FARGUS IS DEAD
It is rare in the secret life of the city that they who live by preying
on society are not themselves preyed upon. Alonzo Bofinger for a long
while had been in the clutches of Sammamon, the money-lender. Without
his aid he could never have maintained Sheila through her period of
waiting. But, to obtain the necessary loans, he had been forced to take
him into his entire confidence, paying, of course, the penalty in the
usorious rates Sammamon greedily imposed.
Bofinger, indeed, had never lived on his income, but had used it to
capitalize his debts, gambling always on a lucky future turn of the
wheel of fortune. He frequented what are called "sporting circles,"
where in the company of jockeys and pugilists he was entirely at home.
He had the run of the second-class theaters and enjoyed specially the
atmosphere of the wings and the little suppers after midnight where the
gaiety was not conventional and the jests were unadulterated. He liked
to splurge and, as a consequence, he was constantly floundering beyond
his depth. Without losing either his heart or his head he had entered
into an attachment with one of the actresses of these sham stages, a
connection which flattered his vanity and gave him, he thought, the
standing of a man of the world.
When, therefore, after the death of Fargus, he saw the future open
before him with all the gratification of his desires, he threw all
moderation to the winds, and having in a short while exhausted all his
property, he had recourse to Sammamon, with whom he had had one or two
previous understandings. His yearly income, about this time, was nearly
cut in two by the withdrawal of Hyman Groll from the firm. Bofinger,
already in debt, was astounded to learn that his quiet partner had
already accumulated a capital of $50,000 with which he purposed to
emerge into larger opportunities. But his chagrin was tempered by the
delicious thought that, in a few years, he would be able to turn the
laugh. To his annoyance, the dissolving of the partnership showed him,
what he had scoffed at before, that with all the glamour and the
applause he was only the voice where Hyman Groll had been the power. In
a month he saw his prestige impaired, his alliances shaken, and found
himself on the same footing with the half dozen lawyers who scrambled
for the pickings of the court. All of which had sent him frequently and
deep into the lair of Sammamon.
On the morning after his visit to Sheila, he started for the office of
the money-lender to negotiate another loan, which he promised himself
should be the last. A frightful run of luck at roulette had depleted
him. Besides, he wished to make a handsome present to Sheila before
their marriage, desiring above all things to keep her in good humor
until the crucial morrow was over. Also he had to appease the actress,
and having no doubt as to the scene which would follow his announcement
of the marriage, he knew that no small offering would suffice.
Not far from Hester Street, in the heart of the Ghetto, on the first
floor of a tumble-down frame building, stooping with age, a dank office
bore the sign,
LEOPOLD SAMMAMON
_Loans._
Bofinger, whose sensitive nose was offended by the smells of the
quarter, lit a cigar, and entered.
The office, on the apex of a triangle formed by the junction of two
streets, had an entrance on either side, so that those within seemed to
be constantly buffeted by the two streams of humanity. Sammamon came
hurriedly forward, a frail man not yet forty whose shoulders stooped as
though still bearing the weight of the pack with which he had landed
here twenty years before. The body, without vitality, seemed held
together by the one impulse of gain that burned in the eyes, which had
the strange contradictory quality peculiar to his trade, all fierceness
and intensity when examining a client, but wavering uneasily the moment
they were subjected to the same scrutiny.
The two entered a cell which served as a cabinet and began to talk, with
their foreheads together, both to overcome the noise of the street and
to protect themselves against the sharp ears of the three clerks.
"Sammamon, I want two thousand dollars," Bofinger said directly, "two
thousand dollars more and that's all, so help me God!"
"Where I get two thousand dollars?" the money-lender protested. "I am
bankrupt now with your loans! Ain't the time up to-day--eh? Why you want
more money?"
"I am going to marry the woman to-morrow," the lawyer said
conciliatingly. "And I've got to hush another one up and do it
handsome!"
"Where I get two thousand dollars?" Sammamon repeated with a shrug.
