"STAR" TALES.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 8573, 15 March 1906, Page 4

"STAR" TALES.

DOUBLE ENTRY. (By J. CUMING WALTERS.) [Aui Rights Reserved.] Westiak«, late bank manager, retired on pension, sat in his comfortable shair. '•' You remember, Lawson, that affair with Gourlay P" A 6 I had heard him talk about little else for olose on twenty years, I merely nodded my head.' Apparently he noticed my indifference, for, leaning forward to waboh the effect of his words, he said with particular intentness ; "I've learnt all about it." If h« had wanted to see me look amazed he must have been quite satisfied. "We lost close on twenty thousand pounds by that business," continued Westlake. "Yes. And nobody the wore* for it-^-except, of course, the 'bank. Nobody put in prison, for instance." t "Except Gourlay," said I. " Don't mention that," exclaimed Westlake. "Naturally we all suspected him, and when the detectives swore ha was the man, what could we do but order his arrest?" He seemed to wince a little. " And mighty heavily we paid for it, too," he added. " I always | said it was too much." > ! "Yes, it was a . costly error," I re- j marked, wishing to remain impartial, j for this' was hie sore point.i "Very costly," said Westlake grim-. ly. "Very costly. Gourlay's expenses, and compensation in 'the form of. a handsome annuity for life. Very costly indeed." He epoke quite bitterly, as usual. . . "What's the good of recalling it now?" I asked. "Confound you. man, haven't I gust told you that I've learnt tho truth at last? Here's a twenty years' mystery solved; he.Vs.the answer to the puzzle that's baffled everybody since it began, and — ar«i— — " He puf*d quite furiously at hie cigar. Presently he began to get calm again. Westlake was famous for selfdiscipline. "You know how it began, Lawson. Thera was a loss of four hundred pounds in notes. We hadn't got quite such precautions then as we have had einoe, and that little sum simply vanished as if it had never existed. No clue of any aort, though. Gourlay seemed to be in it 'somehow. Theh there was the payment of £82 17s 6d— bless yoxi, I remember it all^ to a penny— and again Gcurlay was in it. He paid the moii&y over to Richardson, he said. Richardson denied ever receiving it, but told a lame story; and in the end he took a dose of poison— and didn't sc we none of us believed him. Gourlay had been with us ten_ years, and his reputation was unblemished." " I always understood . you didn't much oare for him," I interjected. " That was the worst of it," resumed Westlake. "It was just because I didn't like him that I was so eager to be just. W 6 were a^ * ne came - Here s was this ungainly fellow, too surly to •peak to anybody, thoroughly unpopular, and yet the cleverest, shrewdest man at his business that we had. We •iiapocted him, yet hated ourselves for the suspicion, knowing as we did that it arose so muoh from personal ill-feel-iog." "Well, you made handsome amends in the end." • . , Westlake olenched his nands. It always maddened him that the bank had been so generous. . But self-dis-cipline prevailed. He 6moked on, collected his thoughts, and then resumed. "After these two occurrences, and fearing more would follow, we decided it would be hest to have a detective on the spot. Swadham came down from Scot Und Yard. Laweon, do you remember him? Ho was a man I Fine h&ndsoir.e £eUow, dressed and spoke lik© a gentleman, inspired confidence the moment you looked at him. A scholar, too. Used to quote Marcus Aurelius in hi» spare moments, but never forgot his business. Only two of us knew who he really was. We put him in the correspondence department, and he kept an eye on everybody and everything- By Jove, I believohe watched me as much as anybody else. I trusted Swadham. I believed in mm. I tell you, Lawson, he was a man." l -* " And yet, you see, he made a mistake," I ventured to remark after this outburst. . Westlake ignored my words. I knew of his admiratioa for Detective Swad-r ham — it was almost infatuation — and I was not surprised he refused to heed any disparagement of his qualities. "It wae not long," continued Westlake, "before Swadham asked the managing directors for. a private interview. Thea he told us ho had every/ reason to suspect one man. He had arrived at his conclusions quite independently, for no one had breathed a word to him. Need I say that the man was Gourlay? And thfe reason Swadham had revealed his suspicion to us was because he need«hJ extra facilities for trapping tifle offender if hi 6 surmise was correct. He admitted that he had no proofs, or, at all events, not sufficient to secure a conviction. He thought it probable that he had to deHl with a most difficult as well a« a m-ast dang&rous man. 'His next coup,' eaid Swadham, 'will be a startler — if it comes Off.' We were all alarmed, and we gave the detective all the facilities we could. He had access here, access there, and he went at his work with a zest absolutely unprecedented. He< was a human lynx; that was what Swadham was, nothing lees, and probably a good deal more. ■ <■ - Westlake paused^ .& slight perspiration had broken out ail over iris oald head, and made it listen. . „ '• , " You know what happened," ho continued, trying to ; speak with- xc- I Bbraiut. " The expected coup' Came off, and it was for eight-S&n- tJiousand pound —eighteen thousand two hundred and four, to bo accurate. Then tier© wais the deril to pay. It was a national sensation. •Vm not saying that we uidn't lose our heads a- bit? anyhow, I tost mine. Wo were feverish* to Arrest somebody. Swadhani put in his word at the ctritical moment. He had got ail sorts of evidence, and he told j «« it could be pieced together to make a case without a flaw. He showed us document. He told us the story "of Gourlay's private life, and it wasn't particularly respectable. He urged injn«diate aTrest. And wo did it." "Yes, you did it." » GourlaT protested. 1 never saw I

