The Carolina Spartan. [volume] (Spartanburg, S.C.) 1852-1896, 1856-08-07
THE MISSING LETTER.
III

a few days after this, Higham great mar
Ret was held, the first in the new year.
Amongst other farmers who attended it
was Mr.. Sterling About three o'clock in
the afternoon, when his business was over.
he went into the post.ofiics. Mr.. Crane
and his son were both there, the latter sit
ting down and reading a newspaper 1t
was not busy hour.
"Good- day, Mr.. Crane" said the farmer.
"Good day, Master Walter. I have come
about that letter. do think it must be
lost. It never was so late before, that re-.
collect"
"What letter." inquired Mr.. Crane.
"Why, that letter-with my fifty pound
IN 1t. don't expect any other. You are
sure you have not overlooked il9"
The letter! 1t went to Layton days
ago!" responded Mr.. Crane. "Have Won
not received it2"
Farmer Sterliug's eyes opened wide with
perplexity, aud his mouth also. "Went TO
Layton days ago!' lie uttered at length.
Where is it then?"
"lf you have not had it, theie must be
some mismanagement at the Layton office.
But such neglect is unusual with Mr..
Marsh"
"Good a mercy l hope it has never
been sto!e."
(which morning was IT the letter came,
WaIterl" cried Mr. Crane, appealing TO his
son. "Oh--I remember-the day YOU and
the girls were going over. 1t was the very
morning of your wifc's bali, Mr.. Sterling"
The morning aforc, or the morning nj.
tiers" asked the bewidercd farmer.
The same morning, tire eth of January,
when Walter and the two girls went over
in the evening"
Nov why didn't yoa tell lHe it was
come, Mr.. Walter?" expostuIated the far.
mer. e-
never ahOuslnt OF it, replied the young
man. "Aad II Ihad thought Of it. itwoull
only have been to suppose you had rece;v.
ell It, f"a onght to have hadt that af.
ternoon. Had you happened to mention
1t, could have told yor it WAS come"
Nov look At ,hatl" groaned the farmer
what with the kick up that night, the
smoking. and the eating and drinking, I'm
biest II didn't cast care To the winds, and
the letter never came into my head at all.
Are you quite sure, Mr.. Crane, that it as
the very lettes?"
IL am sure II was n letter addressed TO
you, and that it came from London.
made the remark TO Walter that your let.
ter was come at last. Ihave not the slight
est doubt it was the letter."
"And you sent it TO Laytonl"
"Of course did"
"But Anne called in at the post Office
yesterday, and old Marsh assured her there
warn't nothin o. The sort arrived for me-"
II put j. into the Layton bag myself,
and secured it myself, as | always do" re.
turned Mr.. Crane, "and the bag was never
out of my hands until delivered it to John
Ledbtter. My son was present and saw
me put it in.
81 did," said Walter. When my father
exclaimed your letter was come at last, Mr..
Sterling, looked over his shoulder at the
address, and l saw him drop it into the
bag. They must have overlooked it at the
Layton office.
"old Marsh is such careful body" deba-
ted the farmer.
"He is," assented Mr.. Crane. al don't
suppose he ever overlooked letter in bis
life. Still such thing might occur. Go
to the office as soon as you return, Mr..
Sterling, and tell him from Mo that the let.
ter went on to Layton"
"lts jolly vexatious thing to have all
this bother. II that 5oi. notes gone, it's
my loss. Sel.na's father never wanted to
send 'em through the post-office, but told
him I'd run the risk"
And perhaps here lay the secret Of Far
ner Sterling's anxiety about the safe arrival
of these letters-because he knew that the
moneys being forwarded in this way was
in defiance Of the opinion of everybody.
The letter never reached Layton-so old
Mr.. Marsh affirmed when applied TO by the
farmer. lie remembered the 6th-why, it
was not week ago-the day he told Led.
bitter of the accident TO the bay mare. No
soul but himselftouched the letters; nobody
was present that day when he opened the
bag, and he could swear that the let
ter for Farmer Sterling was not in it. Mr..
Marshs word was guarantee in itself He
had held the situation two score years, and
was perfectly trustworthy.
So the cuspicion fell upon John Lelbit-
Ter. Indeed, ii may no be too much to
say that the guilt was traced home to him
The postmasters Of Higham and Layton
were known, tried public servants, above
all suspicion. The one had put the letter
IN, and secured tho bag; the other when
he opened the bag, found the letter gone;
and no one could or did have access to the
bag between those times but John Ledbitter.
lie was dismissed from his situation as dri.
yer, but, strange to say, he was not brought
to trial Farmer Sterling declined to
prosecute--he warn't going into court
o justice after keeping out Of EN- all his