The Iowa plain dealer. [volume] (New Oregon, Howard County, Iowa) 1867-1895, 1869-12-24

vial and frolicsome as a school boy
on the day of my departure. Th
valuable little box was snugly stowe'
away in my valisc, which was neve
to be without my reach. .
"Take care of yourself. Mills!
said Scott, twisting my hand.
Don't marry her and come bac]
with the fortuns!'' cried Crounse, a
| crcpt carefully down stairs.
Hurrying along the street to th'
depot, l encountered Mrs. Murtagh.
''Goin' to lcayc Vs." she inquired
planting her burly form in my way.
"Ycs'm.'
Air yer goin' fur away"
"1owa.' l jcrkcd out.
Yer must 60 through Chicago,
them"
"Ycs'm." answered, wondering
why she asked.
well Good byc!' holding out
her dumpy hand. Goodbye, Mr..
Millsl Husband and me air goin' tc
Bost;n to-morry ani shrn's como bach
again. BY the way. here's lct:e,
your firm lost, l guess. handing me
Miss Stark's communication. Then
continuing, 81 want ter say that
bear yc no i'll will for nsbakin' up Rod.
drick the other night He orter have
it oftner for his good; but I'm getting
too weak in the jints to do it up
handsomely, and the DOCTORS"
Never mind. Mrs. Murtagh. I'll
forgive you; but you must excuse me
If leave you in order to catch the
cars.
She seemed exceedingly disappoint-
cd at not being allowed to relieve her
mind of what the doctor said. In
fact I felt a little ashamed of treat
ing tho woman with such brusquencss,
and half turned in my walk to look
back. Doing so l saw that her hus-
band had joined her, that he carried
a bundle in his arms. that she was
pointing toward me, and that; finally
they suddenly separated, going in op
posite directions and at right angles
to my course.
The only marked events of my ride
to Chicago might be summed up as
being two: One the apparition, on
the platform Of misera bic way sta
tion. Of Mr.. Murtagh, in the puise of
a very fat man with red moustache;
second, an accident which happened
u little while before reaching Chica-
go. In the first case l no sooner "a "
the figure than | rose from my seat,
and with my carpet bag-which trav-
eled between my fect-in my hand, l
went out to realize that the phantom,
if it were such, had disappeared un.
less by magic be had been transform
ed into the decrepit old apple man
stealing out of the darkness of tho
night to yend his stock in trade upon
the train. Heartily disguised with
my suspicion I went back to my seat
only to encounter a little later, an
aeeidvnt which threw car FROM the
track This delayed our arrival in
Chicago until after midnight. A few
buses and one hack were in waiting:
As I stepped out into the glare Of the
gas lights the hackman came up to
me and said
I'm No. 75.'
Swell, what Of it 2"
''l'm the man you want, and you're
the man | want.
Indeed 20
Eyes, sir. Ola man Scott tele-
graphed me to meet and take good
care of man Of your description
a young man with side whiskers, small
valise in hand, and named Nills,"-
saying it with an air of confirmed
honesty.
''I'm the man, then" l said warm
ed at my heart by the kindness of the
partners, SO delicatcly exhibited
You know the old gentleman?''
.'Gucss l do J! was his coac.,man
for little while, once upon a time"
/" Yes! yes!" clutching my prcc-
ious travelling bag closely to my side.
He was long time-at least Eve
minu.es-in getting me 60 his vehi-
cle Once entered, the door was
slammed to; the driver stuck his head
through tho window. and inquired
where tor in AZ off-hand business
way, and receiving bis answer, rails
ed the window, muttering something
about the night as being very damp
Before starting | asked how far it
was to the depot, whence my train
was to leave, and was answered that
it was about mile.
With q whistling whirl to bis whip
and sharp "git" the driver put his
horses to a quick trot. and !! began
what proved to be one of the most
terrible rides ever taken in a car
riage. We ratified noisily over stone
then rolled up the wood
en- Nicholson that lulled the traveller
into drowsiness. The lamps were all
out, but as We dashed along the
streets I could family discern pvlicc-
men, now aud then, lingering. like
belated shadows, by saloons where
were chorusing at corners
where the night wind blew cold and
thirst into their throats, in stairways
where odd lights through colored cur
tains fickcred against their stars,
along past houses dreary in shade VS.,
past God-forsaken women tramplng
up and down the streets, past empty,
echoing crossways with dogs chasing
each other like phantoms. But hou-