a more indignant .man in my life. In fact, I began to waver* right away. But the mischief was done. All our hope was in Swadham. And, .by heaven, Lawisom, do you remember how that man—that clever, shrewd, trained detective—miserably collapsed in the witness-box? Was there ever such a breakdown? Counsel riddled him first, and then the judge tur-ned him inside out. His facts wolildn't ht, his bite of evidence refused to audte ;■ he'd got nothing but blind suspicion to offer for testimony; and after the judge'is scathing suraruiHg-up, the jury acquitted Gourlay without leaving the box, and amid the applause of the whole Court. It' was "a fiasco, my friend, and it took a good, solid, old-established bank like ours ten years to recover from the effects." "What did Swadham do?" " Oh, to do him justice, he behaved rather decently. Re declared that his nerves had been shattered by a most trying duty, and that ho would make us all the amends in his power. But Gourlay was not going to let it rest. He came back to the bank, of course, with honour; but ho got it into his head that the action of Swadhara had been vindictive, a-nd ho began proceedings for nialioious prosecution and false imprisonment. Public sympathy was witn him. The directors' sympathy was witli him, too. But we wanted no more Gcandais, and we tried to get Gourlay to 1 desist. The ©nd of it was, Swadham was obliged to retire, and he went away; thoroughly dashearten<ed, and keenly feeling his disgrace, he left the country. Then we made a handsome presentation to Gourlay, delivered glowing speeches, improved his position, and so appeased him. But he never seemed quite comfortable among us, and at last we decided that for nis own sake ho had better accept a pension. He demurred for a time, but not after we had made the amount big enough —a lot. too big, as you know. And so the affair ended." "Except that ths mystery remained unsolved," eaid I' "Yes, that's the point," acquiesced Westlake. " And this letter solves it." He drew a letter from his pocket, and glanced through it once more. "This solves it," he repeated, "finally and emphatically solves it." "Well?" ".Gourlay,""besighed, "took c charming house by the sea, one I had often envied him. one I always admired whenever I spent a pleasant weak-end with him. lie was unmarried, as you know, : and rather lonely; and he liked me to call on him. In a joking way hevtold me over and over again that he had a legacy for me. I didn't believe it, but it's true. He died just over a week ago, and J received this letter from his solicitors to-day. It's —it's a full confession of the crime." " Confession I Then he was guilty after all?" "Oh, yes. He was guilty enough. He and Swadham arranged it." " Swadham 1" . . "Certainly. We might have guessed it. The case was quite complete egainst Gourlay. Everything that Swadham said was correct, and all the evidence he had collected cokld have been put together had^ ho wished to do it. The question was simply whether h«> should win his case •►and return to Scotland Yard for praiPd —and the next duty: or whether lie should share the phinder with Gourlay-. and be a gentleman with leisure to read Marcus Aurelius's philosophy all the rest of his life. He chose Marcus Aurelius. Then this precious pair played their bold game. Swadham's shameful failure was a pais .of it; Gourlay's threat of prosecution was another. The one secured the prisoner's acquittal, and the other gained for him a pension. lam not a swearing man, Lawson, or I would gireyou my unreserved opinion of that pension now. And to think how Gou'rtay fooled us all to the last—living on his s^oilsj inviting 'me'to his house to $09 him in his glory; and now—this legacy!" . ■'For. a.few moments Westlake. was too overcome by his feelings to continue. The sense of injuries sustained, bornefor go many years, seemed too great to permit of further endurance. His. head glistened more and more, and his eyes blazed. But rcif-rJiscipKne prevailed in Vbe end. ( ''-,: , ."Lawson,".he said, heaving a great sigh, "we will not refer to the subject again. '■ I have wanted to solve this mystery tor twenty years. Now I Wish iad remained unsolved." , . : And-going *to. the .fire he threw his legacy into the flames, and then' scrunched the biggest lump of coal with hib boot. ..;■■■