"There's Some Mistake. There’s Some Hellish Mistake."

"Applicant 27."

By Harold de Polo (~1885-1958).

First appearance: Argosy, January 25, 1930.

Short short short story (2 pages).

Online at Archive.org (HERE).

(Note: Text faded but legible.)

   "There is some satisfaction in knowing that the payment of the hundred thousand dollars will not bother you financially, as you have millions. I only ask you to see that the check reaches my lawyer before the fifteenth of this month."

WARREN BUFFET (who should know) once remarked: "Wall Street is the only place that people ride to in a Rolls Royce to get advice from those who take the subway." Like Broadway, Wall Street has been called The Street of Dreams; but every now and then, this particular street serves up a nightmare . . .

Main characters:

~ James Cartwright Nichols, Mr. X, and Mr. Littell.

References:

- "one last look at old Wall Street" (HERE; Wikipedia). While this story appeared three months after the great financial crash of 1929, it's possible that it was still being edited at that time. (HERE; Wikipedia).

- The dramatics of "Applicant 27" are built on (THIS) limited-duration pastime.

Resources:

- Harold de Polo's FictionMags listing is enormous, starting in 1902 and finishing in 1949. Like all dedicated pulpsters, he wrote in various genres and developed series characters: Padre Bernardo, Richard "Lucky" Manning and Tomaso Gutierrez, The Panther, Simmering Sands, Sheriff Whitcher Bemis, Inspector Frayne, Chan Buzzell, and Sheriff Ollie Bascomb; sadly, like us, you've probably never heard of any of them before now.

- Craig Kennedy tackles a problem of money missing from a Manhattan bank depository in "The Mystery of the Vault" (HERE).

The bottom line:

Unless otherwise noted, all bibliographical data are derived from The FictionMags Index created by William G. Contento & edited by Phil Stephensen-Payne.

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