Argosy All-Story Weekly, February 18, 1928 — page 37: what you’re looking at

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

« THE PERFECT SCHEME. And presently the last bit of dry gum yield- ed. Harvey sighed with satisfaction. With a furtive glance about him, he pulled the let- ter from its container. A single sheet of paper it was, and as he unfolded it, Harvey thought that probably it would not be of the slightest interest to him. Then came the shock of his life! He scanned the contents once, stared, went through it a second time! “ Holy Moses!” he exclaimed, under his breath. ‘ Lord Almighty!” Again he picked up the paper and scowled as he perused what was written thereon: MerLE WENTWORTH, EsQ., Templeton, Ohio, United States of America. Dear Sir—It is with regret that we inform you—assuming that you have not been al- ready appraised of the fact—of the death of your great uncle, Donald Wentworth, late of Dundee, who passed away on the seventeenth ultimo. We should have notified you earlier, but for the fact that it required a consider- able search of Mr. Wentworth’s effects to dis- cover that you appear to be his sole surviv- ing blood relative. In the circumstances, inasmuch as our for- mer client died intestate, the entire estate will be inherited by you. Therefore we urge that you reply promptly on receipt of this in order that we—or such representatives as you may see fit to designate—may apply for letters of administration. Otherwise, after a stated time has elapsed, the property and personal possessions will be taken over by the Public Administrator. The amount of the estate is quite consid- erable, even in these days, comprising, as it does something in excess of one hundred thou- sand pounds sterling, and a number of mat- ters entailed require immediate attention. May we not have your acknowledgment at once and, considering that Mr. Went- worth was for years one of our valued clients, may we venture to hope that you will permit us to act for you in any needful capacity? Details regarding this inheritance, together with suggestions as to procedure, will be supplied directly we hear from you. In the meantime, sir, we have the honor to remain, Your obedient servants, Per pro Craic, Craic & CRAIG. Dovcias CRAIG. “One hundred thousand pounds!” ex- claimed Harvey. “ More than half a mil- lion dollars! Christmas!” 835 Oblivious to the passing of time, he sat there, staring at the astounding letter and muttering: “The lucky stiff! I be damned!” Finally he glanced at the clock and saw that he had overstayed his time by thirty minutes. He rose, hurriedly returned the letter to its envelope which he replaced in his pocket without sealing. Twenty minutes later, he was trying to appear casual when Merle inquired: “‘ Have a good time with the dentist?” ““Uh—yeah! Swell time!” He essayed a grin but the effort was weak. And for the balance of the day his services were worth to the Wilmot Office Supply Com- pany, exactly nothing. TIT. HARVEY Sykes could not have pointed to his record of antecedants exactly with pride. His father had been a stone mason, given to frequent alcoholic debauches; his mother had run away with another man when he, Harvey, was six. Somehow he had scrambled up to the age when he could help himself, and it must be admitted that he deserved a certain amount of credit for working himself into a clerical position with the Wilmot company. At sixteen he had secured a job as of- fice boy in a brokerage house and there, by virtue of association with a decent class of employees, he had acquired a veneer of pol- ish, But he was discharged for certain manipulation of postage funds and that, too, taught him something. He watched his step more carefully in his next position—that of assistant to the freight clerk in a furniture establishment. He was quick to grasp details and naturally clever so that he had no trouble in holding down his job and eventually he obtained a place on the sales force of Wilmot’s. What his employers did not know was that once, during the period he had been with them, Harvey had found himself skat- ing on very thin ice. His worst vice was gambling and, having got over his head in a poker game, he had used certain moneys which he had collected on behalf of the company. (E(0) .OO (9) (E(@)