The Ashland union. [volume] (Ashland, Ashland County, Ohio) 1854-1868, 1858-12-29

she SAID that, md he Show nm IN at
once, then" -, ..If-, - s.----.
He was shown inlilnmediately. A imddling-
sized man, with rsharp, unwholsome-loo ooking
face, and with a Mppant, reckless manner;
dressed in, style Of shabby snarthcss;; eyeing
me with bdId LOOK and not so oxerburdened
with politeless as to trouble himself abetit Ia
4 King off his hat when he came IN I Had ner
er seen him beforein my life; and T. could
not form the Slightest conjecture from his APP
pearancc to guide, me towards guessing his pop'
sition in the world. :, He was not,a gentleman,
evidently; but as. tQfxing his whereabouts in
the infinite, downwa,1 gradatiohs of yagabond
existence in London that was mystery whirh
Twas totally incompetent to solve. -. -,
sIs your namc Trowbribge?,, he began. 80
sNes," I answered, drily enough. - = - , - - -
!. "Ho you bank with Marsh, Straces Fountler-
roy and Graham p Y, -, -
5"Why do you ask - =, 80
| every well, / do bank with Marsh, Starcey,
Fauntleroy, and Graham and what them
"Draw out, every farthIng of balance you
have got, before the bank closes at five to
day" - - - '-.l -.'. .--
I stared at him in specifies amazement-
The words, for the instant, absolutely petrifed
me. s.
"stare as much as you ike, he proceeded
cody, 81 mean what I say, Look, at your
| CLOCK tnere. IN twenty lnnulSe III Will
five, and the bank will be shut. Draw out
every tarthing; I tell you, again; and look
sharp about it. .f..i5Qi' -
'1Dr,w out my money!. Iexchlimed partial
ly recovering myself Are you in your right
senses? Do you know that the firm / bank
with represents one of the first houses in the
world? What do you mean---you who are a
total stranger to me-by taking this extraor-
binary interest in my affairs? If you want me
|
yourself?'''a II e'a +H g57l a 5.1
''I have explained myself Act on my ad-
vice, or not, just as you like. 1t don't matter
to me- / have done what L promised; and
there's an end of it, Z scV G0i .-f.G
He turned to the door. The minute hand
of the clock was getting from the twenty
minutsc to the quarter. ' l7a -t-ae H.
"Done what you promised?" i repeated,
getting up to stop him. E- frs.1t
-''Yes, - he said, with his hand on the lock
"E have given my message Whatever hap
pens remember that. Good afternoon" hin
He was gone before / could speak again.
1 tried to call after him, but my lips had sud- |
denly got dry, and the words seemed to stick
on them i could not imagine why, but there
was somsthing in the mans last words which
had more than half frightened me. gI lee
/ looked at Tic clock. The minute hand
was on the quarter. My Office just far
for me to decide on the instant. ffI had had
time to think, L am perfectly certain that /
should not have profted by the extraordinary
warming that had just been addressed to me.
The suspicious Appearances and manners of
the stranger; the outrageous improbability of
the inference against the credit of the bank
towards which his words pointed the chance
that some underhandcd attempt was being
made, by some enemy of mine, to frighten me
h.n;
friends, through showing an ignorant dstrust
of the firm with which Ire was associated as
these considerations would I'm
questionably have occurred to me, if / could
have found time for reflection; and, as a neccs-
sary consequence, not one farthing of my bal
ance would have been taken from the keeping
Of the bank on that memorable day. rs i-ltf
AS it was; had just time enough to act,
and not spare moment for thinking. Some
heavy payments made at the beginning of the
week had so far decreased my balance, that
the sum to my credit in the banking book
barely reached fifteen hundred pounds. 1 ,
snatched up my cheque-book; wrote a draft for .
the whole amount, and ordered one of my clerks ,
to run to the bank and get it cashed before {
the doors closed. What impulse urged me OH, |
except the blind impulse of hurry and bewild- I
erInent, can't say. l acted mechanically un- |
lcr the influence of the vague, inexplicable
fear which the mans extraordinary parting t
words had aroused i'll me, without stopping to $
inalyse my own sensations-almost without c
lnowing what was about. In three minutes '
rom the time when the stranger had. closed /
ny door, the. clerk had started for the bank $
md was alone again in my room, with my /
hands as cold as ice, and my head in a whirl. Y
{ did not recover my centrol. over myself It
lntil the clerk came back. with the notes in
land. He had just got to the bank Jin the a
lick of time. As the cash for my draft was @
landed to him over. the counter, the clock \
truck five, and he heard tho aorder given. Ito ii
lose the doors. L--EG..ya -J
When had counted the bank k=notes, and j.
lad locked them up in the safe, my better Il
ense seemed to comeback to me on Il sudden. Ist
Iever have / reproached myself before or In
ince, as / reproached myself at that moment. "a
What sort of return had i made for Mr. Faunt- Il
eroy's fatherly kindness to me2l 1 had in Il
ulted him by the meanest, the grossest9 dis 81
rust of the honor and the credit of his house; b
nd that on the word of an absolute stranger, Fh
vagabond, if ever, there was one yet: 1t f}s;
as madness, downright madness in any man, N
, have actedeas 1 had done. IL could nqtiac- ft
ount. for my own inconeeivably Ethoughtless 5iff
l could hardly believe in it my V,
IF. l opened the safe and looked at the OF
ank-hotes agaim Islockedi it once more, and tt
ung the key down on the table in fury of a,
exation against myself. There the money nj
as, upbraidiig me with. my own inconeei1ablei st
lily; telling me in the plainest terms that / h
ad risked depriving myself of my best. and v,
indest friend henceforth and forever. g5-5 - Kin
1t was necessary to do something at once ga
wards making all the atonement that Clay in Isl
y power:1 fell that; as soon as I began to m;
,ol down little, there was but one plain, I'll
way left now out of the scrapc th
which had been mad enough to involve lie
yself. I took my hat, and, without stopping m
instant to hesitate,9 hurried off to the bank o.
make clean breast of It 10 Air. FuaIitleroy pa
When knocked at the private door, and ri
ked for him, / was told that he had not been nc
the bank for the last two days. One efithe or
80, ,yo., la,<s..a.. v5o !