The evening Argus. [volume] (Rock Island, Ill.) 1861-1871, 1867-02-16

She was TO pay me On MONDAY morning, pdt
she never did, for on Sunday night her hus.
band killed her swsth 1 srufasb6ttle, land they
took her .bedF past my ssAsR with sts Peq
head all beaten out of shape and bioedy i
: And SO the hams hung there through the
summer. and through the fall, and quite on
into Me Rinter.r lI0a NAI uI1SI
1T wasyiust. as the December nights began
I'd aro4s lshg ,sand dark and cold, that L NO.
ticed a Young policeman on our beat, hand
some looking fellow, with very bright eyes,
but with sueh thin eheeks and hands, altho'
he seemed owdtfuTl4 built ard made for
rather stout man, that / could not help
watching him and sRandarihg xheznaf he
had been i'll or not. The first time that /
noticed him was about sunset, and he passed
and repassed piy window q dozen times,
looking a the time Straight at those hams
which dangfed from the frame of the awning
I hope he smeanssto buy one,s T. said 10 my
wife. as we sat together over the tea table
and | shouldn't wonder if he did, for he
seems to have taken quite fancy to Them
But the evening passed, and though 1 saw
him every now and then on the other 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 l made
up my mind that he would send for it in the
morning, and somehow made so secure of it
that Whenever sawsa decent looking woman
go by With a basket Oh her arm, Issid !:
That's the polieemans wife coming after the
ham,
was mistaken, however: and after the
street lamps were lighted began to see the
| man pacing mp and doxa, mp and down, mp
and down, with his eyes still fixed as they
had been the night previous upon the hams.
Once he caught me peeping at him, and then
he turned so red and locked ct me with such
| q wolfsh glitter 10 his eyes, that grew an
| CRY, and SAID to myself: TITS well that keep
| ing unstable articles isn't crime in this
| country, for if it was should expect to be
| arrested s~t%@~ "<-~~ - ass z----
1 So gave him back his look, turned on
/ my heel, and walked back into the shop. /
did net see him again that night but long
| after everything had been taken in and
locked up, and l was snug in bed, heard a
tramp, tramp, tramp, upon the pavement
] and knew it was the new policeman, and
/ that he was looking at the hooks where the
hams hung, as weh~ as though / had seen
| him.
On the third evening he was there again :
| that you may say was no wonder, for 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 vol
l fish eyes of his. / didn't like it, though I
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. |
1 bought a paper, and sat down behind the
counter to read it. 1t was a stormy night,
| and but few customers came in. and those
! were easily served, and Somehow, between
reading and thinking, time passed on, until
the clock struck eleven, and / had not vet
taken in my goods or putup my shutters.
| Dust as | was about to do so lin fact had
/ already put my hand upon the first piece OF
1 the shutter,) my door opened, and an old
| woman came in. She was a scottish. 1nisera-
| BILE creature, known about the place as Irish
| Kate, and, with her red nose and bleared
| eyes, and bleated limbs, wa, asugly a figure
as any one ever cast eyes upon. another
dram, | suppose / said to myself, going be-
hind the bar at once for 1 wanted to get rid
| of her as soon as possible. But she, to my
! surprise, came close up to me-. and put her
| great red paw upon my arm. = @z@ "a
| I've made diskivery, mister she said.
| You're not been keeping q bright lookout
| as ye' should; there's been "a that al work
without, this blessed night
a.
More than 1 can teif We, = she answered.
''But I think it's policeman, no less. the
blaesxguard 'ss7S
"A policemen - / cried, and my thn.-srh..
flew at once to the man | had seen staring at
my hams.
.'It's too dark to see his face" she said,
shut I caught the shine of star on the coat
| he had on, and whoever it was took a ham
| from Your pegs and hid it in the ash box be-
| want the corner. Yell find it there, if We
look and now ven not refuse an old woman
sup O whisky for the information.
| I gave the old creature what she wanted,
| hurried her out of the shop and put up the
| shutters, growing more angry every moment.
IF its the policeman, III make him pay
| dearly for il" | exclaimed, as skunk along
the sidewalk to the corner, keeping in the
shadow all the way, and when stood beside
the box and saw BY the light of the lamp.
close by. that the ham was there, wrapped in
| something which looked like handkerchief
l bit nay lips, clenching my hands with rage.
| Had it been common thief, should not
| have minded but policeman! it was more
than / could stand. So l crouched myself
in doorway and waited. The watch were
relieved at twelve O'Clock; knew that, al
knew also that this would be the time when
my policeman would come to take the ham
from out of its hiding place. And sure
| enough, when the time come, / heard him
challenge the man who was to take his place
and come marching down toward the corner
l let him get the ham under his arm before
l stirred, but then bounced on him like a
tiger.
s.'rve got you," cried. "a pretty police.
man you are, indeed, but you shall suffer fol
it, can tell you
He struggled with me for moment like q
wild thing, and then all of sudden dropped
the ham, and fell down in helpless sort O.
heap upon the ground.
sI'm a ruined man r he groaned, "a RI
ined mani there's no hope for me now. c
my God my wife-my poor little wife Y ant
he burst out crying like woman.
The sight softened me, but I was angry
still. =
"You should have thought of that befor,
YOU became a thief" ] said. 'If the guar
dian of mans property is not to be trusted
; what is to become of him? And yon lool
like gentleman-you do not look like
scoundrel; how have you ever stopped to d.
such disgraceful act as this ?"
; He was standing beside me now, and tn
! lamp fell upon his face. 1t was as white a
. that of any corpse, and his eyes glitteret
| | terribly
r s"Tll tell you what made me do it" he said
] 1T was the only thing which could hav
7 driven me to an act like that: my wife an
, child are notwithstanding, | tell you, AM
t | have nothing for Them
1Ipoliceman.s ia m iiiaS don't oftan Storva