The Flaw
from Page 9.7
stop it? rified.
earth didn't you
voice was hor
THE CHINA MAILS FIDAY N
Bringing Up Father
THERMOPAN
"Because it paid me better to keep on with it.”
You... Baines fairly gasp- ed. "Do you mean to say it's YOU who has been doing it?"
******** Corson nodded. and stretched his thin lips in a one- sided smile. “Shall I drive to the nearest police station, or would you prefer to hear me out first.”
*
*
a
face
Baines sat speechless for minute or two. Then the sar- donic-smile--on - Corson's moved him to say, "You're pulling my leg."
*On the contrary," said Corson "I'm dead serious. You're done what old Western never had thei wits to do-found me out I'm completely in your hands.
You
get
can either expose me and highly commended for your pains,
---- you can join me, and geti
.or
a couple of hundred a year for nothing more than keeping your] mouth shut.
"What I'd like to know," said Baines at last, “is how you have managed to get away with it so long without being found out.”
"Old Wostern,” said Corson grimly, was one of those old frauds who make a great show of doing the job thoroughly and don't do ît at all. Then, when he died, suddenly and you came to do the audit, I knew this would happen. What are you going to do?”
Cozson-smiled.
-"The junior partner 0.K's the cheques. I write them out and sign them; he initials them “after- wards. I choose a time when he's rushed, then he doesn't take much notice of the names on the cheques.
The vouchers can be faked I pass the chèques into my account. Sea?”
Baines saw.
"Suppose they found us out?" he demurred.
Corson shrugged.
"All in the-day's-work chance in a million, if you play your part. There is no likelihood of anyone suspecting anything if you work in with me. We pay out enormous suns each year; "we have such big transactions, in- volving hundreds of smaller-sums. An odd hundred here and there-- it is not missed.”
"They trust you." said Baines, and for the first time that mor ning he grinned.
**Twenty-five years." said Cor- som "is a long time.”
a
So they started to work to gether. It went on for five years: Corson forging cheques to ficti tious names on fictitious transac- tions, cooking the books, paying the cheques into his private ac- count, and young Baines getting two or three hundred a year for passing the books at the audit. There wasn't a loophole through which they could be detected. They congratulated themselves that the whole thing was water- tight.
Then the one weak spot in the carefully planned system suddenly showed up when least it was ex- pected
Corson went away for a holiday --only a week, into Scotland--and Baines was busy with the firm's audit, doing Corson's books tas visual
Corson came back at the end of the week to find the managing director in possession of historice and every fictitious entry in the "books queried by another anditor.
Something had happened in his absence. His first thought was that Baines had betrayed him. But to do that Baines would miso have had to let Phimself down,” he dismissed that idea? He knew
what the managing director
going to say before he bega
“After twenty-dive/ "year
vice to discover our
ployee has been
for
GRACIOUS THIS IS TH MOST EXCITING GHOST STORY, I EVER READ-IT'S GOT MY NERVES
ON EDGE-
Z
GRACIOUS- MY NERVES ARE ALLA-JITTER- I
WISH I HADN'T STARTED
TO READ
THAT GHOST
STORY-
·WELL- MLL. READ THIS STORY; MESELF-SOÏ'LL FORGET. THE BUMP ON ME HEAD-HUA- SHES BEEN READIN' THIS, SILLY GHOST STORY.
Rosie's BEAU
GEO MCMANUS
WOW! THIS IS A CREEPY
STORY- IT-GVES. MS.
THE JUMPS
CRASH
HISPER
DDA YOU IT ME TO
EAR?
I HAVE TO OLLER AND RIGHTEN ME OUT OF MY
SKIN-
YOU BIG IDIOT- CANT. YOU MAKE " LESS NOISE?! WAS READING AN EXCIT=. ING STORY ANDIT NEARLY FRIGHTENED
DEATH-
ME
WELL-IF YOU CAN FALL DOWN STARS WITHOUT MAKIN'ANY: NOISE I'D LIKE TO SEE YOU DO`IT-
HELLO-IS MISS NORA JIGGS IN?TELLİ HER-MR. KEN
HEPLAY OF YOLELURNE COLLEGE IS HERE-
JUST STEP INTO THE PARLOR--- TLL TEXT HER
YOU'RE HERE
WOW!
WHAT'S THE MATTER
Y WITH
I WONDER IF THAT GHOST CAME TO GIT ME OR MAGGIE?
HIM?
1933, King Features Synda
Great Britain rights reserved.
10.6
I JUST HEARD THE BOSS SAY THAT YOU WOULD HAVE
TO WORK
TONIGHT-
T'S
WITH
COMMANDS
ILLJUST CALL ROSE UP AND. TELL HER I HAVE TO WORK.
THEN SHE CAN COME DOWN
TO THE OFFICE AND KEEP
ME COMPANY-
IT'S THE GYPSY IN ME
SHUCKS-
THESE SCALES CAN'T BE RIGHT-
LIGHTED
N HOW
YOD TO GO AND FEED AOVE A LOT
STRAIGHTEN
STOCK
GOSH: MOST COME HERE
ONIGHT