Daily Ohio statesman. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1855-1870, 1867-03-02

think that you may be too hard with a poor
sinful fellow-being, and not go beyond the
limits Of the law either"
THAT rich gentleman who had his pock-
ct picked will go home to fine dinner anC
a bottle of wine, no doubt, and the wretch
of thief may have crust of bread anC
glass of burning gin, if he can sell or pawn
what he, stole for enough to get them
Somehow, if could. wouldn't have him
hunted down to-night--I VOW wouldn't.
''Stiil, don't blame those young fellows;
I'd have been as furious in the chase as any
of, 'emyears ago; but learnt lesson once
that have never forgotten, and Iihope
never may. l was a young man, and a
poor one then, and had hard struggle to
make my little shop keep my family. Ii
was only by, pinching and saving, and
keeping sharp lookout for every bargain,
thatI managed it at all. .iH,I n
We lived in a shabby little street, and
had only very poor customers. A loaf OF
bread, a quarter of pound of butter, and
two ounces of black tea was quite an
order; and most of those that came wanted
trust. ils ,a1a g.. l.9gor- ..t3r-'tft -.
AS for laying in fine fruit or vegetables,
/ never thought of such folly. Dia-
monds would have been as saleable In that
part of the city, where WasherWomen and
the poorest laboring men were the aristoc-
racy.s -s.f fgiiii'
n Now and then when foreign ship came
to port with load of ruined pine-apples,
or decayed oranges, bought lot of these,
and charging neXt to nothing, sold them
easily enough. Although, l own, my wife
used to say the miserable babies, who rolled
about the cutters, died off faster, after eve
'ry stock of foreign fruit L sold in the old
shop, and Pm afraid that she was right
Well, as told. you, / Istruggled along as best
might, and after awhile things began to
improve, and began to have visions of q
clean store in good street, when laid
down to rest at night. at $50 Hi -si
-ni So one day when had been to the mar
ket brought 0Dwn half a dozen hams and
hung them up about the door, more Tor
show than anything else, for ham was a
good holiday dinner in those regions, and
not an every day affair, l can tell you. They
went off slowly, as thought they would.
Now and then some one would come in for
, a pound, and onceI sold half of the small
est one to a woman who wanted it for her
Sunday dinner She was to pay me on Mon
day morning, but she never did, for on Sum
day night her husband killed her with a
rum-bottle, and theyitook her body past my
shop with it's poor head all beaten out OF
shape and bloody. slli o5 D57.
IN And so the hams hung there through the
summer, and through the fall, and quite on
: into the winter. ~ --.satiEf vim
IL was lust as the December nights be-
gan to grow long, and dark and cold, that
/ noticed young policeman on our beat,
a handsome looking fellow, With very
bright ewes, but with such thin cheeks and
hands, although he. seemed powerfully
built and made for rather stout man, that
could not help watching MIN and Won
derinp whether he had been ill or not. The
first time that / noticed him was about
sunset, and he passed and repassed my
window dozen times, looking all the time
straight at those hams which dang1ed from
81, d + none
means to buy one, said to my wife, as we
SAT- together over the tea-table; land
shouldn't wonder if he did, for he seems to
have taken. quite fancy to them"
But the evening passed, and though l
saw him every now ana tnen' on Gne otner
side of the way, looking across with his
bright eyes straight at the hams, he did not
come in and speak to me on the subject;
And so made up my mind that he would
send for it in the morning, and somehow
made so secure of it that whenever L saw
a decent looking woman go by with bas-
ket on her arm, i said "That's the police
mans wife coming after the ham,"
L was mistaken, however; and after the
street lamps were lighted began to see
the man pacing up and down, up and down,
up and down, with his eyes still fixed, as
tbey had been the night previous, upon the
hams. Once he caught me peeping at him,
and then he turned so red and looked at
me with such wolfish glitter in his eyes,
that I grew angry, and said to myself: "It's
well that keeping unstable articles isn't a
crime in this country, for if it was should
expect to be arrested" ,,...
So I gave him back his look, turned on
my heel, and walked back into, the shop. L
did not see him again that night; but long
after everything had been taken in and
locked up, and Iwas snug in bed, heard
tramp, tramp, tramp, upon the pavement.
nd xUoc T1niIppman.
that he was looking at the hooks where the
hams hung, as well as though had seen
him.
On the third evening he was there again;
that you may say was no wonder, tor it
was his duty to be upon that beat and no
other; but it was curious that he should
keep on staring at those hams with those
bright wolfish eyes of his. didn't like it,
though 1 couldn't have said why.
A vessel had been wrecked at sea about
that time, and an extra, with the latest news
of the disaster, came out that evening. /
bought paper, and sat down behind the
counter to read it. 1t was stormy night
and but few customers came in, and those
were easily served, and somehow, between
rea6ing and thinking, time passed on, un-
til the clock struck eleven, and had not
vet taken in my goods or put up my shut
ters.
Just as was about to do so Tin fact 1 had
already put my hand upon the first piece
of the shutter) my door opened, and an old
woman came in. She was sottlsh, mlsera-
BILE creature, known about the place as
Irish Kate, and, with her red nose, and
bleared eyes, and bloated limbs, was as
ugly figure as any one ever casteye upon.
''Another dram. suppose / said to myself,
going behind the bar at once, for wanted
to get rid of her as soon as possible. But
she, 10 my surprise, came close up to me,
rsoC
live made diskivery, mister" she said.
you've not been keeping bright look
out as We should; there's been a thafe at
work without, this blessed night"
sWfat thief?" asked.
-ssMefe than Lean tell ye," she answered.
"But think it's policeman, no less, the
tbiackguard." 1a5 81
"a policeman! ~ Icried, and my thoughts
c flew at once to the man had seen staring
at my hams.
ssJt's too dark to see his face,'' she said,
s.but caught the shine of a star on the
coat he had on, and whoever it was took a
harl from your pegs and hid it in the ash
box beyant the corner. Yell find 1t there,
if We look; and now yell not refuse an old
woman sup o. whisky for the informa-
tfon. e& - ae -st r.
| gave the old creature what she wanted,
hurried her out of the shop and put up the
shutters, growing more angry every mo-
ment.
. .e"If it's the policeman, I'll make him pay
dearly for it," exclaimed, as skunk along
the sidewalk to the corner, keeping in the
shadow all the way, and when L stood be-
side the box and saw by the light of the
lamp, close by, that the ham was there,
wrapped in something which looked like a
handkerchief, bit my lips, clenching, my
hands with rage. Had it been common
thief, l should not have minded; but po-
licemani it was more than could stand.
So L crouched myself in doorway and
waited. The watch were relieved at twelve
O'Clock; knew that, and knew also that
this would be the time when my policeman
would come to take the ham from .ont of