"See here," Bofinger said, tapping him on the knee. "Come to terms now
and quit your mumbling. Darn you, you know very well you're making a
good thing out of this. Give me the money and I'll sign for three
thousand dollars at sixty days and I'll pay the rest then. It takes time
to get the thing through the courts."
"I couldn't do it,--so help me! I couldn't do it, I couldn't get the
credit, I couldn't get one other cent!"
"Three thousand dollars, Sammamon, at sixty days."
"Think of the risk! If anythings happen, I'm ruined!"
"Well, curse you, what will you do it for? Out with it!"
"I can't do it, Mr. Bofinker, I can't do it!"
"Three thousand five hundred dollars then."
"Imbossible!"
"Well, make your own terms--I'll sign anything."
Sammamon took his chin in his hands, and, after much shrugging of his
shoulders and pursing of his lips, finally said, with a gesture that
seemed to apologize to his ancestors for his moderation:
"Five thousand dollars at sixty days--not one cent less. And then I
don't know where I gets the money."
"Make out the papers," Bofinger said curtly--and did not curse him until
the money was safe in hand.
The next day having meanwhile procured the authorization of the courts,
he was married to Sheila and went with her to live in her home; for
Sheila, seeing there was no escape, and deciding to make the best of the
situation, had feigned a willingness to accept his proposal.
Three days later, on a stormy morning, in the company of his wife
Bofinger appeared in court to begin the formalities necessary to place
Sheila in possession of Fargus's property. Sammamon, who trusted only
his own eyes, occupied a distant corner where he listened attentively,
seeking unsuccessfully to conceal the agitation which the prospect of
his future gains caused in him.
The judge, who, despite the monotony of his profession, kept an interest
in the romances of the law, instead of proceeding with the routine of
the case, assumed an ex-officio air and said:
"Ah, this is that extraordinary case of disappearance--a very
extraordinary one, Mr.--Mr. Bofinger. In my whole experience I don't
think I remember another case like this."
"Your Honor," Bofinger said, "I represent my wife, the party in
pleading."
"You're a lawyer, then, Mr. Bofinger?" the judge said in some surprise.
"I do not remember your name before."
"In fact, I have never had the pleasure of appearing before your Honor."
"And what was the last heard of this Mr. Fargus?"
"Seven years ago, the twenty-sixth of this month," Bofinger said,
"according to the depositions I have here."
"Upon which date the lady was free to marry. You are not, therefore, an
old married couple."
"Naturally, your Honor."
"I congratulate you," the judge said pleasantly, giving him a shrewd
glance.
"It has been a long attachment."
"Quite so," the judge answered with a bow, "and now that your marriage
is accomplished you are taking steps to gain possession of the
property?"
"Your Honor states the case exactly," Bofinger said drily. "We are come
to take the first steps to acquire possession of the property, subject,
of course, to the bond which the law requires for another seven years;
although it is sufficiently established that Max Fargus is dead."
"Who says that I am dead?"
At this extraordinary interruption every one in the court-room turned in
astonishment.
In the back of the court-room a dark undersized figure had entered
unperceived and supporting himself heavily on his cane, had advanced to
the middle of the room, where a second time he cried:
"Who says that Max Fargus is dead?"
Then with an effort he removed his hat, revealing a face on which,
despite a pallor of death, was the mocking sneer which one imagines on
the face of Satan claiming the forfeit of a soul.
For a moment there was a tense silence. Then through the court-room the
shriek of Sheila reechoed in terror:
"Fargus, Max Fargus!"
The sound of a thud followed as she slipped to the bench and pitched
loudly on the floor.
"Your Honor," Fargus said, turning to the judge. "All I wanted to do was
to establish my identity. That is done."
Bofinger had a moment of vertigo during which he committed two vital
mistakes. The first was to remain sillily muttering over and over, "Max
Fargus! Max Fargus!"; the second was in allowing his enemy to escape.
When a moment later he recovered himself and rushed forth there was not
a trace of the misanthrope to be seen, neither in the halls nor on the
sidewalk, nor in the white, storm-swept street. A policeman told him
that a cab had been waiting into which Fargus had tottered and driven
off with a companion who had remained inside, concealing his features.