Mineral Point weekly tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1859-1868, 1868-05-06

big for that"
Il never heard of any thing miss
ing IN this room before, You'll find
them, no doubt
! The almost Indifference with which
Burtis said this, and the degree to
which he was absorbed in his work
the next moment, displeased the
great, overgrown, selfish boy, who
would never arrive at mans estate
though he lived the allotted term of a
mans life and he continued his in
vcstigations, as the clerks came IN.
in a manner that would have provok-
ed quarrel in some quarter, had not
the young men all been so pre-occu-
pied with the fact that ''trcmend.
Gus days work" was before them, and
that there was no time for talk.
Smith arrived, and sat down before
his desk to preform his task, and at
the same time endure a raging head
ache When Burtis looked at him he
saw that no assistance was to be ask
ed Of him, and resolved that he would
himself make Stops place good
Mr.. Wood, the head clerk, accepted
his offer and allowed David to DO the
work Of the two without word of en-
couragement. Mr. \ beel never would
have done this but the contrast be-
tween the two merely suggested its
elf to David he was too much pre-
occupied to dwell upon it. And it
was not the work he had to do that
so much absorbed him. He was think
ing of the sub-janitress-
At half past three o'clock she came
as on the day before. And again,
when she opened the door, her. son
looked up and shook his head but at
the same instant he looked at Hark-
ness, whose eyes were upon him. As
the woman was about to close the
door Harkness sprang up.
"See here ?" he shouted. ~ hats
your name! Did you see any thing
of pair of sleeve-b buttons yesterday,
when YOU cleaned up?'
Il did not" she answered, az dis
tinctly ard emphatically IS ever a
question was answered.
That's odd. / should think you
must have said Harkncss. Il left
them on my desk, and nobody here
knows any thing about them. It's
dcuced strange, to say the least.
The woman stood still moment
She seemed not to understand quite
the meaning Of the words the young
man had last spoken. She glanced
involuntarily toward her son. He sat
twisting his pen and looking down,
not at his desk, but on the Aoor-the
next moment without lifting his eyes
he went on with his work. This was
done Of his business.
Il wish YOU would Just look over
Your rubbish-hcap and see if you
havn't brushed them in BY mistake, ="
/ said IIarkness. The words sounded
more like a warning that the buttons
must be forthcoming than civil re-
/ quest
Its the first time, isn't it, gentle
men, that any thing was lost ont Of
this room since | began to take care
Of it ten years ago2 Can't somebody
/ answer p
Il can, mother" said voice from
/ the corner; but it was not David's
voice. The assurance came from the
z
in his modest quiet way--he was
poor Young man, a good soul, doomed
to be a clerk to his lifc's end-ah
I there's many more ignohle fate than
/ that. .f'll answer for it. Nothing
was ever lost here before that I've
heard of.
Thank YOU, 1fr. White, said she,
Il can look in the rubbish-box, Sir,
/ turning to Harkness "but it isn't
/ likely in a room kept as clean as
this Is. that | could brush mp things
ike them and not know it.
Hardness nodded twice md looked
around the room before he sat down.
/ They all felt that he might as we'll
have said, j think so mvself.h
David was in the office working till
dark. After all the other clerks had
4 left his mother came up and saw HIM
+ sitting there. ~ on can come IN,
said he; for she hesitated when she
/ looked in. though she saw he was
alone Crossing the room she sat
down on the chair before Stops aos!,
aud leaned on her hand, looking at
/ DAVID This is bad job for me,
+ she said.
I'm sorry it happened to be Hark
/ ness" he answered There isn't
another one Of the clerks that would
make such a row as he about a thing
I like that
"Butthey are valuable-diamonds-
he said.
"Ther couldn't have got into your
dust.ra anv way without your seeing
them, said David, looking down.
They couldn t-no, they couldn t
/ possibly. I've looked the heap over.
F.. though. But l should have seen them
at first. Why there wansnt rubbish
enough to half fill my pail of this
whole floor
lie has such tongue he will be
likely TO talk al over the building =
II may make it uncomfortable for
you.
David's eyes were still bent toward
the floor.
IF I am going to have two or
three hundred Young men looking at
me a. Il | KS. thief. ! Nigh. better
leave the place and let somebody else
take it.