Argosy, Vol. 118, No. 2 — page 132: what you’re looking at

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

282 bank won’t know you’ve drawn it—your balance won’t look any different till the check gets to the bank. And it can’t get there till the middle of next week.” “ But, Jim—” Mrs. Allen began. ‘Honest, Mrs. Allen; it’s perfectly all right. I ought to know, oughtn’t I? Every- body does it. . The account won’t be over- drawn till that check gets there. And how can it get there? I’m not going to take it —I’m going to give it to a man who'll de- posit it in his bank in New York maybe next Monday or Tuesday. By the time it gets out here you'll have made a deposit. And it ‘ll help me out of an awful—oh, well, what’s the use of that—you said you wanted to help me if you could, didn’t your” “Yes, of course; but, Jim—” “You just don’t understand, Charlie. It’s all a question of credit.” Young Mr. Blake’s usually sallow face was flushed, and his black eyes sparkled. ~He leaned forward toward his host, and, went on earn- estly: ““You’ve got the money, but you just don’t happen to have it in cash. Youre good for it—everybody knows that. That’s all credit is, anyhow. You draw this two- hundred- dollar check and put it in circu- lation, and it ‘Il work just as hard as any other two hundred. ‘Why, listen, Charlie—” young Mr. Blake warmed enthusiastically to his theme. “You don’t suppose for a minute that all financial transactions mean the passing of real, honest-to-God money, do you? Not on your life—there ain’t that much money. Why, if there was no such thing as credit, and everybody had to pass around cash, there wouldn’t be one-quarter enough in the world to work with.” “But, Jim—” Mrs. Allen began again timidly. “What you say is all right, Jim,” her husband interrupted, ‘‘ but suppose I didn’t have the money in time to make the check good—then what?” Young Mr. Blake relaxed in his chair. “ But you will have it, won’t you? You’ve got it coming—only you just haven’t been paid. Suppose right this minute your firm handed you a check. And suppose—just THE ARGOSY. suppose—that “it was a bad check—only you didn’t know it. You’d say you had the money then. And you’d use it just like money, wouldn’t you? And it would be money, too, up to the time it got back to their bank.” “Yes, but—but if I give you a check I’ll have to make a two-hundred-dollar deposit next .Tuesday or Wednesday. Suppose 5 EL Young Mr. Blake sat up again suddenly. | ‘Suppose you didn’t have it to put in? All right, suppose you didn’t. Suppose, then, next Tuesday you went to some friend in New York and cashed another two-hun- dred-dollar check. Then you’d have two hundred in cash—and you’d come out here and deposit it and make the first check good. ae you'd have four or five days more.’ There came a short pause, and then : see- ing that he was making some headway, the visitor continued: “But you don’t have to do that—you’ll have the money in a few days. And then—” ‘“ There’s the car money, Charles,” Mrs. Allen suggested. Her husband hesitated, while young Mf. Blake looked from one to the other expect- antly. “We sold the flivver yesterday,” Allen explained finally. ‘“ Going to. get a new car in the fall, and we thought the money ' would help tide us over this pinch.” Young Mr. Blake sighed with relief. . ‘T phoned the garage to-day,” said Mrs. Allen. ‘‘ He said the man who bought it hadn’t paid yet, but he was perfectly good for it, and said he would pay Monday or Tuesday.” “There you are, young Mr. Blake. for?” ‘Two hundred and twenty-five dollars,” said Mrs. Allen. ‘‘ The garage man gets twenty-five commission.” ‘And that leaves two hundred to pay me with,” said young Mr. Blake triumph- antly. ‘“ You haven’t actually got the cash yet, but you’re going to use it in advance. And maybe the man who bought the flivver hasn’t got the cash, either, right this min- credit again,” said “ How much was it (E00) 0) (0) AMG SJ (E@)