got the rest, and the thief was let go. Prescott said
they ought to get away with enough more to make the bank's loss a
million. He thought _that_ would make them see what was the wise thing
to do. Prescott also said he would try to get a lawyer who could bring
some pressure to bear on the officials of the company. It would be a
rather unpleasant situation to have brought to the attention of the
State Superintendent of Banking. John agreed to get the additional
securities and turn them over to Prescott. Unfortunately, almost
everything had by this time been moved into the new vault, and all John
could get was a stock certificate for fifteen hundred railroad shares,
standing in his own name, and seventy-five thousand dollars in notes.
These he gave to Prescott, thus increasing the amount stolen from the
bank without discovery to between six and seven hundred thousand
dollars. This was on the day before the actuaries were to make their
investigation. Knowing that his arrest was now only a question of time,
John, about eleven o'clock on the following morning, left the trust
company for the last time. He was in telephonic communication with
Prescott, who, in turn, was in touch with their lawyer. Unfortunately,
the president of the company had gone out of town over Sunday, so that
again their plans went awry.

For nearly two years John had not known an hour devoid of haunting fear.
From a cheerful and contented youth he had become despondent, taciturn
and nervous. He was the same affectionate husband and attentive son as
before, and his general characteristics remained precisely the same. He
was scrupulous to a penny in every other department of his life, and
undoubtedly would have felt the same pricks of conscience had he been
guilty of any other act of dishonesty. The affair at the bank was a
thing apart. The embezzler of six hundred thousand dollars was not John
at all, but a separate personality wearing John's clothes and bearing
his name. He perceived clearly the enormity of his offense, but, because
he was the same John in every other respect, he had a feeling that
somehow the fact that _he_ had done the thing was purely fortuitous--in
other words, that the bonds had to be taken, were going to be taken
anyway, and that Fate had simply elected him to take them. Surely he had
not wanted the bonds--had had no intention of stealing half a million
dollars, and, in short, was not the kind of a man who would steal half a
mil