American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1873-10-04


branch. For every penny of those 81 POO
odd, | was personally liable. My poor
old father would probably end his days in
a workhouse. My friend, who had lent
me his name, would have to take the road
again for bare subsistence. | might be
come bankrupt, ard get clerllship after
ward; but had | the heart TO begin life
again with such Il load upon me
| Wouldn't ii be better for me to end my
misery and perplcXity by rolling off this
sloping bank into the great chasm below?
Then | thought of Mary Jane, and how
she would wait, and wait, and gradually
from impotence she would come to I'M
casiness, and from uneasiness to terror;
and how she would spend the night in
sorrow and the morning would bring no
jov, and how the whisper would go round
the town, They've found the body. and
oh, how hard on the poor creature, only
six months wife!'
MOI could never be such coward !.
God knows | couldn't have done it; but
in great trouble, strange thoughts surge in
your brain.
that night; | would crawl home and per-
haps l could think Of some plan of STAY
ing off ruin tomorrow.
Well, | got home, and | remember that
Mary Jane pitched into me awiully be
cause was an hour late for dinner, and
everything was spoiled, she said
l took couple of glasses of brandy
after dinner, and that steadied my nerves,
and l could think.
| | would go up to London tomorrow
and try to compromise with my creditors.
| could, perhaps, by sale of all had ,
and by borrowing on my life policy,
make up $500.
l could offer this, and as it was five hun
dred times as much as they would have got
out of Potts, surely they would take It and
cry quits.
OF course, Mary Jane had heard of
Potts escape, and She made me very saw
age By expressing her delight at the event
She didn't know how nearly it concerned
her. And 1 didn't tell her. / only said /
had business in London next day, and
asked her to pack my travelling bag.
went up by the night train, ana wretched
Journey | had. Next morning 1 went to
find Moses and Mosheim, who had cham
bers somewhere up in a little court or
square, out of Bishopgate street.
| Mr. Moses wasn't in,' the clerk said ;
didn't know if Mr.. Mosheim were;
would take my card and see Yes, he
was in, and would see me bye-and-bye."
| sat down and waited in the dingy office,
feeling the indignity of my position in
having to wait at all for such a man.
There | was, However, 4 suppliant to
these Shyiocks!
Mosheim was dark, rather gentlemanly
man, and neatly dressed But for his
| curly hair and big nose you'd have
thought him a Christian. He pretended
to be very busy writing when l entered
and looked up, and motioned me with the
butt-end of his pen to a chair; but l
walked up to the fireplace and stood
| there.
MIR. Mosheim?"
| THAT is nv name"
"Mine is Roberts, and am under sheriff
| of Caerlonshire."
| 81 didn't come to make your acquaint-
ance, Mr.. MIosheim. but TO make some ar
rangement with you as to an unfortunate
| accident which has happened to me in my
official capacity"
Mosheim bowed grimly.
you are, l believe, acting on behalf of
the creditors of Capt. Potts.
| Certain clients of mine have claims
against that gentleman. Well ,"
"A ca. sa., taken out by your firm, has
| been with me for execution"
| "Precisely."
"Well, Mr. Potts has escaped"
"What an excessively disagreeable Incl
dent for you, sir!''
"Now, what propose to do is this:
undertake to pay you $500 in week, if
you will give me IA full release"
81 think Mr.-Jones did you say ?-that
| the total of the detainers is rather more
than that. You know the exact figure,
perhaps:'
you know the figure as well as | do,
Mr. Mosheim. Six shillings in the pound
or thereabout, my offer would give your
| clients. You wouldn't have got Cd. in the
pound out or Potts.
| "Iou appear to know more of Potts
than do. In reply to your proposal, we
decline it. Your sheriff is good for the
whole amount"
'You absolutely decline it,"
''Decidedly"
As l walked down Bishopgate street
felt more comfortable; l knew the worst
| After all, ruin is not so bad in reality as
in anticipation. l had plenty of money
in my pocket, and it didn't matter now
how | spent it. | would stay in town
that night, and go and hear Robson, who
was then in great force he might make
me forget my troubles. In the meantime
| would go and get steak in a place
that l knew in Fleet street, where used
| to dine when | was serving out my time
in London. As | walked through the
city 1 changed my mind again; the roar
of London troubled me. | would get
home as speedily as possible. But as |
| passed the narrow court in Fleet street
the accustomed but ong-forgotten habit
or was it the hand of Providence that
turned me drew me up the court and
into the well known precincts of ''Stilton."
| went into Il box and ordered rump-
steak and pint of stout.
You know the old fashioned room, |
dare say-its sanded floor and wooden
benches, its fireplace and immense kettle?
One side of the room is divided into
boxes. In the corner of the farthest box
from the door, where | was invisible, ex-
cept to Il person standing by the fire
place, | took my seat, and, sitting there,
waiting for my steak, l heard number
of men enter the room. They made more
noise than the quiet legal men who
formed the rest of the company.
Tie voices OF the newcomers rose in
loud and CHEEKY tones above the noise Of
the chop-house. | guessed that the two
loudest takers were military men, proba-
bly, Just returned from India, and the mu-
tiny was ended The two heroes were
king about lots Of friends; but | didn't
pay any attention to their conversation till
/ heard the name of Potts. Then, indeed,
| listened with bated breath, every nerve
| on the stretch.
"Where's Billy Potts, nows l heard he
came To grief"
"Oh. Billy's down in Wales, hard up,
| as usual. i have Just heard from him.
Such fun. The Jews found him out. He
was ut Clansomething, Il nice little Welsh
town. A ca. sa. was issued and poor
Billy was nabbcd, and the buns took him
to IL hotel. You know what IA nimbe-"
Here the waiter slammed down my
dishes and tankard with Il tremendous
clatter, drowning the mcllitluous voice of
the tcmplar | ground my teeth in de
spair; "trap-door" was the only word