“WORRYING about something?” queried Andrew, cheerily. “You look like you were quite blue.”
I am,” returned Carl. “Yes. Andy, I’m worrying.”
“About what?”
“About you.”
Andrew leaned back and chuckled.
“Good old Carl,” he remarked. “You still think I ought to let you lend me some money, don’t you?”
“I do,” replied Carl, “and with good reason. You’re making a big mistake, borrowing from the Wide World Loan Co. It’s nothing but a gyp concern.”
“You’re wrong there, Carl,” said Andrew, with a shake of his head. “The Wide World is not exorbitant in its interest rates — considering that they accept personal endorsements, with no additional security. They were very decent about giving me a renewal on the thousand dollars that I had borrowed.”
“They should have been!” snorted Carl. “One more sucker on the list. They like to keep their old customers. It’s profitable.”
“I know the president of the concern, Carl. Lester Hayd is a member of the Delta Club. He is a man of high esteem.”
“He ought to be. He has money. He makes plenty — thanks to you and a lot of others who are on the loan company’s books.”
Andrew gazed steadily at his friend. He put a question in a puzzled tone.
“If you feel that way about the loan company,” remarked Andrew, “why were you willing to endorse my note of renewal, Carl?”
“I’ll tell you why, Andy.” Carl was on his feet. He clapped a hand upon Andrew’s shoulder. “I endorsed the renewal because you wouldn’t let me lend you the money myself. It was the only way I could help you.”
Andrew looked sober.
Carl continued:
“That renewal doesn’t start for another ten days, Andy. Why don’t you drop it? Let me lend you a thousand dollars to pay it off. Five hundred more for yourself. I can spare it. I’m not hard up for dough.”
“I’d rather not, Carl,” returned Andrew. “If I have to borrow, it’s bad enough to do it through a loan company. But that’s business, at least. It doesn’t mean depriving a friend of money.”
“We’ve gone all over this before, Andy. Why start in again? Why not be reasonable? You can pay me interest, if you want. But I’ll make it a decent rate, just as a bank would. I have no sympathy for fellows who do business like Hayd does.”
“Hayd is a good chap, Carl. It was fine of him to grant me an extension.”
“He insisted on a new endorser, though. That was why you talked to me. I had to answer a lot of impudent questions on that sheet you gave me.”
“One of the other endorsers had gone away. That’s why I needed a new one, Carl. Anyway, that form you signed was nothing more than the usual one.”
Carl laughed, good-naturedly. He strolled back to his chair.
“All right, Andy,” he decided. “But remember, if you’re up against it any time, you can count on me to help you out. I’m going North tomorrow, though, and I may be away for a few months. I’d rather see your troubles settled before I leave.”
“SUPPOSE they were settled, Carl,” rejoined Andrew, in a speculative tone. “Suppose I had more money than I knew what to do with. What would be your reaction?”
“A man can’t have more money than he knows what to do with,” objected Carl, with a dry chuckle. “That’s a false promise to begin with.”
“Wrong, Carl. A man can have money and wonder about it. Particularly in unusual circumstances.”
“What sort of circumstances?”
“Let me give an example,” suggested Andrew, lighting a fresh cigarette. “Suppose a man in costume — like myself, tonight — should be walking along a street, with his face hidden by a mask. Suppose a young lady — also masked — should thrust a box into his hands and then disappear into the crowd. Suppose the man should find that the box contained money—”
“Is this a pipe dream?” quizzed Carl, suddenly. He was eyeing Andrew’s expression. “Or did you run into some experience like the yarn you are unrolling?”
“I am just stating an example, Carl, like—”
“You’re too serious about it, Andy. Spill me the facts. Did you have some money handed to you tonight?”
“Yes.” Andrew nodded slowly. “Under circumstances such as I have named. Outside of Gallion’s. There was some mistake about it, Carl.”
“Not much of a mistake if money came to a chap who needs it as badly as you do. What did the girl say when she gave you the box?”
“She said that I would understand when I saw the contents of the box.”
“And what was in it besides money?”
“Nothing else.”
“Then the money is yours. Probably someone caught the spirit of Mardi Gras and decided to pass out a few hundred dollars in anonymous fashion.”
“It was more than a few hundred dollars, Carl.”
“A few thousand then. What’s the difference? There are people who can afford it. Maybe the girl picked you as the masquerader with the best costume. Sort of a prize contest.”
“It was a hundred thousand dollars, Carl.”
Andrew’s tone was solemn. Carl caught the note and stared. His face showed disbelief; yet with it, he was impressed. The staggering sum had rendered him speechless.
“Here is the box.” Quietly, Andrew lifted the coat. He picked up the box, took the key from the mantel and handed both to Carl. “Open it and see.”
CARL unlocked the box. The moment he raised the lid, his eyes popped. Andrew had left the thousand-dollar bills on top. His friend did not have to count the stacks to know that the claim was true.
“You say that the money is mine,” declared Andrew. “And yet, Carl, the very amount is what troubles me. Where did the money come from? For whom was it intended?”
“The girl had it,” replied Carl, “and it was meant for you. Otherwise, why did you receive it?”
“I was masked. She did not know who I was. She must have mistaken me for someone who wore a similar costume.”
“Were there others about, dressed like yourself?”
“Not here in Frenchtown. There were others at the tableaux, where I had been.”
“You told the girl it was a mistake?”
“Yes. But she said that she understood. She insisted that I keep the box.” Carl pondered. He closed the box and placed it on a table. He shook his head.
“It can’t be stolen money,” he decided. “There have been no large bank robberies for many months. None that I have read about. The stuff doesn’t look like counterfeit. That’s easy enough to find out, though. Just take one of the bills to a bank cashier and ask him.”
“Then where did the money come from? What kind of money is it?” Andrew’s questions were impetuous.
“What should I do with it, Carl?”
Carl Randon rubbed his chin. A slow smile appeared upon his lips. He began a wise nod.
“I have a hunch,” he remarked. “A good one, Andy. It could be bribe money. Hush money. You know enough about Mardi Gras Day to catch the idea. This is the time when anybody, from anywhere, can find an excuse to be in New Orleans.”
“Quite true,” agreed Andrew.
“What is more,” added Carl, “it is a time when persons can lose their identities. Through the natural pretext of joining in the spirit of Carnival, a clever visitor could don a costume and lose himself without producing suspicion on the part of persons with him.”
“And make it difficult for them to trace him. Until he himself should find them.”
“Exactly! Or with the aid of a planted double, a person could slide out of sight and keep his friends thinking that he was close by all the while. We are finding the answer, Andy.” Carl paused speculatively. He was picturing a probability that fitted with his theory.