So that disgrace ain't bearin' down on us.
And, if I understand about such things, his claim is against the Akrae
Company, and that's dead--dead as the man that started it. Maybe he
could put in a keeper, or a receiver, or some such critter, but there's
nothin' left to keep or receive. Ain't I right?"
"You are. Or you would be, but for one thing, the really inexplicable
thing in this whole miserable affair. Your brother, Captain Warren, was
dishonest. He took money that didn't belong to him, and he forged that
certificate. But he must have intended to make restitution. He must have
been conscience-stricken and more to be pitied, perhaps, than condemned.
No doubt, when he first began to withhold the dividends and use the
money which was not his, he intended merely to borrow. He was always
optimistic and always plunging in desperate and sometimes rather shady
speculations which, he was sure, would turn out favorably. If they
had--if, for instance, the South Shore Trolley Combine had been put
through--You knew of that, did you?"
"I've been told somethin' about it. Go on!"
"Well, it was not put through, so his hopes there were frustrated. And
that was but one of his schemes. However, when the sale of the Company
was consummated, he did an extraordinary thing.
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