The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg Read online

that puts that error upon me is entitled to ahigh honorarium, and some one must pay. This poor old Richards hasbrought my judgment to shame; he is an honest man:--I don't understandit, but I acknowledge it. Yes, he saw my deuces--_and_ with a straightflush, and by rights the pot is his. And it shall be a jack-pot, too, ifI can manage it. He disappointed me, but let that pass."

  He was watching the bidding. At a thousand, the market broke: the pricestumbled swiftly. He waited--and still watched. One competitor droppedout; then another, and another. He put in a bid or two now. When thebids had sunk to ten dollars, he added a five; some one raised him athree; he waited a moment, then flung in a fifty-dollar jump, and thesack was his--at $1,282. The house broke out in cheers--then stopped;for he was on his feet, and had lifted his hand. He began to speak.

  "I desire to say a word, and ask a favour. I am a speculator inrarities, and I have dealings with persons interested in numismatics allover the world. I can make a profit on this purchase, just as it stands;but there is a way, if I can get your approval, whereby I can make everyone of these leaden twenty-dollar pieces worth its face in gold, andperhaps more. Grant me that approval, and I will give part of my gainsto your Mr. Richards, whose invulnerable probity you have so justly andso cordially recognised to-night; his share shall be ten thousanddollars, and I will hand him the money to-morrow. [Great applause fromthe house. But the "invulnerable probity" made the Richardses blushprettily; however, it went for modesty, and did no harm.] If you willpass my proposition by a good majority--I would like a two-thirds vote--Iwill regard that as the town's consent, and that is all I ask. Raritiesare always helped by any device which will rouse curiosity and compelremark. Now if I may have your permission to stamp upon the faces ofeach of these ostensible coins the names of the eighteen gentlemen who--"

  Nine-tenths of the audience were on their feet in a moment--dog andall--and the proposition was carried with a whirlwind of approvingapplause and laughter.

  They sat down, and all the Symbols except "Dr." Clay Harkness got up,violently protesting against the proposed outrage, and threatening to--

  "I beg you not to threaten me," said the stranger calmly. "I know mylegal rights, and am not accustomed to being frightened at bluster."[Applause.] He sat down. "Dr." Harkness saw an opportunity here. Hewas one of the two very rich men of the place, and Pinkerton was theother. Harkness was proprietor of a mint; that is to say, a popularpatent medicine. He was running for the Legislature on one ticket, andPinkerton on the other. It was a close race and a hot one, and gettinghotter every day. Both had strong appetites for money; each had bought agreat tract of land, with a purpose; there was going to be a new railway,and each wanted to be in the Legislature and help locate the route to hisown advantage; a single vote might make the decision, and with it two orthree fortunes. The stake was large, and Harkness was a daringspeculator. He was sitting close to the stranger. He leaned over whileone or another of the other Symbols was entertaining the house withprotests and appeals, and asked, in a whisper,

  "What is your price for the sack?"

  "Forty thousand dollars."

  "I'll give you twenty."

  "No."

  "Twenty-five."

  "No."

  "Say thirty."

  "The price is forty thousand dollars; not a penny less."

  "All right, I'll give it. I will come to the hotel at ten in themorning. I don't want it known; will see you privately."

  "Very good." Then the stranger got up and said to the house:

  "I find it late. The speeches of these gentlemen are not without merit,not without interest, not without grace; yet if I may he excused I willtake my leave. I thank you for the great favour which you have shown mein granting my petition. I ask the Chair to keep the sack for me untilto-morrow, and to hand these three five-hundred-dollar notes to Mr.Richards." They were passed up to the Chair.

  "At nine I will call for the sack, and at eleven will deliver the rest ofthe ten thousand to Mr. Richards in person at his home. Good-night."

  Then he slipped out, and left the audience making a vast noise, which wascomposed of a mixture of cheers, the "Mikado" song, dog-disapproval, andthe chant, "You are f-a-r from being a b-a-a-d man--a-a-a a-men!"

  IV.

