Mardi Gras Mystery

CHAPTER II. ADVICE IS FOLLOWED

SEVERAL minutes had passed before Andrew Blouchet had recovered from the state of imagination into which the wealth had thrust him. It was then that he realized how concentrated he had been. All this while he had forgotten that he was in costume. He had not even removed the mask that he was wearing.

Doffing hat and wig, Andrew pulled away the domino. His right hand was holding the key all the while.

Once again, Andrew unlocked the box and looked at the money. Satisfied that it would not disappear, he laughed and locked the box. He put the key on a mantelpiece, underneath a clock.

Unbuckling his rapier, Andrew placed the sword in a corner. He took off the heavy coat that he was wearing and was about to place it in a wardrobe closet when he heard the sound of footsteps in the hall.

Hastily, Andrew bounded toward the safe and spread the coat over the black box. Some one was opening the door of the apartment. With hands against the safe, Andrew stared breathless. His lips formed a weak smile as a tall, dark-haired man entered.

“Hello, Carl,” Andrew greeted.

“Hello, Andy.” The newcomer grinned pleasantly. He was wearing a Mexican costume, with wide-brimmed sombrero. “Boy! I’m glad to get rid of this hat!” As he spoke. Carl tossed the sombrero to an armchair. He sat down and lighted a cigarette. Andrew’s smile broadened; he felt more at ease, since Carl had not noticed his tenseness. Carelessly, Andrew lighted a cigarette of his own.

Among a great many acquaintances, Andrew Blouchet numbered only a few whom he regarded as real friends. One of these was Carl Randon. Like Andrew, Carl was a native of New Orleans; but Carl’s family had been more prosperous than Andrews. Carl had studied law; but had not completed his course. He had chosen real estate instead; had experienced a profitable period and was now indulging in a life of leisure.

Carl traveled frequently and had friends in many cities. He had come back to New Orleans a month ago and was sharing Andrew’s apartment. Both had gone out tonight in costume; but each to a different destination.

When they had left, Andrew had been in a dejected mood, while Carl had been in gay spirit. Now the situation was reversed. Andrew, still smiling, looked happy; but Carl’s grin had faded and his face was troubled.

“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.

“Two persons come to New Orleans,” he conjectured. “One a grafter who has made plenty. The other, a person who secretly aided him, and who is due to receive a cut. The first man had the box. In costume, he passed it along to someone else. An intermediary.”

“The girl?”

“Yes; the girl. She, in turn, passed it to the man supposed to receive it. At least she thought she did. But you gained it instead.”

“Then the money belongs to someone else.”

“Why? The very circumstances of its transfer show that it was not a legal transaction. That money belonged to whomever held it. It belongs to the person who is wise enough to keep it.”

“Meaning myself?”

“Exactly! You are free to do with it as you choose.”

ANDREW smiled. His doubt, however, had not fully faded. He still saw possibilities of misfortune.

“If you are right, Carl,” he remarked, “two men of questionable character have simply failed to conclude a shady deal. One may think that the other double-crossed him.”

“Both will think that,” returned Carl. “and neither will deserve sympathy.”

“But what about the girl? Is it fair that she should suffer?”

“She is probably as bad as either of them. If not, she is a person whom both trusted. In the latter case, neither one will accuse her. They will take it out on each other.”

“Then what would you advise me to do? You say keep the money. Can I use it?”

“Yes. With discretion. It would not be wise for you to blossom out and start a huge bank account. Nor would I advise you to buy stocks and bonds. Tuck that money in that old safe of yours. Spend it as you need it.”

“Suppose I am some day called to reckoning?”

“You won’t be, Andy. But suppose you were. If anyone should claim the money, he would do so very soon; for the only clue would be if the girl followed you here.”

“She did not follow me. She went in the opposite direction.”

“All the better, Andy. But if a claimant should show up, and convince you that the cash belonged to him, he would be glad enough to get the bulk of it back. A few thousand lost would be chicken feed.”

“I see. Then if I spend it judiciously, I may consider myself safe.”

“Absolutely! I studied law, Andy. I know that your position is secure. Just keep the facts to yourself; and get rid of that fancy costume that you wore tonight.”

“That’s a good suggestion, Carl. I’ll follow it. But it makes me feel almost guilty.” Carl Randon shook his head emphatically.

“A criminal,” he defined,” is a man who commits an illegal act. You have done nothing unlawful. You accepted a gift, under protest. You gave no receipt for it. The fact that a hundred thousand dollars is involved has no bearing on the case. You have done no more than the person who accepts a package of free chewing gum when girls are handing it from baskets, as samples.

“Theft of a few pennies is unlawful, just as is the theft of many dollars. Conversely, the acceptance of a valuable souvenir is as legal as the acceptance of a trivial one. I know the law, Andy. You have struck the luck of a lifetime. Make the most of it.”

CARL’S assurance was convincing. Andrew knew that his friend had not finished law school; nevertheless, the logic of his statements seemed conclusive. As he considered his situation, Andrew saw where he would place himself in greater difficulties by trying to return the money than he would by keeping it.

“All right, Carl,” he decided. “You seem to have summed it properly. Somehow, I’d like to bury this pile; but I can’t afford to do it. I’m pretty short on ready cash. So I’m going to use the money. But if it brings me trouble—”

“Just call on me, old-timer. I’ll back your story. What do you say we duck these costumes and go out for a final farewell to old King Momus?”

Andrew grinned his agreement. He opened the old safe and put the ebony box away. From a pigeonhole, he drew a small roll of other bills, the last remnants of the cash that he had been conserving. This money would last him for a few days longer. It came to nearly fifty dollars.

The sum made Andrew Blouchet smile as he closed the safe. Nearly fifty dollars: a smaller total than that of the smallest bank note in his newfound wealth. Carl was sure that the new money was genuine; and Andrew felt the same. He had cause to celebrate; and Carl had exhibited the same mood.

Mardi Gras had ended with great fortune for Andrew Blouchet. A new era was beginning for this young man of New Orleans. But had Andrew been able to glimpse into the near future, his enthusiasm would have waned; and so would that of Carl Randon.

This batch of newfound wealth was destined to bring troublous episodes to its recipient; as well as to the friend who had advised him to make use of it.