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NORTH PLATTE, NEBRASKA, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 15, 1893.
NO. 10.
17 AT. TY
: - ' i ' I "
II. II ! .1 . . .
Great Clearing Sale !
For the Next Sixty Days
We will sell everything in our store, such as
Clothing, : : : ; :
: : . Furnishing Goods,
Boots and Shoes, : : :
: : : : Hats and Caps,
Trunks and Valises,
It h Per "
Cent
mm
FOR CASH ONLY.
THE MODEL CLOTHING HOUSE
' - MAX EINSTEIN", Prop.
C. F. IDDING-S,
LUMBER,
I COAL, j
" . ? . . -
' - v. x 1 .
Order by telephone from -Newton's Book Store.
SHOES.
SHOES
All Sizes. All Prices. All Solid.
All Good Wearers.
The Cheap John stores have sold many shoddy goods
at prices which they claimed were cheap. We will sell
you good wearing, solid goods (same sizes) as cheap as
other stores sell their trash.
CHILDREN'S SHOOS:
Sizes 5 to 7, 85 cents.
Sizes 8 to 10, $1.00.
Sizes 11 to 2, $1.25.
All solid and warranted. Others have come to run
us out, some tried to lie us out, but the only to get' rid of
.us is to ouy us out. We have made them all sick at the
shoe business, and mind you now we will sell you goods
cheaper than before, for we are after the trade of wes
tern Nebraska, and if good, fine goods at low priceswill
do it we will have all the shoe trade. Store and fixtures
for sale, but they can't run us out for no one can compete
with our prices on good goods.
H. OTTEN.
Dr. N. McOABB, Prop.
J. E. BUSH, Manager.
WMtTH PLATTE PHARMACY,
Successor to J. Q. Thacker
ISTOKTH PLATTE, - NEBEASKA.
atU TO HANDLE THE BEST GRADE OF GOODS,
SELL THEM AT REASONABLE PRICES, AND WARRANT
EVERYTHING AS REPRESENTED.
v:
,tim from the country and along the line of the Union
Pacific Railway Solicited.
IT. JT. BEOEKEE,
Merchant l ailor,
LARGE STOCK OF PIECE GOODS,
tbracixr all the new designs, kept on hand and made to order.
PERFECT PIT GUARANTEED.
PRICES LOWER THAN EVER BEFORE
Saras Stmt, between Fifth aid Sixth.
Vile Black Mountaineer
By DAN DEQUILEL
continued. I
oB alT my clothes T km make a line
dat'll reach de watah. 1 urns' eat too.
Soonde meat ob de little b'ar gwine ter
begone. Well, dar am lots ob trout in
de canyon. 1 kin make a fishhook outer
my gallus buckles, an den wif a fine line
on de end ob de bucket rope I kin begin
de fishin.
Nex' 1 considah dat while 1 got some
meat fer bait 1 inns' catch mo' meat. 1
gotter ketch sum of dem hoot owls. 1
mus' stir my stumps if I'm gwine ter lire
half way comf able up dar on de shelf.
De bats come 'bout de cabbern ebery
ebeniug Ikin knock sum of dem down.
Dar ain't no great 'mount ob eatin 'bout
er bat, but I reckoned dey might do fer
fish bait. "When 1 gits a-gwine," Bez 1,
Til be jis' like Mistah Robert Crusoe
on de island!" -
Right away I gits but my knife an be
gins ter make figger four traps fer de
hoot owls. I makes two ob dem w'at
we calls deadfalls. I kalkerlated dat ef
I kin ketch too ob dem owl ebbery night
I ain't gwine ter starb. As 1 am makin
de traps settin cut dar on de shelf, 1
keeps an ear cocked and an eye peeled
fer de boys, kaise 1 don't know how
quick dey may git do letter. While
hopin fer de best 1 am gittin ready for
de wust. Little Napoleon he is out
on de shelf 'longside me a-playin wif de
trap sticks an a-jumpin to ketch de
Ehabins w'at 1 whittles. 1 calls him Na
poleon kaise de uioas' he gits ter eat am
de bony part ob his baby sister.
All day I am on de shelf. No sign of
de boys. Dey hain't got de letter.
"W'at," sez 1, "w'at ef it go to de de'd
letter orf us 'long wif de olo b'ar?" Dat
worry me some, but as it is coniin dark
I sets boff de hoot traps, an den me
an Napoleon goes ter bed. 1 ties one ob
de fore legs ob Napoleon to my wris',
kaise 1 don't want him to slip out an git
hurt in one ob de owl traps. Do time
may come w'eu I gotter do wif him like
I do wif his sister.
