Show money to ihfe burn br y j by peter B kyne Q Q by roter peter B kyno service CHAPTER XIV 27 the following afternoon when elmer A again called at Mc Peakes office he found bunker there the lawyer introduced them elmer greeted the old clerk pleasantly but without enthusiasm thusia sm and saw by his quick appraising glance that he be was striving to find in bunkers personality a reasonable excuse to be decent to the old fellow they chatted together for tin an hour and nd then bunker withdrew well what do you think of bunker now that ahat youve met and talked to him hes a furtive little old rat elmer declared promptly ile he took on the protective coloration of his surroundings round roun dings lugs like all weak men he could I 1 think be very cruel ive been thinking over his case and ive decided not to make him a gift gif t of ninety thousand dollars I 1 cannot afford the philanthropy and whenever I 1 turn philanthropist bunker the sort id select as the object of my solicitude lie ile tells me the old man paid him fifty dollars a month to start and after ten years he was waa earning two hundred tot not so bad the federal government do half so well by its employees ive slaved ten years and when I 1 quit I 1 earning two hundred a month for ten years before he died uncle hiram was paying him four hundred dollars a month As clerks are paid bunker has fared far far better than the majority jorl ty and I 1 fall to see where he has any kick coming 1 I had bad an idea hed broach the sub jete to you mr air clarke probably afraid to do so wanted to size me up first and decide whether I 1 was hard or easy hell think it over tonight and call to see me at my hotel tomorrow what makes you think hell do that oh I 1 noted a speculative gleam in his hai eyes eyell I 1 and its what id do if I 1 were bunker elmer was right shortly after he had breakfasted next morning bunker called his room from the hotel lobby and asked permission to come up for a conference elmer readily granted it and a few minutes later bunker hat in hand and nervously shifting from one foot to the other was standing before him elmer permitted him to stand for two minutes then he decided that the habit of in a lifetime Is not readily broken and that bunker was waiting for permission to sit down please be seated he told the old clerk 1 I see you have something on your mind you appear to be somewhat embarrassed 1 I am amar mr clarke there Is a littile matter perhaps mr air spoke to you about it he did elmer interrupted you refer to my uncles broken promise to leave you a hundred thousand dollars tor for the honest and faithful service you accorded him for more than a quarter of a century I 1 understand he let you down with a bequest for ten thousand and that you ard are grievously disappointed I 1 would be too under the circumstances I 1 can very well understand your disappointment its been heartbreaking heart breaking bunker quavered after till all these years and my wife building hopes on it sir the blow well nigh killed her elmer nodded still uncle hiram pay you a niggardly salary mr bunker many men in your position learn earn much less and do not consider themselves ill treated they dont do the work I 1 had to do bunker protested with sudden vehemence its worth four hundred dollars a month to lie ile and bully and evade and scheme and take advantage of people what I 1 had to ao 20 do to earn my four hundred dollars a month it was worth four thousand a month to have to spend ten hours a day in lis his society 1 I suppose you yon knew from years of experience exactly the sort of man my uncle was oh yes Inde indeed edt then why did you believe him when he promised to leave you a hundred thousand dollars collars in his bis will 1 I think hed cheat me id done so much for him you know things he entrust to another human being you mean dirty work confidential dirty work dont you well it Vieri pleasant sant mr clarke but I 1 had bad to do it were these jobs dishonest yes 1 I think I 1 understand your viewpoint A man would have to pay mo me a fortune to get roe mo to do things like that for him quite so go quite so and he do bunker exclaimed his voice in his excitement find and anger growing sli shrill rill the dirty dog betrayed betray erl me and you expect me to remedy the situation by giving you ninety thousand dollars when I 1 collect my inheritance heri tancel you could well afford to sir mr ive given my life to help build up that fortune youve tribe inherited 11 but I 1 cannot afford it bunker I 1 may have a quarter of a million dollars left when the estate Is probated and all the debts settled surely you expect me to give you ninety thousand dollars out of that sum 1 I think ive earned it it bunker charged doggedly perhaps perhaps but its contrary to my code to pay anybody ninety thousand dollars for doing dirty dishonest jobs mr bunker but those dirty dishonest jobs joba have redounded redound ed to your benefit greatly mr air clarke nothing doing elmer declared flatly you lose all along the line mr bunker you played your hand very foolishly and if you erred it la Is not up to me to correct your error im not a human christmas tree the interview la Is at an end mr air bunker you lose bunker stood up trembling pitifully it was evident to elmer that the mao man had nerved himself to a degree of courage never before experienced la in 4 14 you give me that ninety thousand dollars or something heavy Is going to drop on you all his drab life you give me that ninety thousand dollars or something heavy Is going to drop on you ill bust you wide open if you dont settle with me sir air clarke he declared well dont be so mysterious tell me what youve got on me perhaps the knowledge may alt alter ermy my decision until you tell me however ill stand pat I 1 never dodge a rock until its thrown at me bunker came close and lowered his voice for years I 1 kept a double set of books for your uncle one set for him and one for the collector of internal revenue I 1 made false entries whenever I 1 made a deposit in his bank account I 1 deposited the exact total of the receipts as shown that day on my false cashbook the excess money wai was put in a safe deposit box and whenever there was quite a bit of money on hand I 1 bought bonds for him so they be traced why the record of schemes we put through I 1 to fool the income tax collectors would make a book I 1 we defrauded the government out of a couple of hundred thousand dollars since january first 1913 and I 1 can prove it because your uncle been dead ten minutes before I 1 had his honest set of books out of that office and the fake set in the safe now what do you think about that mr air smarty I 1 youre an even evan dirtier little rat than I 1 gave you credit for being so unless I 1 give you ninety thousand dollars you will put the experts from the internal revenue department on the trail of the estate and collect so 80 much taxes illegally withheld fine the estate you know they will bunker screamed they cant do anything to your uncle but they can ane his estate up to one hundred per cent they wont have any pity on you you forget that you are an in accessory before the fact in the eyes of the law you have commit committed teda a felony by aiding and abetting my uncle to defraud the government 1 I know but when I 1 turn states evidence they wont do anything to me bunker laughed mirthlessly what immunity baths are for they pay me for my information bunker youre loathsome get out of my room quick I 1 I 1 dont like to roughhouse rough house bouse a little old man like you but if youre still standing there leering triumphantly at me thirty seconds from now ill manhandle you seat scat you pole polecat catt I 1 TO DE BE CONTINUED |