The Tiffin tribune. (Tiffin, Ohio) 1868-1887, 1873-01-23

a delicate minded man. Yss, il hur
me q good deal more than il did Mrs
MaTksby, for, would you believe It
she told the story down below I,
the whole company, and when
showed myself at the door Of thl
drawing room, I was received with
shouts OF unextinguished laughter
think l called the Yorkshire peO
pie dense just now, didn't I ? Well
I'll add another enithet, coarse-dense
and coarse, l tO.I 'em 50; but they
only laughed the more.
The guests were gone, the light;
were out, slumber had just visited my
eyes, when right into my brain, start
ing me up IS if III been shot, came s
noise, a sort ofdull, bursting noise.
wasn't really certain at first whether
had heard a noise or only dreamed
Of it. I sat up in bed, and listened in
tently. Was it only my pulse thump.
ing in my ears, or were those Tegulal
beats the tramp Of somebody's muf-
fled feet Then 1 heard an Unmista.
kRble sOund-creak, cIeak-a door be,
ing opened slowly and cautiously
All in moment the idea flashed into
my head. IlCeHty tJcO Thousand
Pounds! You see, all this dancing
and junketing and laughing and chat
fing, had completely driven out OF my
mind all thought Of the large sum
had in my possession. had left il
In my great coat pocket, which was
hanging up in the hall Downstairs.
Puff, a gust Of wind came through
| the house, rattling the doors and win
| dows {; and then I heard a door slam
and footsteps outside olson clone steal
I ing cautiously away.
Away downstairs I went like a
mad-man, my one thought to put my
hand on that great coat. 1t was 3
| brown grestcOat with long tails, and
two pockets behind, and little CASH
I pocket on the left-hand side in front.
and this breast-pOcket in which had
put my bag Of money. This pocket
wasn't, as usual, On the left-hand
side, but on the right. There was no
coat hanging on those rails, only by
my wife's waterproof. What WhOOpl
made TO get hold Of that coat. Great
heavens it was gone
had carefully barred and chained
the front door before I went to bed
now it was unfastened. ran out in
to the street, and looked up and down,
hopeless and bewildered. 1t was a
dark, damp night the lamp at the
corner threw long, sickly ray down
the streaming pavement, but there
wasn't a soul to be seen. Everything
was still, and cold and dark.
The money was clean gOne-yes, it
was gone. I repeated these words
mechanically to myself, as crawled
upstairs. All the results of this loss
pictured themselved clearly before me
dismissal from the bank, ruin of all
my prospects, utter ruin, in fact :
What could I do ? TO what turn The
blow that had fallen upon me was so
heavy that it had benumbed my facul-
ties
Then thought came to me Should
[ go to bed and say nothing at all
about it No one knew of my having
received that money, not a soul but
Black, the man who had deposited it.
had given no receipt for il, no ac-
acknowledgement. Black had gone to
America-a hundred things might
happen-he might never return, at all
events, here was immediate relief. /
could go to the bank next morning,
hang up my hat as usual, everything
would 90 on as before. If Black re-
turned, my word was as good as his.
The notes and cheques could never be
traced home. But I don't think I re-
tained this thought long. Do you
ever consider how much resolution
and force of the will it take to in
itiate a course of crime and deception
Id Tnnff hnrs do tho tlna nt hnr
1 should have broken down at once. l
couldn't have met that fellows eye
and told him / had never mad his
money.
1 woke nay wife-she'd slept through
all the trouble. MARY, said, "we're
ruined-there's been a robbery
"a robbery :" cried she, clasping
her hands "and are the men gone >"
"Yes," said.
"Oh thank Heaven, > she sail, then
we're safe Never mind the rest,
Jack, as long as our lives are safe.
But there's my water proof, Jack
oh, do run and see II they've taken
that"
Then l told her the story of the
twenty-five thousand pounds. She
wouldn't believe me at first but
when she heard the whole story she
was frightened enough. Yet she had
wits about her more than I had.
"YOu must go of to the town hall,
Jack" she said iand set the police TO
work. They must telegraph to all
the stations, to London, and every
where Oh do go at once, Jack, this
very moment. Every second lost
may be ruin to u.s."
Away went to the town hall. This
was big, classic place, with an i'm
mense pOTticO and and a huge flight
of steps but you didn't go into the
portico to get to the police Office, bat
to the side, which wasn't classical at
all, but of the rudimentaTy style of
architecture, and you went along q
number of echOing stone passages be-
fore you reached the superintendent
Office"
When I'd told the Superintendent
the story, "Ah ~ he said, az think 7
know who did that job.U
"On ~ said ], chow thankful | am.
Then you can put your hands upon
him and get back the money ? 1 want
the money back, Mr.. Superintendent
never mind him. wouldn't mind,
indeed, rewarding him for his trouble,
if 1 could only get the money back.
"Sir :" said the Superintendent Sc
verely, the police amt sent into the
world to get peoples money back;
n )thing of the sort. We aren't going
to encourage composition of felony;
and as for putting our hands on
Fiashy Joe-for he did the Job, mark
yOu-well, what do you think the lib.
erty of the subject is for? Where's
your evidence
was obliged to confess / hadn't
any; whereat the Superintendent
looked at rue cOntemptu Ously,
NOW, let's see into this NATTER
said he, after he'd made some notes I.
on bit Of paper. "HOw came they
to know they'd got the money in !
your coat ?r
/ said | didn't know.
"Ah, but know said the Superin- /.
tendent. "YOu vent to get glass of {.
ale after you left the bank, young
man -
was obliged to confess had done
"That's how property.gets stolen," 4
said he, looking at me severely. "And .
what's more, you had a glass with a .
friend? Ah!I knew you had. And .
perhaps you got talking with this .
friend OfYOurs ?n
ayes, indeed 1 had"
"Very well; and mentioned about /
the money you'd just took -
Very likely"
"Then this Joe, depend upon il, was I
in the crib at the time, and he heard .
you; and he followed you back to the I.
bank, and you haven't got blinds, |
bnt wire netting over the window, 4
and anybody outside can see you .
out the gold and silver"
"That's true" l said.
ayes, I see it all, ," said the Superin- /
tendent; 'just as Joe saw it. He fol- .
lows you up from here to yonder, and /
he sees you put your money into your |
coat pocket, and then he follows you
home, and when all's quiet he cracks .
the crib. Oh, it's all in a nutshell;
and that's how property goes. And
then you come to the police
"But If you know it's Joe, why
don't you send after him and eaten /.
him ?''