Nex' nioniin 1 am up wif de lark an
'bout as high, it is Friday de oulucky"
day de day ob ropes -an hangin.
"Well," sez 1, "don't you git down
hearted, Mistah Hawk a rope is de on'y
sa'vation fer you, sah." 1 talks disa-way
w'en I'ze in my room makin ob my t'ilet.
I den goes out on de shelf) an, by de
hokey! dar am two hoot owl in dem
traps.
Napoleon hab come out wif me, an
he am jis' nat'ally s'prized and delighted
wif de sight ob de game. He growl an
-put on all kin of full grown airs. One
obde owl am dead. He reach in wif his
bill to git de bait an he git his head
smash."" De oder he reach fer de bait
wif his foot an lie get cotched "by de leg.
Napoleon ho bos er while wif de dead
owl; den he conies to have some fun wif
de lire one. 'Bout half minit he fin out
de difFrunce. He am de inoas' 'stonish
little b'ar I ebber see. I take de owl out
'live. He is a mons'us great feller, an
his leg ain't broke. I ties him up by one
leg to keep Mm fer decoy- He will fetch
me plenty "hoot owl meat.
Napoleon who hab retire to de cab
bern w'eu de ole hooter let go ob him
pooty soon comes pe'kin out. He sees
de big hoot owl is ready fer him, so he
lick him chops a bit; den he mosey back
inter de cabbern. So dat minit 1 gives
de big owl ue name of Moscow. I
skins de dead owl mighty keerf ul, kaise
w'en I tears up all my clothes to make
de watah rope I'ze gwine for ter need all
de owlskins I Inn git to make me a
sorter shirt er frock. Wen de owl is
skinned I make a big smoke, hopin de
boys may come. 1 bin now four days
an a half and four night, in de b'ar
cabbern I am startin in on de fif t' day.
I am gittin radder oneasy 'bout de boys,
so dis morniu I am hullerin a heap off
an on.
'Bout noon glory be to God 1 hears
two pistol shots. I count five between
each ob de shots. 'De signal fer de
lost!" cries I. Den I shout, "Praise de
Lord and bress de Lord, de boys hab got
de letter!"
I hain't no gun uer pistol to answer de
signals. I wish dat de good Lord would
give me a cannon up dar on de shelf. 1
hollers loud sis 1 kin yell: den 1 t'ink ob
a way to shout by steam. I svil s on de
rock, lay on do spot a live coal, den
strikes it wif de back ob he hatchet, an it
crack loud jis any "musket I shoot dis
a-way ns fas' as I kin sebberal times.
Boom! it roar an rattle up an down de
canyons
Soon 1 sees two ob de boys, bnt dey
are on de oppersit side de canyon. Not
habbin a hat to wave, I picks up ole
Moscow an waves him. De boys spots
me dat minit. Dey halts an wave?
dar hats. For de roar ob de canyon we
kain't talk much, but 1 see de boys
a-makin signals to somebody on my side
de canyon. I see dem say wif de hat.
'Go furder up!" Den in a minit er two.
"Little furder!" Nex' time dey say
"Halt! Right dar is de place!"
All dat jis' as plain to me as any talk.
I den gits out on de aige ob de shelf an
look up at de wall ober de cabbern. In
'bout er minit I sees a bead poked ober
dewall. It is de head ob de cunnel.
He sings out, "How is yer, boy?"
"Fine as er fightin cock!" 1 hollers
back.
"T'ank de Lord for dat!" says the cun
nel. Owin to de roar ob de canyon we gotter
yell pooty loud. It is forty foot up to de
top ob de cliff. Nex' de cunnel say
"W'at dat yer got down dar, boy?"
I say, "One dem is young b'ar: de oder
is ole hoot owl."
"Want 'em boff?"' axde cunnel.
-"Yes, cunnel yes, sah, please."
"Well, send dem up. De boysercomin
wif de ropes."
"Yes, sah."
Dat news ob de ropes wur music fur
me. Soon half dozen do boys show dem
se'fs wif ropes' ofFn de derricks. 'Nex'
down comes "de end ob er rope, de cun
nel eteerin ob it,
"Send up de owl," says he.
I ties de owl to de rope, an up ho go.
Den he say, "Han up de b'ar."
I ties little Napoleon on de rope, an up
he go wif his two eyes poppin outer his
head, the mattah so s'prized him.
Nex the cunnel say, "Send up dat
cunnin niggah boy, Jerry Hawk."