  At home the Richardses had to endure congratulations and complimentsuntil midnight. Then they were left to themselves. They looked a littlesad, and they sat silent and thinking. Finally Mary sighed and said:

  "Do you think we are to blame, Edward--_much_ to blame?" and her eyeswandered to the accusing triplet of big bank-notes lying on the table,where the congratulators had been gloating over them and reverentlyfingering them. Edward did not answer at once; then he brought out asigh and said, hesitatingly:

  "We--we couldn't help it, Mary. It--well it was ordered. _All_ thingsare."

  Mary glanced up and looked at him steadily, but he didn't return thelook. Presently she said:

  "I thought congratulations and praises always tasted good. But--it seemsto me, now--Edward?"

  "Well?"

  "Are you going to stay in the bank?"

  "N--no."

  "Resign?"

  "In the morning--by note."

  "It does seem best."

  Richards bowed his head in his hands and muttered:

  "Before I was not afraid to let oceans of people's money pour through myhands, but--Mary, I am so tired, so tired--"

  "We will go to bed."

  At nine in the morning the stranger called for the sack and took it tothe hotel in a cab. At ten Harkness had a talk with him privately. Thestranger asked for and got five cheques on a metropolitan bank--drawn to"Bearer,"--four for $1,500 each, and one for $34,000. He put one of theformer in his pocket-book, and the remainder, representing $38,500, heput in an envelope, and with these he added a note which he wrote afterHarkness was gone. At eleven he called at the Richards' house andknocked. Mrs. Richards peeped through the shutters, then went andreceived the envelope, and the stranger disappeared without a word. Shecame back flushed and a little unsteady on her legs, and gasped out:

  "I am sure I recognised him! Last night it seemed to me that maybe I hadseen him somewhere before."

  "He is the man that brought the sack here?"

  "I am almost sure of it."

  "Then he is the ostensible Stephenson too, and sold every importantcitizen in this town with his bogus secret. Now if he has sent chequesinstead of money, we are sold too, after we thought we had escaped. Iwas beginning to feel fairly comfortable once more, after my night'srest, but the look of that envelope makes me sick. It isn't fat enough;$8,500 in even the largest bank-notes makes more bulk than that."

  "Edward, why do you object to cheques?"

  "Cheques signed by Stephenson! I am resigned to take the $8,500 if itcould come in bank-notes--for it does seem that it was so ordered,Mary--but I have never had much courage, and I have not the pluck to tryto market a cheque signed with that disastrous name. It would be a trap.That man tried to catch me; we escaped somehow or other; and now he istrying a new way. If it is cheques--"

  "Oh, Edward, it is _too_ bad!" And she held up the cheques and began tocry.

  "Put them in the fire! quick! we mustn't be tempted. It is a trick tomake the world laugh at _us_, along with the rest, and--Give them to_me_, since you can't do it!" He snatched them and tried to hold hisgrip till he could get to the stove; but he was human, he was a cashier,and he stopped a moment to make sure of the signature. Then he came nearto fainting.

  "Fan me, Mary, fan me! They are the same as gold!"

  "Oh, how lovely, Edward! Why?"

  "Signed by Harkness. What can the mystery of that be, Mary?"

  "Edward, do you think--"

  "Look here--look at this! Fifteen--fifteen--fifteen--thirty-four. Thirty-eight thousand five hundred! Mary, the sack isn't worth twelve dollars,and Harkness--apparently--has paid about par for it."

  "And does it all come to us, do yo
u think--instead of the ten thousand?"

  "Why, it looks like it. And the cheques are made to 'Bearer,' too."

  "Is that good, Edward? What is it for?"

  "A hint to collect them at some distant bank, I reckon. Perhaps Harknessdoesn't want the matter known. What is that--a note?"

  "Yes. It was with the cheques."

  It was in the "Stephenson" handwriting, but there was no signature. Itsaid:

  "I am a disappointed man. Your honesty is beyond the reach of temptation. I had a different idea about it, but I wronged you in that, and I beg pardon, and do it sincerely. I honour you--and