Wyandot County Republican. [volume] (Upper Sandusky, Ohio) 1869-1903, 1872-11-28
VOL. XVIII.

against gaS-pOSt; my nanQ was aimost
on it, when the twin to that other gust
came racing along, and off went my hat.
1t was very early, and there were but few
people abroad. l heard now and then a
faint laugh; scurvy little urchin sang
out. go it, bootsl" Hibernian maid,
carrying large parcel in small paper,
q chase" but on I went, breathless,
chagrined, and mad. Up Oak street,
down Green, across Maple, and through
Cherry that confounded hat led me; now
doubling and fiuttering almost under my
nose; now gyrating with exultant motion,
that dumbly expressed the jubilee of un-
comfortable jolity, now whirling into
somebody's garden; now whisking round
BARRIERS pole; now bobbing along the
edge of fence, till at last-at MSt-I
had it {!
Death could not grip harder than Iheld
on to that erratic brim. 1t was, felt, a
hat gifted with extraordinary powers Of
locomotion, and did not mean to let it
have its own sweet will again.
pulled out my watch with one hand,
holding still to my hat with the other. 1t
wanted one minute to seven, and the train
was five blocks off. Hoping against hope,
| set off on run, and at the corner of
the third block had the supreme satisfac-
ton of hearing the final whistle, and the
swift thud and thunder of the departing
train.
was baked, and gave my hat savage
pull as stopped to consider what had
best be done. I mathematical hats of
every persuasion, from the orthodox
stove pipe to the Quaker broad brim. To
have crushed the offending member on
my own head as flat as a pancake, and
then finished it with my penknife, would
have been balm to my aggravated soul.
Turning my steps in the direction of
my office, I walked moodily on, disap-
pointed man. Instead of the holiday
which had SO fondly anticipated, the
merry greeting of friends, the sight of old,
long-banished faces, was still bound to
the perplexities of an interminable law
case.
1t would be as well, perhaps, to attend
to business, / thought, with rueful vis-
age; and prepared to resign myself with
the best grace possible.
My Office was nearly two miles from
my house. After leisurcly walk l ar
rived there just as the clock was striking
eight. Up went, scattering straws and
papers, till gained the cheerless, uncar-
peted passage, and saw, opposite, my own
square of painted glass, and the card.
"Not in till tomorrow" and then found
that had left my office key in my other
vest pocket in my dressing-room ward
robe at home.
Clearly had begun the day wrong foot
foremost, as my old nurse used to say
when everything went awry. What
should l do next? / meditated upon the
matter going down stairs, utterly oblivi-
GUS of a basket of oranges at my elbow
till the vicious scream of the old fruit
peddler startled me.
''Sacre! Sare, you are no zhentle-
man."
I turned, thrilled with horror. The
oranges were racing peil-mell down stairs,
to the delight of several street urchins,
and out into the gutter. /, unfortunate
wretch, had sent them there with an un.
conscious movement of my arm as ges-
ticulated to myself.
Nothing stirs mutiny in mans soul
quicker than the imputation of not being
a gentleman. A five dollar bill, however,
healed the noisy foreigners wounds, and
mine too, for with one of his most fan
tastic bows the peddler repeated, "Sare, !
was mistake; see you air Won zhentle-
man."
There was nothing for it now but to go
home again. | pleased myself with pic
lures of Mrs. George busy over my silver.
make no secret of saying that like to
see delicate, refined women at work. The
bare, round, blue-veined arms, temptingly
displayed just below the elbow; the pretty
handkerchief tied over flowing tresses;
the stout linen apron jealousy keeping
guard from throat to toes; the quick, fine
step; the musical gurgle of some sweet
old favorite song; the dash and spirit they
contrive to throw into commonplace OBJ
servances; the mimic buster when one of
the stupid masculines interferes with their
privileges, if it is only in trying to find
the shoe brush--make up charming ag.
gregate, delightful to one who has never
had more intimate acquaintance than
his housekeeper.
So should | see Mrs. George, perchance,
herself rubbing with those white taper
fingers the old silver that my mother
once delighted to honor. 1t needed only
this experience, felt, to make willing
slave, to send me in hot haste to Ball &
Blacks to choose the finest, costliest sol.
itaire to be found in their brilliant collec.
ton.
reached my home; mounted the
steps. There was strange silence about
the premises. No cheerful hustle, NO
merry voices, no sound of footsteps, nc
ring of Gathering silverware, no anything.
pulled the bell Still compleIest 81.
lence; not even Jip's little CHEEKY yelp
warned or welcomed the solitary and dis
appointed home seeker The parlor
blinds were closed, the basement shades
were down; it seemed as if there must be
a corpse in the house. Again and again
l rang. The bell. powerful one, jingled
spitefully, as if it took pleasure in insist
ing that there was nobody at home. I de-
scended the steps; went round to the
back gate, and succeeded in loosening
the hook that confined it with my pen
knife. All was silent here as elsewhere;
the servants must be gone. "What the
deuce is in it all ?" 1 muttered, impa-
tiently.
Perhaps Mrs. George had postponed her
silver cleaning till afternoon, and had
gone to matinee; but where were the
servants i?
There was, fortunately, window at
the back part of the house that could be
unfastened on the outside. The contri-
vance was one of my own, and nobody
was In the secret but myself. | opened
the window, and had Just fastened my
knees comfortably on the stone coping,
when heavy hand grasped my elbow
81 noticed something suspicious, and
followed you, you rascal! Amt you
ashamed-a man looking like gentle
man-breaking into house like COM
mon thief ?"
The fellow held me in his grasp as if it
were a wise. looked over nv shoulder.
A star blazed on the wretch's blue-eoated
breast; there was gilt number on his
cap; his breath smelled of-but we won't
mention that; his nose was turn-up, his
hair was little reddisb-this is origi-
nal-and the whole contour of the man
told of his Paul Pry instincts. felt my
eyes flash, my cheeks burn, and l men
tally resolved, after crushing and cutting,
to put my unlucky hat, that had led me
into all these scrapes, into the kitchen
stove.
"What do you wish, sir?" exclaimed,
with as much dignity and severity as my
very peculiar and cramped position would
permit. "Unhand -me-quick, sir! 1 am
no thief, but the lawful owner of No.
1440. My name is Haynes, Robert
IT