I say, "Better come down fust, cunnel.
an take er look at de Hawk hotel."
"No, t'ank yer," sez he.
"Better come down, sah, an take bite
ter eat I'm got some berry nice roas'
owl."
"Pousan times bleeged," sez de cun
nel, "but I hain't no 'casion jis' had a
berry nice rattlesnake stew."
Well, af rer dis jokin 1 gits inter de
rope, an aey nanis me up, ue oujrts wi
ehakin ban's wif me w'en 1 lands.
On de way back to de Scotchman 1
gives de cunnel an de boys de whole
story. Dey all say it is wonderful. "Do
cunnel say dat if dey hain't gotde letter
an found me I'd turned out a reg'lar
Robert Crusoe. Down at de cabin on de
Scotchman I fin out from de boys dat
dey git my letter Thursday afternoon,
but no man kain't read nuffin but de
name, Jerry Hawk. -So dey gotter send
a man up de mountain to whar de cun
nel ia injoyin of hisse'f wif pokah an de
tigah. De cunnel kin read de letter off
han, kaise he's a man w'at'sgot a pow'ful
eddication.
Well, when we git to de cunnel's cabin
he is so please' wif me dat he let my
wages go on same as if I bin to wuck.
Den he say ho radder like little Napo
leon; dat he will take him anl may keep
de big hoot owl, Moscow. I am good
deal stuck arter Napoleon myse'f, but 1
say, "All right, cunnel; take de b'ar." So
dat is de end of de story.
"Did the boys see nothing; of .the ous-,
cass of the old she bear?" asked Uncle
Bob.
"No no, sah; dey nebber seed hide
nor ha'r ob her. S'pect she come ashore
somewhar an trabbel away on her el
bows." "And what became of Napoleon?"
asked Ben Arle. "Did Colone Brook
shire put him up against the tiger?"
"No, sah; he put him up ag'in de bulls.
Dat b'ar Napoleon wur big as er grizzly
w'en he wur free year ole, and a pow'
ful fighter. He whip all de bulls same
as Moscow whip all do cats."
"So you kept old Moscow?" said Fred
Towne.
"Keep him! Sartin 1 did. He wur
de finest pet 1 ebber had. He'd keep my
cabin clare ob mice, rats, snakes an all
kin of varmints. Why, sah, dat owl
could whip airy cat on de crick, an none
ob de'dogs hankered to tackle him."
"What finally became of him?" asked
Ben Arle.
Old Jerry Havk heaved a great sigh,
rolled his eyes up to where the big stars
were blazing iirthe blue black sky, high
above the tamaracks and all the great
mountain peaks, and .then said, "Cap'n
Arle, dat's a sorrerfuler story, sah, dan
do one 'boat de ole inudder b'ar an her
two babies."
"How so?" asked IJncle Bob Temple.
"Well, dat's quite anoder story, but
it's soon tole."
CHAPTER T.
"
De link man is too quick fur him.
'Bout t'ree )-ear artee time I jcufcinj
de bar cabbern my rich claim up de
loway petered out. De cunnel he got
tired ob c-lhnbin de big mountain so
much, paclcin up gold an comin down
broke, so he sell his claim on de Scotch
man furw'atever he kin git. Den he
say to me, "Jerry, my boy, let's us two
6 a-sportin togedder an ketch all de
juckers."
"Cunnel," sez I, "I kain't play pokah
an in all my life hab nebber buck at de
tigah." ,
"Oh, I don't mean dat," sez de cunnel,
Tin sick of boff dem. De fac' is," sez
de cunnel, "dat I b'lieve Napoleon kin
whin anv bnll in Californy. De bull an
b'ar fights allers draws, an dar's lots ob
money in uat, to say nuffin ob de bets I
kin ketch on de outside. Now, Jerry,
boy, I'd like yon wif me. I'll ingineer
all de bull an b'ar fights. Yon see, de
feller wif de bull will allers be in wif
me a pard on de sly an between us we
won't perjuce any bull but one Napoleon
kin whip."
"Den w'at am I to go fur?" sez L
"Well, one t'ing is to eorter give me
tone," sez de cunnel; "I am a high tone
gentl'um from do souf ; see? I have my
black boy wif me; I boss -round an put
on airs maybe swear at you, but dat'll
all be fun between ourselves, part ob
de game."
"An all you wants ob me, sah, is fur
a mark fur you to swear at?" sez L
De cunnel he laugh an say: "Oh, no,
no; dat's on'y at off times times when
we's loafin 'bout de hotels. You see,
Jerry, you'll take ole Moscow wif jou.
