LITMIR.BIZ

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call you to account; it is an even thing between us.'

      "I so concluded, and the man went away after some further talk. Now, Mr. Alvarez, that is one part of this mysterious affair."

      "Did the man give you no intimation of his purpose in making such a strange contract?"

      "He did not, but he did say I could change the securities and cash the draft in London and make investments in the United States, but he imposed the conditions that I should do so at once and then place the securities in some safe place and let them lay collecting interest and dividends according to my judgment; 'but the letter,' said he, 'you must not open until twenty years from to-day.'

      "The man went away and I was in possession of the securities. I let a week or two pass, thinking he might be crazy or that some development might come, but he came not nor did any development. I waited one year before I did anything with the securities, then I changed all the foreign investments into American securities. I collected the draft on the London solicitors; I decided to invest the money all in real estate. I did so in my own name, but provided for its going to the proper person at the end of the twenty years."

      "Did the man never turn up?"

      "He never did; and it is just forty years ago that I received the trust. My investments have increased so that at this moment the estate which I hold in trust amounts to over two and a half millions, and I know not who the real owner of this vast property is."

      "Didn't you learn when you opened the letter?"

      "Aha! Mr. Alvarez, here comes in my criminality."

      Jack expected to hear a confession; on the contrary, the explanation was strange, weird, and extraordinary, and yet the incident could readily occur. It was, however, a remarkable incident.

      CHAPTER II

NOT A TERRIBLE CRIME – A SERIES OF SHARP QUESTIONS – A DETECTIVE AT HIS BEST – STARTLING DEVELOPMENTS OF A LOGICAL MYSTERY SOLVER – REPRODUCING AN IMAGE AFTER FORTY YEARS – A GREAT DIALOGUE

      When Mr. Townsend said "Here comes in my criminality," as intimated, Jack expected a weird confession and he remained silent, determined to permit the banker to declare his crime in his own way, and after a little the latter said:

      "The money and securities I held intact; the letter I put away in my safe, and as instructed I tried to forget all about it. The years passed; I became very successful in business – indeed, a rich man, and still there came no word from the party who placed the fortune in my hands under such strange conditions, and one morning, ten years later, I came down to my office and there had been a great fire. The building in which my office was located was totally destroyed, and the letter was in a safe. I was very much disturbed; the safe was fireproof and I hoped to find the letters, but, alas! the safe and all its contents were destroyed – " The banker stopped short; he had made the last statement with startling distinctness.

      "The letter was lost?" suggested Jack.

      "Yes."

      "But where does your criminality come in? You could not help the fire, and you had taken all due precautions."

      "Yes, I had, but there I was with this vast fortune, and as it appeared, no way of finding out the owner of it. The ten years passed following the fire, completing the twenty. I never heard from the individual who had deposited the money with me, nor did any one else make a claim; and so twenty years more have passed and no claimant has appeared, and I am in possession of the fortune."

      "It is certainly all very strange," said Jack, "but I cannot see where you are in any way to blame."

      "I am, though."

      "How?"

      "I feel that I am to blame, however."

      "How?"

      "I knew of the possibility of fire and I should not have left the letter in my safe down at the office."

      "There was the same chance of fire in your residence."

      "No, you see, my house is well guarded against fire. I am a bachelor, and the ordinary chances of a fire in a private residence do not equal those in a public building where there are thousands of tenants. Yes, I feel that at the end of twenty years I should have made an effort to find the real owners without the aid of a letter."

      "And did you not do so?"

      "No; I was engaged in large transactions, and the fact that the twenty years had expired escaped my memory, and five years or more elapsed before I recalled the fact of the letter; then I placed the matter in the hands of a detective. He advertised and made search. He questioned as concerned the appearance of the man who deposited the fortune with me, but I could give him no more information than I have given you."

      "I think, sir, you have been faithful to your trust."

      "It is very kind of you to say so, but I cannot agree with you. I blame myself, and if the owner of the fortune is not found, I always shall blame myself."

      "What more could you have done?"

      "Had I started in immediately after the expiration of the twenty years I might have been successful. The real owners of the fortune might have known something about the affair and have been on the lookout for information, but after five years they may have given up in despair."

      "And you want me to find the owner of the fortune?"

      "Yes."

      "I certainly will perform a great detective feat if I succeed."

      "Yes, you will."

      "Accident may aid me; I owe a great deal to accident in my past investigations."

      "I will tell you one thing: it is worth your while to succeed."

      "I do not doubt that."

      "You will earn more money for this one success than you could possibly earn in many years – indeed, I can promise you twenty-five thousand dollars in case you discover the real heir and furnish absolute proofs as to identity."

      "But remember, I have not a single clue. Forty years have elapsed since the fortune was placed in your hands. The chances are that all the heirs are dead."

      "That is true," said Mr. Townsend.

      "True practically, and yet there is a possibility that an heir lives, and is ignorant of a fortune which would be his or hers in case of identification."

      "Again, that is true."

      "How long since any one was engaged on the case?"

      "It is fourteen or fifteen years. After the failure of the detective I employed, at the end of twenty-five years I made no further efforts; that man devoted a whole year to the case."

      "Where is he now? He must have secured some data."

      "He is dead."

      "And did he never give you any data?"

      "He never did; on the contrary, he informed me that it was a hopeless case unless accident should open up the mystery."

      Jack, as our readers know who have read of his previous exploits, possessed a wonderful faculty of discernment and a very clear and penetrating astuteness. He was a born detective, and this natural gift in the direction of solving mysteries had led him to become one. As stated, he became very thoughtful – indeed, he said to the banker:

      "Excuse me, sir, but let me think a few moments – yes, think while the incidents of your remarkable narrative are fresh in my mind."

      "Certainly," said the banker; "and let me tell you I have hopes that you will succeed."

      "You have?"

      "Yes."

      "What leads you to hope?"

      "The gentleman who referred me to you said, 'If any man on earth can solve the mystery, Jack Alvarez is the man.'"

      "He was very kind to speak so highly of me."

      Jack fell into silence, and his active mind was performing wonders of detective investigation, and after a season he asked:

      "How long was the man in your presence who confided this fortune

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