Argosy All-Story Weekly, December 2, 1922 — page 98: what you’re looking at

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

* ’ ft/s fe Oa ef . ; By ROBERT ORR CHIPPERFIELD CHAPTER XII. GEOFF OFFERS A SUGGESTION. ONSOLIDATED LEAD! The name rang in Geoff’s ears while he fed the dogs and the mare, performed his ablutions and prepared a supper for which he all at once discovered that he had no appetite. It held no significance for Dr. Hood. He had not heard Robbins’s story that day of the pitiful suicide of the young embezzler, Lawrence Shirley, and the curious coinci- dence of its date and that of his financial crash with those of the anonymous letters. Geoff sat down with his pipe on the porch steps to await the honk of the doctor’s car from the road, thankful for the respite af- forded him to ponder over what he had learned that day and make up his mind how much he would disclose. If he were mixed up in the investigation willy-nilly and couldn’t quit, as Doc Hood himself had insisted, then there were some points in it he meant to work out in his own way. His thoughts wandered, however, to Wil- liam Dunn’s inexplicable refusal of Benk- ard’s bequest to him. The man was broken in health. It was easy to see that his days of usefulness to any other employer would be numbered even if he could succeed in ob- taining a new position. Twenty-five thou- sand would have meant security for a future that appeared none too bright. That was a problem, however, which must be left to the future. Geoff himself could see only a step or two ahead of him on the path he had chosen, but as he re- flected those few steps became as plain as though a searchlight had been thrown across them. . By. the time the wheezing cough of the car sounded over the meadow his decision was made. “We're late,” the doctor announced as they rattled off down the road. ‘“ Sim Per- kins ran a nail in his foot some days ago and he’s got a pretty bad case of blood poisoning.” “ That ornery cuss’ blood has allus been p’isened,” commented Geoff. ‘‘ Didn’t he This story began in the Argosy-Alistory Weekly for November 11. 568 Comicoooks. Conn