We'll advertise him on de bills as 'De
Fightin Owl ob do Souf Yuba.' While
I ingineer do bull an b'ar fight you'll run
do. side show ob de fightin owl, an we'll
jis' rake de miners."
Well, dat a-way he talk me inter de
bizness. He is to havo all dat's made on
de b'ar an I'ze to have all dat's made on
de owl an one show will help de oder.
So out we starts an jis' fairly coins
money. Napoleon ob course whips all
de bulls kaise dey tries dem fust an
Moscow whips all de cats, kaise he's
got it in him to do it; 'sides lie's had lots
of sperience ob cats, an de cats hain't
sperienced a owl afore. De big hoot
owl goes at 'em toof an nail an snakes
de berry insides outer dem!
Well, we are doin fine till we come to
Red Dog. At Red Dog, arter Napoleon
have used up his reg'lar bull an de bets
am all settled up an the cunnel have
rake in de money, one Josey lookin fel
ler he gits mad. He tell de cunnel dat
it wuz a put up job dat de b'ar hafe
whip de bull afore.
Ob course de cunnel rip an swear dat
he is high tone gent, cum from de souf,
but de chap he ain't skeered he jaw
right 'long. At las' de Josey feller turn
up him nose at Napoleon an say he'll bet
enny 'mount dat de b'ar kain't whip his
ole jackass, an ho p'int to er sleepy look
in ole burro tied to a post.
De cunnel jump at dat offer. Dey keep
raisin ob de bets till it git up ter five
t'ousand dollars a side, an de cunnel
kain't nut nn.no. mo' inonev. De nex'
day is-80$ fuf de fight When de aner
mus am pat inter de ring moas' all de
people jis' wile to bet on de b'ar.
At las' de bettin is done. De cunnel
he hab borried all my owl winnins
'bout three, t'ousand dollars to bet on
Napoleon on de outside. Den de anermils
am turn loose. -
De donkey it stan kinder sleepy an
onconaarned, but Napoleon git up on his
hind feet an march to'ards him.
"Two to one ondeb'arL" "T'ree to
one odde b'ar!" yell de fellers. "Take
it! Take it! I take dem bets!' sing out
de Josey. I
As de b'ar come up pooty close, de ole
burro loolj at him an move off pooty
Bmart fur tbout five rod. "Bah!" "Oh!"
"Yeehawr cries de fellers. "Ten to
one on de jb'arl" "I takes 'emlH says de
Joseyf 4
All at onct quicker dan wink dat
ole jackass wake up. He whirl an
run at de b'ar wif his mouf open like one
de8e yere, flax brakes. Den, jis' while
de b'arjis stonish at dia, do jackass
iwieeViuplant.boff bin feet under his
chin.,Down goes Napoleon! Ho is
knocked stupid. Den de olo jackass go
at him wif his teef. .Take him by de
scruff obde neck and frash de groun
wif'him. Den he kick him in de ribs a '
timeer two, and den ag'in pitch in
wif his teef an drag Napoleon- 'long de
groun. All dis time Napoleon doin jis'
nuffin at all. Him got him nose tucked
'tween him fore legs an hab mil hisse'f
up like a ball. All he do is jis' to whine
andjbeller while de ole jack am snakin
ob him about.
"1 gives it up!" shouts de cunnel.
"Take off dat debil ob a donkey!"
Well, de Josey fros a lasso, an after
de pullin ob 'bout five men de jackass
am dragged away from de b'ar wif 'bout
hatful ha'r in his mouf.
Den iu.de settlin up dar was a time!
Lord, what swearin! Sebberal dozen
'people got dar eycteef cut dat day. Me
au de cunnel boff broke nary a splitter
lef. We hab run foul ob de great "b'ar
fightin burro ob Jamison crick" de same
dat. arter dat whipped de wild boar up
aMPehauia.
DFnex' mornin we finds Napoleon dead
in de stable. De cunnel ho look" berry
blue, but at las' he cheer up a bit an
turn to me au say: "Pore Napoleon, ho
am gone! He am gone, Jerry, an all
dat's now lef fur me an you to do am to
striko out fur new pasters an trabbel on
de owl. We will now go in as full pard
ners shear an shear alike."
Well, in do shades ob de obening wo
scoots outer Red Dog, leaving de body ob
Napoleon to foot de bills. We soon gits
inter fresh cainys. De cunnel sez dat
being dat he's a gent'ium f'om do souf it
ain't goin to do to let it git out dat he's
trabbbn as de full pardner ob a niggah;
darfore he mus' ingineer de fightin owl.
