Pomeroy weekly telegraph. [volume] (Pomeroy, Meigs County, Ohio) 1860-1866, 1861-03-01
Misre1tang.
THE IRON VAULT.
A STORY OF 4 SAN FRANCISCO LocKsMITH.

am lockamith by trade My call
ing is strange one, and possesses Ger,
tain sort of fascination, rendering it one
of the most agreeable of pursuits
Many who follow it see nothing in il
but labor; think of nothing but its re
turns in gold and silver To me it has
other charms than the money it pro-
duccs am called upon, almost daily,
to open doors and peer into long neglect
ed apartments; to spring the stubborn
locks of safes, ard gioat upon the treas
ure piled within; to quietly enter the
apartments Of ladies with more beauty
than discretion, and pick the locks OF
drawers continuing peacc-destroying
miSsives, that the dangerous evidences
Of wandering affection may not reach
the eye of a husband. or father, in pos
session Of the missing key: to force the
fastenings Of cash boxes and deposito-
ries Of rec o1ds, telling Of men made sud
denly rich, OF corporations plundered,
Of orphans robbed of hopes crushed, Of
families rained Is tlIere no charm in
ali this? no food Tor speculation? no
scope fer the range OF pleasant fancy?
fhen who would not he a locksmith,
though his face is begr.mel with the
SCOT OF the forge, and his hands are
>,aiuee with rust?
Eut h.vc a story Ito te1I-~not ex-
iagtiy Il story eitheT-t',r story i'm
pii~s the conpieiiiun - well as thc be-
g3nnla4 OF nGTratiyo-ar;i niue i
scarcely m.rc .bau he ,utro.,uriion IL
one lei t..u VINO deal, IA things o5
fancy wl1;e the rest n he spring oi
! 256 II think il WIS ia Apri, II
opened l,tie shop en- kearucy sreet.
and soon worked rnyse!fiato tair bus
mess. Late one evening, !, lady, closely
veiled, entered my shop, ana putting
from beneath ii CLOAK u small japlnned
box, requested me to open it, The lock
Vas curIously constructed, and / was all
OF an hour i'll fitting it with key The
lady seemed nervous at the delay, and
at length requested me to close the
door. | WAS "A little surprised at the
Isusg sgestion, but Of course compiled
Shutting the door and returning to my
work, the lady withdrew her veil, dis
closing as sweet face as can we'll be
imagined There was restessness in
the eye and a pallor in the cheek, how
ever, which plainly told Of heart i'll at
ease, and III moment every emotion
for her had given place to that of pity
"Perhaps you are not we'll, madam,
and the night air is too chilly?'' said [,
rather inquisitively.
felt rebuke in her reply: SIN re-
questiug you to close the door, [ had
no other object than to escape the atten-
tion Of passers.'
did not reply, but thoughtfully con-
tinued my work. She resumed: "That
little box contains valuable papers
private papers-and lost the key, or it
has been stolen. | should not wish to
have you remember that | ever came
here on such an ezra nd, she continued,
with some hesitation, and giving me a
look which it was no difficult matter to
understand.
"Certainly, madam, if you desire it
If | cannot forget your face, l will at
least attempt to lose the recollection OF
ever seeing it here"
The lady bowed rather coldly at
what l considered fine compliment
and proceeded with my work, satisfied
that a sudden discovered partiality for
NE had nothing to do with the visit
Having succeeded after much fling and
lifting, in turning the lock, [ was seized
with curiosity to get a glimpse at the
precious contents OF the box, and sud
denly raising the lid, discovered a bun.
die Of letters and daguerreotype as
slowly passed the box to its owner
She seized it hurriedly, aud placing The
letters and picture in her pocket, locked
the box, and drawing the vail over hel
face, pointed to the door. [ opened
it, and as she passed into the street, she
merely whispered, Remember" We
met again, and | have been thus partic
ulaI in describing her visit to the shor
to render probable Il subsequent recog
milton.
About two o'clock in the morning, il
the latter part Of May following, l was
awoke by gentle tap upon the window
of the room back Of the shop, in which
L lodged. Thinking Of burglars,
sprang out Of bed, and in moment wa:
at the window, with heavy hammer II
my hand, which l usually kept at tha
time wlshin convenient re, Ii Vi my bed
side
who's here. inquired, raialns tn,
hammer, and peering out into the dark