Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1870-06-07
drawing forth my solitary shinplas-

uia"inS lofth my ,solltafy shlnplas-
ter
40" she said, with smile and a
slight blush, eve do not charge min
listers anything"
1t was not a bad joke but suppress
sed the laugh that rose to my lips
and thanking her for the considera-
ton shown to the clergy, I turned
about and retraced my steps to the
hotel not without some slight twinge
of conscience for allowing the mistake
to pass, and taking advantage of it.
My first duty the next morning
was to seek some knight of the ra-
zor. | had noticed a pleasant little
shop at no great distance from the
hotel, in my walk the previous day
and thinking that / should do no bet
ter by looking further, | repaired to
that There was in attendance a
boy about twelve years old, who
stated that his father, the proprietor
of the shop, had gone to neighbor-
ing city and would not return before
noon. Without any hesitation | re-
quested the loan Of razor, and pro-
ceeded TO operate on myself While
thus occupied, the customers began
to present themselves, expressing
great dissatisfaction upon learning
how matters stood. Now, although
| am a proud man, am not, thank
God, cursed with this species Of van
ity which prevents o man from doing
certain kinds of honest labor, simply
because they are "not genteel." -
Here was an opportunity afforded
me, to at least earn the price of my
breakfast. ! took advantage of it.
Told the first man who entered after
| had completed shaving myself
would shave him. | did So Others
coming in, | shaved them also. In
fact, L did quite brisk business, for
couple of hours and if the unfortu-
nate individuals who came under my
hand had any doubts about my fit
ness for the business, they certainly
expressed none. At the expiration
of this time, | began to think | had
done sufficient, and feeling rather
hungry, having had no breakfast, |
divided the proceeds with the boy,
and prepared to return to my hotel.
But was not done yet, As / was
brushing my hat a young dandifed
specimen OF humanity came in, re-
solved that he should be the last,
went to work upon him. When he
came to pay me, / was, to say the
least, somewhat surprised to see him
deliberately produce my own pocket
book-the one | had lost. Standing
upon no ceremony, L snatched it
from his hand, and demanded, in no
gentle tones how it came in his pos
session 2 Without stopping to reply
other than by volley of impreca-
tions as he reached the door, he tum-
bled rather than ran down the stairs
into the street. Waiting for neither
hat nor coat, | followed the pocket
book in my hand. We measured off !
considerable ground in short space
of time. On, on. 1t was an Exciting
chase. Men, boys and dogs, joined |
in pursuit; the cries of "stop thief"
growing louder and increasing
What an uproar there was. Sudden
" came flash of light, sharp and
vivid for an instant, then utter dark
ness. a policeman, MISLEADING me
for the thief, had gently tapped me
upon the head, as their custom is, and !
with the usual result the thief es-
capped, and | the victim was appre-
hended. Ny appearance told heavi-
ly against me; but my story being
fully corrobOrated by the boy at the |
barber shop, l was released
Upon examining the wallet, found |
my own money intact, and about
one hundred and thirty dollars beside.
That is all the story"
Not bad speculation, after all -
said | as he concluded.
"Well, perhaps so. Mott was not,
but still my advice holds good
Never place railway ticket in your
wallet"