So it wur agreed. We now begin to
make plenty ob money. De fun takes,
an we sometimes run a good town a
week ole Moscow cleaniu out all do
cats dey can bring. .Nebber seed a cat
could whip dat owl! Ho jis' nat'ally
'stonish de best ob dem.
JBefo' long we git our pile up ag'iu to
free t'ousand dollars. Den de cunnel
JioragdajLde great fightin owl kin
-wiup"ariy anermil dat wears ha'ref it
don't weigh ober forty pound. Well,
dar wur a feller what hab one ob dese
yere Ian ob, wil'cat w'at dey calls a
link. I)e feller an de cunnel git to ban
lerin one-night. De cunnel beam chuck
full an bets de
whole free t'ousand dollars on ole Mos
cow. -De nex' night w'en de pair am turn
loose "togedder in do big fightin cage ole
Mo3cow ain't skeered ob de link. Ht
ruffle up his fodders, roll him eye, snat
him bill and make at de link whar he is
squattin in a' corner. 'Fore de Lord,
dat link jis' unfolded an reach out an
arm dat is a yard long. Den he spread
him claws wider ner my han. Den h
fotch dat paw down spat on top ob d
head ob de owl, an he smash it jis' likt
er calabash.
Jis' den I hear somebody groan. 1
look ronn, an it is de cunnel. He is
crazy wif Bourbon. He look like de las
rose ob sumniab. Good God!" sez ho.
"w'at fur trickery is dis? Dis bizness
jdongoLr You've got steel gaffs on de
claws ofdat brute!"
"See fur youself," sez de man; "thar's
nuffin ob de kin."
"You're a liar, sah!" sez de cunnfl, an
he goes fur his six shootah.
De link man is too quick fur him.
Bang! an de cunnel is dead shot froo dt
heart.
1 am lef stan'in dar alone in a single
minit, wif nuffin in de wide world but
de dead bodies ob de cunnel an "De
Fightin Owl ob do Souf Yuba!"
THE END.
The Practice or Tipping.
"The practice of tipping is growing
steadily in this country," said an ob
server. "Persons who ten or twenty
years ago never expected tips at all do
expect them now, and persons who once
never thought of giving give now as a
matter of course. And yet it is not at
all probable that tipping will ever be
come as widespread hero as it is in some
foreign countries. The spirit of personal
independence which leads every man
"hereto think himself us good as any
body else is against it. There are some
branches of work of a public and eemi
pnblic nature in which those engaged
abroad willingly accept tips 'while men
similarly employed in this country
would resent them. In some branches
of work custom does not appear to be so
well defined.
"In London, for instance, many stran
gers who sit upon the box seat of an
omnibus, and who ask the driver for in
formation about the buildings and points
of interest on tho way, offer him a tip,
and he accepts it cheerfully and as a
matter of course. A visitor in New York
who rode upon the box seat of two of the
Fifth avenue stages offered willingly
and courteously a tip. One accepted it
in the spirit in which it was offered, but
not with the offhand manner that would
have characterized tho London driver.
The other, with perfect civility, but with
unmistakable decision, declined it."
PRICES
(HPS
THE
COUNT
m
CHAPTER L
The only Pure Cream of Tartar Powder. No Ammonia; No Alum.
Used in Millions of Homes 40 Years the Standard.
I rose and opened the door.
Late one Saturday afternoon in a cer
tain December I sat by a good sea coal
fire in my office, trying 'to muster cour
age enough for an encounter with the
cold winds and driving storm outside.
Half ashamed to confess my cowardice
to myself, I had done every unnecessary
thing I could think of to kill time, till
at last I was reduced to the necessity of
counting over the contents of. my purse.
This, however, was but a brief resource.
"A short horse," as the proverb has it,
"is soon curried." The only coin worth
lingering on was a bright, new half
eagle given me that morning by some
chance customer as my recompense for
"doing a deed."
Limited as my practice and my fees
had always been, half eagles were not
entirely a novelty to me, and yet from
the prolonged attention with which in
my procrastinating frame of mind I re
garded it, a looker in might have sup
posed I was studying some rare antique
instead of a very ordinary specimen of
Uncle Sam's daily spending money. I
examined it chronologically with refer
ence to the date, and geographically in
respect to tho mark of the mint whence
it issued.
