has a combination lock, and the secret of opening it, which can be varied, is only known to Mi , A-hurst, my wife, »nd myself." " Did Mr Ashurst know how toopen the safe a* It was last night?" Paul Moses asked, * Yes, or rather knowing what he did Hi was only 998 chances to one against his finding out at any gueira. Of course; the thief could have had any number of guests." "You have the number of the stolen notes, I suppose—" one of the police detective* bejztn." '■ "Even you, gentlemen, must know, I should think, chat the Metropolitan and Midland* does not take the number of the notes that depositors p*y in," Paul Moses said,interrupting the official fronj Scotland Yard, i *' If a note is traced to this bank, it is all over." "Perhaps we bad better nee Mr :A snu,, * f: '' , the manager Rugge«trd; and then Th» door was opened, and the porter was told to admit the cashier.^* Mr Ashurst wax apparently surprised, when he wan tojd of the robber* , , end «s*oni-<hod fo find himeelf called upon ro give an explanation. He had come up, he said. on. receipt of telegram from the manager on the previous day. He had not the tplojrmm wltjh him, bhfc It was wnt from Holborn, and, he remarked, that they would have the original. mesMge there. j His explanation w« ling, «ufl whjlst was Miking one r-f the Scotland Yard ffetpnHven left; the room, after whispering to M* companion, "I called I*« 6 evening, nnn , went npstairs, when I wm fcnld Mr Treve'vtn waw our. I used to b° treated n* * friend Iα the old dave: and Mine Trevelyan «aw mc." the cashier wa« Raving, when the detec'ire returned, accompanied by a telegraph lad. " Ashurst," said the youth, holding out a fcelf gram. The cashier tore open the telegram and read the message. ?'■ This Is a conspiracy," the cashier cried. " I never asked anyonefor a quotation of Spanish bonds. 1 did not wank to know. I have none." "There In np answer," Mr Trerelyan said to the lad, and when thewonth had left the room the detective remarked that the telegram was addressed to Ashursr, to be called for, at the Holbora telegraph office, by a firm' of stockbrokers, and that A*hur-*t had that morning Rent a reply-, paid telegram'asking for the quotation. "Can you explain this, Mr Ashurst T the manager enquired. "No, but lam ianocanfc, I am indeed!" "Gome upstairs with mc," Mr Trevelyan said. The banker whispered something te one of the officers from Scotland Yard, who nodded In reply \ and when the manager, accompanied by the cashier, had reached the little room at the top of she stairs, he continued. " Tour father, Mr Ashurat, was an intimate friend of mine some years ago, and I should be loath to prosecute his son. Ton may still save yourself, I think, if yoa will only tell the whole truth . At any rate, if you confess, and return the money and the bonds, I will not prosecute yoa." " I have not $*ken them. I know nothing about the matter—T- ,, " Tn«n I will leave you fpr a.' quarter of an hoar to try and remember some of the facts," Mr Trevelyan said "There it* a police detective oo the stair*' leading down io the" bank, and another In the. passage oatslde this room. Think of your poor widowed mother, young man, and try to recover your memory. , * ' The banker opened the door leafing to the hall, and the cashier saw the detective watting outside. Then the door was cloned, and the C4»bi«r began to pace up

j and down the little ante-room like a wild beast in a cage. After a little while May Trevelyan entered, and as she wm croaalng the room towards the door of her parents' bedroom, the young man cried: "Oh! Miss Trevelyan, do you know what they charge mc with ?" " You did not take the bonds—no—" she said, beginning quickly and then hesltetiujt. " Before I waa sent to Dtrkiaßham," he continued, " I bad the presumption to plead for your love. I wae an worthy and you rejected mc; atiU.'Mies Trevelyan. I could liotceaie to love you. Last night, wheu you dismieaed mc so quickly, I only came to assure you that I was Innocent of any breach of confidence. You would not listen to mc, and I had no right to force myself upon you j but if you saw mc leave the house——" "I did not," she answered. "Still the porter— ,, [ "He was not at the door. I let myself out. Oh ! Miss Trevelyan, if you saw the go, do say so." " I did not see you," she answered. " You think mc guilty, too? " he asked. The girl, however, did no}; reply. " There is a conspiracy against mc," he continued bitterly. " I never owned any Spanish bonds." "You did not take the bonds, pcrhap*, Mr Ashurst; but what about the stolen noten, and the alteration in your caih book about the cheque Mr Oauntley was charged with forging t" she asked angrily. Mr Trevelyan entered the room. "I have taKen nothihe," he replied. "As to the Gaualley case, I remember I was doubtful what Sum I paid. It was the fourth of the month. We were busy. When I totted up my cash book, I took the entry as eight at first and not eighty pounds. Still eighty was written in, and that made my cash right. Others, too, remembered or said (hat they reicetnbered it was eighty pounds, and if I bad said anything different to what I did, I should have been accused of stealing the seventytwo pounds. 0 God kuows that I am Innocent," the young man wailed. "You have nothing to say then*" the banker asked. " Only that I am innocent." " Then I have only one course to pursue. ,. The bauker went to the door and admitted a police detective and Paul Moses. To the former he said .—"I charge thia man with the theft of the stolen bonds and nptes." The police detect ive had begun the usual caution to - - the prisoner, when May Trevelyan knocked at the door of her mother's room: and directly the key was turned and she wa» admitted, she cried :— "Oh ! I can bear this no longer. Mother —mother—" she sobbed, and then fell, fainting, to the floor. (To be continued.)