Richmond palladium. [volume] (Richmond, IA [i.e. Ind.]) 1839-1854, 1848-12-27

ly as though they had vanished like the il
gotten boards in the fairy-iale.
The merchant stood ashast. He look
ed at Amos. and then dal,ed a glance a
the clock; the hand was within twent
| minutes OF three. and seemed posrin
| over the figures with The speed of light
VIVA, was TO be done! Al first he trie,
10 bully. but it would not do. Amos ,ol,
him if he had sustained any injury. ..h
might sue as soon as he pleased, for tina
his time was too precious just now TO b.
wasted in this tri!iing affair." and with ;
face of unruilied composure, he turned or
his heel and was leaving the office.
The merchant called him back; he haG
no alternative; his cred, was at stake
half the city would swear that he had los
the key TO gain time. and because there
was no money in the chest: he was hum.
bled by the necessity of the case, and
handing forth the five dollars. There
Sparks said he. "'iakc your money, and
let us have no more words.'
IL must have ten dollars now" replied
the locksmiih: 'you would have taken
advantage of poor man; and. besides o.
pening your strong box there. ! have a
lesson to give you, which is well worth a
tritiing sum. You would not only have
deprived me of wha, had been fairly earn
ed. but have tempted me into a lawsuit,
which would have ruined my family. You
will never in future presume upon Your
wealth in your dealing s with the poor.
without thinking of the lock smith, and
these five dollars may save you much sin
and much repentance"
This homily. besides being preached in
a tone Of calm deliberaton, which left no
room to hope for any abatement. had ex-
hausted another minute or two Of the time
already so precious; for the minutes, like
the SYPHILIS books, increased in value as
they diminished in number. The mer-
chant hurriedly counted out ten dollars.
which Amos deliberately inspected, to see
that they belonged to no broken bank and
then deposited in his breaches pocket
''For Heavens sake, be quick. man! |
would not have the bank close before this
money is paid for fifty dollars!" exclaim-
ed the merchant.
IL thought so,'' was the locksm,h's
grave reply; but not being a malicious or
vindictiye man, and satisfied with the
punishment already inflicted. he delayed
no longer, but opened the chest, giving
its owner time to seize the cash and
reach the bank. after rapid fight, few
minutes before it closed.
About q month after this affair, the
bank was robbed of coin and
notes to the amount offfty thousand dol
lars. The bars Of window had been
cut, and the vault entered so ingenouslv,
that it was evident that the burglar had
poosssessed eeesia!fs aariRRG cousa%&s. bGaed
secured the city and country round u
bout, but no clew to the discovery of the
robbery could be traced. Everybody who
had anything to loose felt that daring and
ingenious felons were abroad, who might
probaly pay them a visit: all were there
fore interested in their discovery and con.
viction. Suspicion at length began to
settle upon Sparks. But yet his poverty
and known integrity seemed to give them
the lie. The story of the iron chest,
which the merchant had hitherto been
ashamed and Amos too forgiving to tell
for the latter did not care to set the town
laughing, even at the man who had
him-now began to be noised
abroad. The merchant, influenced by a
vindictive spirit, had whispered it to the
directors Of the bank, with sundry shrugs
and inuendoes, and, Of course it soon
spread far and wide, with all sorts of exag-
gerated variations and additions. Amos
thought, for several days, that some of his
neighbors looked and acted rather oddly,
and he missed one or two who used to
drop in and chat almost every afternoons;
but not suspectng for moment that there
was any cause for altered behavior, these
matters made but a slight impression on
his mind. In all such cases lhe person
most interested is The last to hear disa-
greeable news; and the first hint the lock-
smith got Of the universal suspicion, was
from the officer of the police, who came
with party Of constables to search his
premises. Astonishment and grief were,
Of course, the portion of Amos and his
family for that day. The first shock to a
household who had, derived, even amidst
their humble poverty. much satisfaction
from the possession of a good name-a
property they had been taught to value a.
Dove all earthly treasures-may be easily
To have defrauded a neigh
Dor of sixpence would have been
neanness no one of them would have
been guilty of,-but fifty thousand dollars!
he immensely of the sum seemed to
,lothe the suspicion with a weaght Of ter
or, that nearly pressed them to the earth
They chung to each other. with bruised
and f1uttered spirits, while the search was
proceeding; and it was not until it was
and the officer declared h m
self satisfied that there was none of the
Missing property on the premises, that
hey began to rally and look calmly at the
which seemed, for the mo-
nent. to menace the peace and security
hey had hitherto enjoyed.
"Cheer up. my darlings!' said Amos,
Who was the first to recover the sobriety of
bought that usually characterized him.
cheer up! all will yet be we'll; it is impos-
ble that this unjust suspicion can long
lover about US. A life of honesty and
air dealing will not be without its reward:
here was perhaps something in my trade,
md the skill which long practice had CIV
n me in it. that naturally enouph led the