I compared the eagle on the one side
with my remembrance of such ornitho
logical specimens as 1 had seen in trav
eling mnseums, and of the effigy then
solemnly believed to be of, solid gold
which in my boyish days kept watch and
ward over Tommy Townsend's coffee
house. 1 scrutinized the head of Lib
erty with the eye of a physiognomist,
and in attempting with a sharp pointed
penknife to give the hybrid profile a
more feminine mouth I accomplished
sundry scratches, which might very
well have passed for a mustache, besides
cutting my fingers and breaking at once
the knife blade and the third command
ment. A knock at the door checked the half
uttered malediction, and was only re
peated when I cried, "Come in!" Had
spiritual rappings been invented then 1
might have thought that satan, his
patience exhausted by this new develop
ment of wickedness, was about to fore
close tho mortgage he is popularly sup
posed to hold on every member of our
profession. As it was, I only rose and
opened the door. The ruddy firelight
streamed out into the dark entry and
fell upon a slight figure that seemed
almost the embodiment of its coldness
and gloom. The figure, however, was
too familiar to me to inspire any super
natural fears, being that of a young
woman who earned a scant livelihood
by copying for lawyers. Why need I
describe her?
An employment requiring easy pen
manship and some acquaintance with
commas and periods, if not with the
more essential parts of composition,
falls almost as a matter of course to
those who at some period have had
greater advantages to thoso who, in
that common but more touching phrase,
"have known better days." The result
is easily guessed. It might be told in
many a tale of patient suffering and
labor; of bright eyes dimmed with late
watching; of red cheeks blanched to the
hue of the paper before them; of young
hopes withered and shrunk till they are
as lifeless and void of meaning to the
weary heart as the dry legal phrases of
the copy to the tired hand that tran
scribes them!
And while I had been lingering idly
by my fire, dreading to face the storm,
this scantily clad girl had walked all .
the way from her distant garret. She
did not tell me that she was weary and
chilled to the very heart, but I read it in
her pinched face, in the frozen sleet
which covered.her dress of faded mourn
ing and in tho eagerness with which
she drew toward the fire, as a starving
man would approach food. HI protected
as she was from the storm, she had man
aged to cover the papers she brought
from its drenching with a care which
told more strongly than any words tho
importance to her of the trifling sum
she was to receive for the copying.
This was the first time I had ever em
ployed her in fact I did not often find
it necessary to obtain such extraneous
aid in getting through my business, and
the present occasion was due less to the
pressure of my own occupations than to
the whims of one of my best clients,
who had declared that he would see me
fu a still worse place than Wall street
before he would spend time in decipher
ing my legal chirography, or the school
boy pothooks and hangers of my only
and very juvenile rLerk.
Hook the pack t .;e and ran myeyo
over its contents, l'hey were written in
a neat, plain hand, just stiff enough to
show that the consciousness of copying
for a lawyer had marred the writer's
ease. As copies they were scrupulously
correct and finished even to the num
bering of the folios in tho margin. I
silebtxj reckoned tno price, nd as I did
it occurred to me that I could only pay
it that evening by the sacrifice of my
half eagle. It was in vain that once
more I opened my purse, which certainly
was not Fortunatua1, for I found noth
ing more there than I had seen in it an
hour before small change of the very
smallest variety. Could I put her off
till Monday? Without that half eagle
my Saturday night's marketing would
be a very small affair.
"But what will hers be without it?'
said my conscience. "If you feel the
inconvenience of an empty pocket sc
much, what must it be to those whe
earn food and shelter fronday to day!
Daily bread is somethingAore than a
mere form of speech to them!"
PerhaDs a little would serve her .im
mediate wants. "Selfishness received This
suggestion very approvingly, and J
turned from my papers to the copyist tc
make, the suggestion.
She stood on the other side of the fire
place as motionless as if she had been a
carved pillar placed there to support th
mantel against which her shoulder rest
ed. One foot a neat one, even in its
worn, wet shoe peeped from beneath
her dress, as if drawn irresistibly toward
the grateful-warmth. Indeed her whole
attitude seemed to express the same feel
ing. She did not bend and crouch ovei
the fire as a beggar would have done.
She did not sit before it and court iti
cheerful heat as if it had blazed on hex
own hearthstone.
Scarcely swerving from the most ered
position as she leaned against the mar
ble, her clasped hands hanging before
her, she seemed to be bracing herseli
against an attraction that would draw
her completely into the flame. I could
almost fancy that, if left to itself , hei
slender form would be drawn closer and
closer, till finally it mingled with the
flickering blaze and with it passed intc
viewless air.
