The Tiffin tribune. (Tiffin, Ohio) 1868-1887, 1873-10-09

of severe irony, would it be too much
of trespsss on your good nature tC
ask you TO wait five minutes fer you
Pay?,
tone, apparently somewhat ashamed
Of his nnruly behavior
SIN five minutes the transaction
was ended. I handed Irene three
hundred dollars, and pocketed the
cheek. It left me with less than
twenty dollars in cash, but that was
OF no moment, as / could replenlsh
my pOcket-book on my forthcoming
trip to the city.
. 1t is just like woman, in her stu
pidity and ignorance of business to be
caught in such q prediiament,' said
Irene, in an apologetic tone. You
have relieved me greatly
Do not embarrasS me with
thanks was my reply.
"She was all smiles that evening,
though 1 noticed q certain uueasiness
and agitation in her manner that 1
aseribed to excitement and grief ow-
ing to the coachman's impudence.
at is needless to say that was in q
happy frame of mind at having sery-
ed her for the second time in q mate
rial, substantial way.
We promenaded aud danced to-
getber, although she was still persist
ent in declining to receive exclusive
public attention from me. My jeal-
ousy was excited when, while was
In the midst of the Lancers, saw
her take the arm of q handsome
young Cuban, and walk slowly with
him from the ballroom to the outer
hall. By the time the dance was con-
claded, however, they had returned,
and she mingled with the gay throng,
casting occasional glances on me, that
removed all distrust, and made me
pity the deluded Cuban, who was evil
deltly smitten with her.
When we parted for the night,
it was with lingering pressure Of
the hald, and an appointment for a
ride or the following forenoon.
~ low come" said Tom, with a
long heath, and, 1 fancied, a cynical
twinkle in his eye, to the painful
portion of this narrative. ..
"Wten 1 went down from my
room tae next morning, found q lit
tie exated crowd in the hotel Office.
The Cuban, who had aroused my
momentary jealousy on the preceding
evening, was pacing the room in q
towering rage, and vOciferating some
thing about having been swindled.
The landlord was leaning glumly
over his desk, with anything but an
amiable look on his face. Others
seemed to be indignant, while there
were few who laughed and appear
ed tc be hugely amused about some
thing.
" inquired into the cause of this
state of things, and you can imagine
what horrible, sickening, discOur-
aged sensation 1 felt, when l learned
that Irene Vance, her aunt, and the
with the carriage and
horses, had departed secretly during
the night!
"There was no trace to indicate
what direction they had taken. Nu-
merous unpaid bills were left behind,
and three empty worthless trunks.
81 won't attempt to describe my
scate Of mind. The power Of the
whole category of words at my COM
mand is utterly inadequate to the
task. There was no use in trying to
evade the conclusion that had been
taken in-sold-bam boozled-victim-
lied.
81 was sensible enough however,
to keep secret my connection with
the beautiful swindler, though per-
haps, some thought it strange that /
did not join in the laugh against the
Cuban, from whom Irene had extort-
ed money on some pretext similar to
that by which she had operated on
ne. l never saw her, nor any traces
of her, afterward. A detective to
whom she, her aunt, and the coach
man were described, said the trio
were in reality husband, wife and
daughter, and that they were well
known though exceedingly slippery
confidence operators.
"Inever had the hardihood to pre-
sent the check at the bank on which
it was drawn. My money was gone,
and my finer feelings outraged. The
runaway and the quarrel with the
coachman were of course well-rehears-
ed scenes.
"All this, you know, happened on
the sea-shore; and now you under
stand-don't you Alf?-why it is that
the murmuring waves and the rolling
surf breathe to my ears a tale of some
thing lost, yet longed for-why they
have to me such q sad, uncertain
sound :"