Here was a check in payment of a small bill, he knew. It was from a
firm which habitually kept hundreds of thousands on deposit at the
Gorham Bank. It fitted the case admirably. He slit open the letter.
There, neatly folded, was the check:

No. 15711. Dec. 27, 191--.

THE GORHAM NATIONAL BANK

Pay to the order of....... Green & Co.......

Twenty-five 00/100 ..................Dollars

$25.00/100

W. J. REYNOLDS Co., per CHAS. M. BROWN, Treas.

It flashed over him in a moment what to do. Twenty-five thousand
would just about cover his shortage. The Reynolds firm was a big
one, doing big transactions. He slipped the check into his pocket.
The check might have been stolen in the mail. Why not?

The journey uptown was most excruciatingly long, in spite of the
fact that he had met no one he knew either at the office or outside.
At last he arrived home, to find Constance waiting anxiously.

"Did you get a check?" she asked, hardly waiting for his reply. "Let
me see it. Give it to me."

The coolness with which she went about it amazed him. "It has the