But when I lifted my eyes to hex
face I saw that she was at least uncon
scious of the fancied impulse. Her fixed
eyes and a faint smile on her lips told
that some pleasant thought had be
guiled her even there into a day dream.
Following the direction of her gazel
saw that it rested on the same solitary
coin which had been the subject of my
own meditations, and which lay just
where I had dropped it on the table
when startled, by her knock.
Modern critics are very fond of talk
ing about the suggestive in art and litera
ture." To my own mind (because it is
hackneyed and worldly, I suppose they
would say) there is no word in the lan
guage so suggestive as money no work
of art that brings up so many and so
varied thoughts as those very remark
able profiles and effigies which adorn
our current coin. Dross in itself, if the
philosophers will have it so, yet as a
means, a tool, a path, is it not wonder
ful in the versatility of its power? What
magician ever worked such wonders in
the material world? What spirit works
so universally, so unfailingly, so unceas
ingly, in the moral? Even that single
coin on my table that infinitesimal drop
in the great ocean of wealth how much
lies within the circumference of such a
small piece of metal?
To my own mind worldly and hack
neyed, as I have before observed it had
been suggestive of a great many things.
Compressed within its disk, I had seen
my Sunday dinner ample, done to a
turn, rich with dripping gravy and
smoking hot from the roasting jack.
From its metallic rim I had already
sipped in imagination the rare old
Amontillado. A fragment of the gold
had curled my lips in fragrant wreaths
of smoke. And if I, to whom even
half eagles were not infrequent vis
itors and who, if 1 had known pov
erty at all, had known him only as a
neighbor to be shunned, and not as an
inmate to bo fought, who, even in my
worst estate, had been spared the pain
of seeing him enter at my own door
and. sit down with my dear ones at thair
scant meal; if I could see so much in
a half eagle, what a worldwide prospect
of happiness might it not open to that
poor girl's eyes? I dared not dwell on
the things she might see there, lest I
should loathe myself and the well fed
Christian men around me, who so rarely
grant such visions to the starved eye
sight, but 1 immediately gave up all
thoughts of sending the girl away with
out her money.
Yes, her money! For hers it was by
all that can make good title in law or
equity; earned by the fragment of her
young-life she had given for it; earned
with the very flesh from her wasted
frame and the blood from her pale
cheeks.
What business had I to be speculating
and sentimentalizing thus about the af
fairs of a young lady with whom I had
only a little business transaction. I
might have known that such an unpro
fessional train of thought would lead to
some blunder. The earthen pot and the
iron one never can swim safely together
in fact or fable. Consequently I broke
in upon the poor girl's reverie with the
most awkward question in the world:
"Have you any change, miss?"
Site stood on the other side of the fire
place. The 3carlet blood rushed to her face
as she shook her head, and. mine was
already on its way there, when I tried
to mend the matter by hurrying out.
"No, no, of course you haven't!"
And there I stuck, and if ever a
middle aged counselor at law felt like a
fool in his own office I did.
Her eyes were filled with tears at
what must have seemed the rudeneaaof
5iy remark. I could havo gone on my
knees to ask her pardon if I had only
known in what words tophras the en
treaty. The scene was so embarrassing
that I cut it short by pressing the coin
into her hand and telling her that we
would make it all right if she would
come for more work on Monday. Very
likelir she would have said something in
reply, but not feeling inclined to test
my conversational powers further, after
such an unlucky beginning, I hastily
bade her good night and opened the
door.
When her back wa3 fairly turned I
took my candle and held it at the stair
head till she had reached the bottom of
the last long flight, and then going back
to my armchair wondered what Mrs.
Quidam would say to a cold Sunday dinner.
CHAPTER IL
"11 that rascally-boy 'Of mine has no
made a good fire," said I to myself as I
walked down town the Monday morn
ing following, "I shall certainly give
him the thrashing in which I have stood
indebted to him so long."
From this novel species of accord and
satisfaction, however, the much-thereof-deserving
youth was saved by an tmtjx-
Allcfs identification.
pectea inciaent. Tseatea Dy Xne cTfeer
lessand neglected grate as I entered 1
beheld my visitor of the preceding Sat
urday night. Her pale, sad face was
even paler and sadder than before, and
I thought there were tears in her eyes
and traces of many that had preceded
them. But perhaps this was owing'to
the smoke now pouring from the mass
of paper and wet wood with which Tom,
as usual, greeted my arrival.
T am Borry to tell you, air," she said,
after answering my salutation, "that
the coin you gave me was a bad one."
