The Plymouth Democrat. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1869-1941, 1870-03-03

| have denounced Browler to the police
and had him in the station house in
twenty minutes but Baxter advised us,
in whisper, to let the plot ripen, and then
crush it at one fell swoOp; to which we
slowly assented, grasping hands over our
lunch baskets to demonstrate our unity
On going gloomily and sternly back to
my policy book, found a bit of paper be-
tween the leaves addressed to me, and
marked confidential" which ran thus
"Dear Smythe--would you do me the
great kindness to call on me at No. 10C
Cockloft street, al eight this evening
Yours, in trouble, David Browler."
/ looked over at him and he was
watching me anxiOusly over his pen
rack. l was indignant that he should
try 20 drag me into his rascality, and
nothing but boy and so tore the bit
of paper to flinders, and flung them on the
iiOOr with as much contempt as | could
get into my motions; His lip trembled
| just like q crying bsby's; and his eye
dropped under mine, and he went to work
again.
Ten minutes after, was conscious of
being cruel brute People are always
very civil and kind to a man who is to be
hung, and why should not l try to be
| obliging to man who certainly deserved
it? l determined to accommodate Brow
ler. To get him TO understand this, was
obliged to wait until the other fellows had
gone, and l then slipped around and whis-
pered over the top of his desk as if Baxter
was only yard of-and it surprised me
to see how very kind could speak to the
hoary old villain after all.
"I'll come, Browler," said /.
He lifted his head up quickly, and ap-
peared very much pleased.
You'll do me great kindness, if you
will, Smythe"
"Shall fetch any thing?"
"NO, thank yOu-eight, sharp"
With that | wsnt away. Although
knew Baxter and the others would be
awfully enraged if they got an inkling of
what was about, and although | was
positive that old Browler was endeavoring
To get me into some hangmaa's scrape, yet
when l found out that l could do a great
favor for him thought Of the many holi-
days and advance salaries | had wheedled
him out Of Besides that, he was not so
much sly and deceitful in getting me to
visit him as he was begging and asking,
and began rather to fancy the idea of a
little diplomacy; especially as l should
find out what this was all about.
Although l had never been there before,
| had but little trouble in finding Ceckloft
street. 1t might have been quiet sunny
place in the daytime, at any rate it was
sober and dark enough in the night The
houses were like mems stocks, eminently
old-fashioned and highly respectable. l
also found BrOwler easily, and he
shook my hand cordially and drag
ged me into his sitting-room, with a
joviality that never supposed he
was capable of 1t looked very strange to
me to see his glasses and bald head any
where but in the office, and that coupled
with wondering how man could be so
pleasant and affable and a deeply-dyed
villain at the same time, made me feel a
little i'll at ease. Nor was this at all BAN
ished by the solemn entrance in single
file of Browler's three thin specialized rela-
tives.
"Mr. Smythe," said Browler, bowling,
"allow me to introduce my sisters, Miss
Amabel, Miss Belinda, and Miss Cora.
Alphabetical order, you observe, A. B. c.,
while close up with D-David; a pretty
idea of my honored father, who set out
to finish the alphabet, but my mother in
terferred by dying and my father qucnched
all hope by following suit two months
after" l bowed three times successive
ly, and the three thin sisters smiled re-
provingly at Browler, who set chairs for
US.
After some trifling interruptions, in
GLIDING dish of pippins, jug of cider,
and general overhauling of the common
enemy, an open-fire, Browler proceeded
to business, placing himself in front of the
semi-circle we formed, with his ten
fingers spread out in fan like and ex-
planatory manner. The three sisters
turned their close attention to their
brothers boots, and prepared to listen
closely.
"Mr Smythe," said Browler, deliber
ately, "what say shall be very concise
and is in a measure an autobiography"
He paused an instant, and pressed his lips
together. L simply bowed, while the
three sisters gave an adjusting rustic of
their skirts.
Some years ago, in the far South,
there was an exceedingly wealthy firm
doing business in cotton and rice, by the
name of O'Neil & Co., the head of the
firm being the parent of the young
man who entered our place to-day.
Our head office was not very large one,
and l was the only book keeper 1 had
been brought up in their employ, and
one of the results of my twenty years
steady labor was a deep attachment for
the principal, Mr.. O'Neil. In spite of
this, and my ordinary sense of honor and
duty, / became what people called an un-
mitigated scoundrel." Here another rustic
occurred, and to my disgust. an undoubted
smile gathered upon the lips of the Me-
phistOphiles- BrOwler. "This wickedness
extended through a period of several
years, and was known to two persons,
though they were not in collusion. Busi-
ness was carried on, on an unsound basis
but without contraction, until the 10th of
December nine years ago. On that day,
finding concealment no longer possible, L
drew forged check for twelve hundred
dollars and fled North"
ave instigated the last act, mean the
forgery" said Miss Amabel to me-
You? you three gil ladies ?" said /.
confess that they did," said Browler,
quietly, as III he were mentioning their
subscription to a race-cup.
/ stared rather blankly at the four pairs
of spectacles which were trained on my
devoted face, and at the four sin-hardened
visages, which were as calm as if the only
crime they knew OF was an excessive ami
ability. "The hue and cry after me was
something frightful," continued BrOwler,
"but it was unsuccessful | came to this
city, obtained my present situation, and
under the name Of Browler have been a
happy man, but still robber-an un-
doubted and confessed robber''
The three ladies were still as quiet and
demure as possible, while Browler made
the last reiteration with an elasticity that
nearly approached a tone of triumph.
"The papers credited me with defal-
cation amounting to quarter of a
million, though it was really not so large.
The misappropriation was effected by sur
rep:itious advances obtained on products
under storage, and the replacement by
forged notes of checks intended for the
liquidation of claims. All was skillfully
and neatly done, and the springing of the
trap found me in possession of sufficient
funds for my cxJenses, hey, girls?'
"Ouite n DI.nty." said Miss Amabel