The Elk advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Elk Co., Pa.) 186?-1868, 1864-12-17


rncd myself to observing the new conner,
who sat down, not opposite to me, but
in the middle partition, full in the glare
of the lamp. In very short time ! had
as thought, .akcn the measure of this
not very delightful fellow voyngcr. lie
was young man, perhaps a year my
senior, strongly built, and with rather
Il handsome lace, sadly marrcd Ivy very
evident traces Of dissipation He wore
a coat Of sporting cut; blue "birds-
eye" scarf, with horseshoe pin in it,
and a great dubious jewclry in the
shape of rings, watch chain aud dang
ling trinketS. ',,'hc railway rug, that
lay across the knees of his tight fitting
drab trousers, was of gaudy pattern,
yellow andrcd. His eyes were blood.
shot, his voice thick, and he smclt very
strongly Of bad tobacco and bad brandy.
To all appearance he was betting man,
or sporting "ecnt" of the lower substra'
tum Of that unnyiting class.
The bell rang for the last time. There
was the customary final rush and scurry
"fbclatcd passengers and 2ortcrs, and
the voices of the newspaper H2ys grew
ahrillcr and more excited, Then the
guards sprang to the steps Of their vans,
and the station master looked woarily up
and down the line, prepared to signal the
engine driver st that moment man
came uarting across the platform, tore
open the door, jumped in and set down
opposite TO nc \ policeman ran up
AMI shut the door.
"All right, Sandcrson."
The train began to move. l looked
at my opposite nciyhbor, and could
hardly rcplcss an exclamation OF sur
Prise and ycxation. The Russian. Yes,
there was DO mistaking the man. |
knew the rcd brown beard, that fiat ii !
.,erish face, those long, crafty eyes,
black and narrow rs an American Indi- |
ans, perfectly well.
hal seen the man at the ticket win
dow, certainly, but that was more than
ten minutes ago, end / had been conf
dent that he had long since taken his
seat in some other compartment Of tho
train. Such, however, was 10 the case.
was latcd, it seemed, always to be in
contact with this person, for whom L
had conceived an antipathy that was
,idcd. There was a lock Of stcaIthJ
icrcencss ANA greasy sell snihciehcy
,bout the man which would have been
i;st.str(,,, iomost reople. His was one
i warniing. ,aaaii ..''A And aSrtcr al, was It co.
rcido that had brought me so often
ace to face with this grim foreigner ? !
Certainly it might have been pure acci'
lcuL which caused him to witness both
ny entry into and my exit from the
cwcllcr's shop. It might have been
mere hazard which made him my fellow
favcllor by the same train and carriage.
Md yc. I could help somehow connGe-
ing the four wheeled cab drawn by the
,yay horse, the cab that had been eta
ioncd near the club door, that had ap' !
ocarcd in the street stoppagc, with the
uddcn appearance of the Russian at the
crminus Of the railway, Had he dog ,,
gel me all that evening, tracking me
With blood hounds pcrtinacity from
he jewellers door to the railway car !
iago? It was possible, though rot
likely. But in vain tried to dismiss
he idea as silly and romantic. 1t re,
urred asain and again. Ard yet :
yhy should he or any one dog my
tcps ?
The answer to this sell'qucstion came
air. The jewels the costly set of pearl '
nd ruJa ornaments I carried about me
nd Of which this man had probably :
gerhoard the garrulous old jewollcr :
lako mention. And yet the Russian ,
ad hardly the air of a p;ckpocket'
'hcrc was something defiant and AFRO
ant in his look, and an undefinablc air ,,
I education cung to him in spite OF his !
habby exterior And as for violence,
had young mans confidence in my ,
Nn power to cope with any single. an
agonist, and besides, l was not alone
nth him. So far my thoughts had
.one, while | gazcd abstractedly from
he window, as if marking the last lights
f the London suburbs, as the dark
cdgos and dim meadows succeeded
0 houses and factories but then l cast
glance around aud saw sight which
auscl me an involuntary thrill OF alarm
The two passengers in the carriage
we're rapidly and secretly conycrsing by
means Of sigus
There could be no doubt upon the point.
The two men who were my solo companions
n that rapid and timely journey, ill-loOk-
ng desperadoes, each in bis seperate style,
we're accomplices. Up to that monent l
Jad not for an instant suspecte d any col
usiou between the two. They came at
liGerent times; one was English, the other
foreigner, and between the shabby lcctu-
er and the betting man, soddcn with drink
nd attred in fashy fnery, any previous