A bad one my beautiful half eagle a
counterfeit! -In what "of earth can con
fidence then be placed? I took it in my
hand; it certainly had every appearance
of being genuine.
"Positively, you must be mistaken,
my dear. I could not be deceived eo
easily." And feeling that I undoubtedly
appeared to her as a gentleman, whom
the daily inspection of unlimited gold
coin had made a perfect Sir Oracle upon
the subject, I drew myself up before the
fire
As who should say,
"Let no dog bark."
Her lip quivered as she replied:
"Indeed, sir, 'I am very, very sorry,
but it must be so, for for yon know 1
had no other but that."
"And pray how did you learn it to be
a counterfeit?"
"When I left here, sir, I went directly
up to to a place where some of our
things were; 1 went to pay the little
sum we had borrowed on them when
my mother was taken sick, and the man
took the half eagle and said it was a
counterfeit and gave it back to me."
"Nonsense, child, the man was mis
taken." She did not argue the point, but made
a brief apology for the trouble she had
given me, and hesitated.
"I trust," said I, still somewhat gran
diloquent and condescending, as a man
whose resources have unjustly been sus
pected, "that the fellow's stupidity has
caused you no inconvenience?"
A bright hectic flush crossed her pale
cheek as an instinctive denial rose to her
lips. Farther than that the falsehood
could not come; her head sunk between
her hands, and the poor girl, weak and
cold and starving, as I afterward knew,
sobbed violently.
Little by little I learned her sad story.
It need not be repeated here; it lacks,
alas, the charm of novelty. Years of
still deepening poverty, and yesterday,
when Mrs. Quidam and I wefe grum
bling at our leg of cold mutton this poor
child and her sick mother passed the
long cold day without food or fire, even
the warm clothes and bedding, which
this money was to have redeemed from
the pawnbroker's, denied to their shiv
ering limbs.
I put on my hat and stepped over to
Bullion's to get change for the half
eagle. The clerk threw it carelessly on
a balance, and had already handed me
the change, when he saw that the deli
cate arm after vibrating a little did not
decline with the weight. He took it up
and handed it to the head of the firm,
and after a short consultation between
them I was asked into the- inner office.
A chemical test soon proved the worth
less character of the coin. Bullion asked
me if I knew where I had received it.
"Certainly."
"I have seen two or three 'of late pre
cisely like it. The counterfeit is a
dextrous one, and we have in vain tried
to trace its origin. If you can assist us
in this it will be a great service to the
community."
I took up the deceptive coin and scru
tinized it curiously. The workmanship
was perfect; the thought at once flashed
across my mind, too perfect; where was
the knife mark I myself had made? I
could not be deceived the coin had
certainly been changed. And this was
the end of all my fine sentiment about
the interesting yonng girl!
In a few words I communicated the
circumstances connected with it to Mr.
Bullion, who jumped at once to the con-,
elusion.
"I thought so," said he, "I thought
K! I knew that some fresh and uusus-,
pected' parties must be made use of in
this business. The old hands we know
too well," he added with a chuckle.
It was soon agreed between us that
the girl should be detained and no time
lost in extracting from her a confession
as to the persons whose tool she undoubt
edly was. We accordingly repaired to
gether to my office, where we found her
patiently waiting. In answer to my
questions she repeated her story with
much apparent frankness, until I asked
the name of the person to whom she had
offered the coin. After some hesitation
she named a very respectable pawn
broker in C street, to whom, as well
as to the police office, a messenger was
immediately dispatched.
Mr. Forceps soon came, -and we re
ceived him in another apartment. His
answers to the inquiries we made com
pletely confirmed our suspicions. Such
a coin as we showed him (the counter
feit) had been offered to him on the pre
vious Saturday night by a young wom
an, and on being confronted with our
prisoner for such we now considered
her he at once recognized her as the
same. Her own frightened, pallid face
would have satisfied us of the fact.
Half rising, as if to speak, she caught
sight of a police officer just entering the
door, and she fainted.
I went home that night ill pleased
with my day's work. That the girl was
guilty seemed but too clear. But I
could not believe that she was anything
more than an instrument, and my ex
perience in criminal law, slight as it
was, taught me how slender the chances
were of arresting the guilty parties.
Had we obtained a confession before
she fainted something might have been
done, but now the matter had gone into
the hands of the police such, shrewd
rascals as they evidently were would
pretty surely get wind of it in time t
escape.
"And so the whole upshot of the mat
ter." said-I. to myself, "will be the ruia,
concluded on fourth page.
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