A father's trust collapses under forged vice bills, causing the loss of his steel mill before the truth is revealed.
Story Structure — 4 Plot Phases
A Welcome Home
Harvey returns from college and is warmly welcomed by his father, Lemuel. The family situation initially appears stable.
Key Events
Harvey Returns Home — Harvey returns home after attending college. Characters: Harvey Deering, Lemuel DeeringLocation: Deering home
Father Welcomes Son — Lemuel welcomes Harvey back from college. Characters: Lemuel Deering, Harvey DeeringLocation: Deering home
Bills Begin Arriving — Bills for various alleged vices begin arriving. Characters: Lemuel Deering, Harvey DeeringLocation: Deering home
Alcohol Charge Appears — An alcohol bill is included among the new charges. Characters: Lemuel Deering, Harvey DeeringLocation: Deering home
Pool Charge Appears — A bill connected with pool is added to the growing charges. Characters: Lemuel Deering, Harvey DeeringLocation: Deering home
Cigar Charge Appears — A cigar bill further expands the list of alleged vices. Characters: Lemuel Deering, Harvey DeeringLocation: Deering home
Bills Under Suspicion
Bills for alcohol, pool, cigars, and other vices begin arriving. Lemuel's trust changes into suspicion while Harvey denies responsibility.
Key Events
Vice Bills Accumulate — The continuing bills make Harvey appear responsible for extravagant behavior. Characters: Lemuel Deering, Harvey DeeringLocation: Deering home
Lemuel Trusts Harvey — Lemuel initially regards Harvey as an upstanding young citizen. Characters: Lemuel Deering, Harvey DeeringLocation: Deering home
Trust Turns To Shock — Lemuel becomes appalled by the mounting vice bills. Characters: Lemuel Deering, Harvey DeeringLocation: Deering home
Harvey Denies Responsibility — Harvey denies having anything to do with the bills. Characters: Harvey Deering, Lemuel DeeringLocation: Deering home
Disputed Bills Continue — The unresolved bills continue to create suspicion between father and son. Characters: Lemuel Deering, Harvey DeeringLocation: Deering home
The Crushing Demand
A $25,000 bill makes the dispute impossible to ignore. Lemuel refuses payment, triggering the bank's foreclosure of the steel mill.
Key Events
Twenty-Five Thousand Bill — A bill for $25,000 arrives and sharply raises the stakes. Characters: Lemuel Deering, Harvey DeeringLocation: Deering home
Lemuel Refuses Payment — Lemuel refuses to pay the enormous disputed bill. Characters: Lemuel Deering, Harvey DeeringLocation: Deering home
Bank Takes Action — The bank responds to the unpaid bill by moving toward foreclosure. Characters: Lemuel DeeringLocation: Bank
The Forgery Revealed
After the foreclosure, a college friend admits forging Harvey's signature because his own father had cut him off. The confession clarifies Harvey's innocence and the role of fraternity loyalty.
Key Events
Mill Foreclosure Begins — The bank forecloses on Lemuel's steel mill. Characters: Lemuel DeeringLocation: Steel mill
Wealth Is Threatened — The foreclosure places the Deering family's finances in crisis. Characters: Lemuel Deering, Harvey DeeringLocation: Steel mill
College Friend Appears — Harvey's college friend arrives after the financial collapse. Characters: Harvey Deering, Lemuel DeeringLocation: Deering home
Forgery Is Admitted — The college friend admits forging Harvey's signature on the bills. Characters: Harvey Deering, Lemuel DeeringLocation: Deering home
Harvey Is Vindicated — The admission establishes that Harvey did not create the charges. Characters: Harvey Deering, Lemuel DeeringLocation: Deering home
Fraternity Loyalty Explained — The forgery was enabled by expected loyalty between fraternity brothers. Characters: Harvey DeeringLocation: Deering home
Story Breakdown
Homecoming Welcome — Harvey returns from college and begins the story under his father's confidence.
Harvey Returns — Harvey comes home after attending college.
Father Welcomes Son — Lemuel receives Harvey as his returning son.
Vice Bills Arrive — A series of bills creates the appearance that Harvey has been spending irresponsibly.
Alcohol Charge — An alcohol bill is among the first alleged vice charges.
Pool And Cigars — Pool and cigar bills increase the apparent pattern of extravagance.
Trust Becomes Suspicion — Lemuel's positive view of Harvey changes as the bills continue to arrive.
Lemuel Is Appalled — The mounting bills shock the wealthy mill owner.
Harvey Denies Charges — Harvey insists that he had nothing to do with the bills.
The Massive Bill — The arrival of a $25,000 bill transforms the dispute into a major financial threat.
Twenty-Five Thousand — The extraordinary amount arrives as another disputed charge.
Payment Refused — Lemuel refuses to pay the bill.
Mill Foreclosure — The unpaid bill leads the bank to foreclose on Lemuel's steel mill.
Bank Takes Mill — The bank forecloses on the steel mill.
Family Financial Crisis — The foreclosure places the Deering family in financial crisis.
Forgery Comes To Light — A college friend reveals that Harvey's signatures were forged, explaining the bills and Harvey's denial.
Signature Forgery — The friend admits forging Harvey's signature on the charges.
Fraternity Loyalty — The forgery depended on the belief that Harvey would not expose a fraternity brother.
Lemuel Deering's son Harvey graduates from college at the top of his class, then returns home to become a partner in his father's steel business. Because Harvey appears to be an exemplary young man who neither drinks nor smokes, when bills from liquor dealers, tobacconists, and billiard emporia pour in, the proud father is mystified. Harvey stoutly denies having contracted the bills, including one for $25,000, and Lemuel, though puzzled, believes him until the workers threaten to strike and the bank places an attachment on the mill. Lemuel is about to disown his son when Harold Morrowton, Harvey's college roommate, confesses that he forged Harvey's name to the bills because his own father refused to give him spending money, and Harvey adds that because the two were fraternity brothers, he could not betray Harold's trust. Exasperated, Lemuel orders both young men to pay their debts through hard labor in the mill.
