The Iowa plain dealer. [volume] (New Oregon, Howard County, Iowa) 1867-1895, 1870-01-28

mail, and had just stepped into m,
van, previous to the starting of th,
train from the London terminus
when a stylish young man, IN the uni
form OF a queens messenger, cam,
up to tho van door and asked me if
would take care Of his dispatch bag
u ask you,' said he, ''because
fear that l am about to bo unwell
and in case Of accident should lik,
TO leave these dispatches in saf'
"Such course is most unusual, .
| replied, land your request very ex
traordinary." =. t1sa : ,
Il know it," he answered; "but
this feeling has just come over me
At this moment I really feel vel
enough; but Ioan't help a PRESENT..
ment that something is about TO hap.
pen. My dispatches are for our min.
isk1I in Paris, and must have them
dsl4sered; indeed. should I fail to Dc
SO. | would lose my appointment. I,
is not SO easy to satisfy the power.
that be. /" g." -
''You need not tell me that, >" ]
answered. Il know it sufficiently
myself Well, there may be no ha, n
in it, and l will do as you wish"
Thank yon," he replied in the
most grateful manner, handing me a
morocco leather bag of considera bic
rondcrcsity. "Should anything oc.
cur to me l hope you will see that
this is forwarded to Lord Cewley, the
English EN- bassador at Paris" ar
Certainly" l promised, still re.
garding him with astonishment, for
he was a particularly healthy looking
fellow, as we'll as Of proposes ssing ap-
pearance. "No doubt you will be
ready to relieve me Of my charge at
Dover, and can attend to the matter
yourself. Come, dsn't be down. h cart
ed; there's nothing the matter with
you
At this moment the last bell before
starting, warned him to hurry away
to his seat in q first class carriage,
and I turned to my assistant, say
ing: -. . 4 ".tae'
well, Ned. what do you think of
"Tbat chaps curc." answered
Med. Il don't know what to make
Of him. For all that 1 think he
means mischief" 3d.. ii. .
mischief how?'' IT
''suicide!' answered my assistant.
Good God! l never Thoughts Of
that
AS I spoke, the train starteds and
| suspected that ! had put my foet in
it. lnow turned to the bag, intend
ing to deposit it in place Of safety.
by George, Ned!'' I exclaimed,
''this is a heavy customer. Either
the queen $ messenger or her majes-
tvs foreign Office are taking liberties
with the revenue laws; my word for
it," "a... E.. fst 49,
"Oh, they often do that" replied
my assistant, who had been oiI the
LONDON aud Dover line much longer
than myself, and was the smartest
lett sorter | had ever seen, though
still only an assistant. 1--WE seen
them sort Of bags before, and d good
deal Of queens messengers too. -
There was one Of them, who was
kind of cousin to the clerk in charge
before you came. He used often to
travel in our van, and most times
carried as heavy bags as this. III
bet my life there's something more
han diplomatic dispatches inside it,"
l felt somewhat uneasy about the
charge so unexpectedly placed In my
possession; but. in the occupation Of
sorting and distributing the letters, I
'oon forgot all about it. -
After the usual run we arrived at
Dover, and. while delivering my for
sign mail bags to the proper author
ty, | looked out for the queen meg
'enger. But he came not, and was
nowhere to be seen about the sta
lion. = ~ g
Imade inquiry of the guards, but
hey had seen nothing Of . gentleman
hat answered my description.
"Perhaps he may be asleep. and
it'll in one Of the carriages" sug
yested one Of them.
We searched the carriages, and
'ure enough he was found in one of
hem, apparently fast asleep.
Not SO. He was dead! Al
A doctor was called, who xamin-
u him. He had died, so the doctor
,aid, OF heart disease.
Under the circumstances, what
vas | to do with the dispatch bag?
# | sent it on with the ordinary
nails. it might notGeach its destina-
ion in due time. It might contain
dispatches Of Importance sufficient to
decide the fate Of nations. England
,ad just broken off diplomatic rela-
ions with Russia, and war was deem.
ID imminent.
l had very little time to consider;
'or the mail steamer was about start
ng. and would be off in less than FIVE
minutes.
| had made promise to . man now
lead. determined at all hazards
70 keep it. So leaving my own du-
lies to my assistant, Ned, / hasten
ID aboard the mail steamer and set
IF for Paris.
On arriving there, l went direct to
The English embassy. and reported
20 enc Of tho attaches in attendance