The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1874-09-04

He turned his cleaning eyes full upon
me his gaze seemed to me more baneful
and maleficent than ever. For mo-
ment i almost dreaded personal violence
ut his hands.
"You've had narrow escape" he
said.
"Very narrow" He looked as though
he grudged me my life most bitterly.
1t was an accident, though it broke
out in two or three places at once. /
can't think how it happened" And
again he glarsd at me.
You can't either, 1 suppose ?" he
asked.
"I cannot tell" said family.
at will be the ruin of me-of the
firm-the complete ruin"
You're not insured ?"
"Yes, we're insured, but not for the
full amount-not nearly-only for a
trife."
"And your brother,-Mr. Nathan
is he safe ?"
He was q moment ago. Buthe went
back told him there was plenty of
time to save some documents of value.
And he's not been seen since ?"
"No, not since. But it was only a
moment ago. He's all right. Nathan
knows what he's about I"
The horrid truth then burst upon me.
The place had been set on fire for the
sake OF the insurance money, and had
been decoyed to be lodger, and de.
stroyed, III order to give a color to the
proceeding. While this passed through
my mind, Nathan Reklam made his
appearance at the open private door.
With wild cry, Aaron rushed toward
him, and shut the door. He wished to
be the sole beneficiary. The confusion
was so great that few took heed of the
brothers. Thick clouds of dust now
mingled with the smoke. The crowd
was driven further back by some yards.
Even the fremen were forced to re-
treat.
The outer wall of the house had
fallen.
L remember nothing more. I was
found, as L afterward learned, stretched
senseless upon the wet roadway, and
was carried, upon the shoulders of
friendly bystanders, to neighboring
tavern. There 1 remained some days
in an alarming condition of exhaustion
and delirum.
The brothers Reklam were not again
seen alive. 1t was generally agreed that
they had both persisted in the fire of
their own neutrality-suspicious. had
overtaken them in terrible way. No
trace of them was ever discovered in
the ruins of the building. Nor were
any relics found of the treasures that
had once filed their premises to over
flowing. My own belief was, and is,
that these had been carefully and stealth
lily removed some time before the fire
broke out.
Brief paragraphs in the newspapers
were devoted to the "Serious Conha-
grafton in Soho-Two Lives Lost. F"
Nothing was ever said publicly, how
ever, as to the suspicious nature of the
occurrence.
At later date, L was enabled to as
certain that Messrs. Reklam's house
and its contents had been insured to a
very large amount. OF the early his
tory of the brothers, / could learn moth
ing. The firemen made no secret of
their opinion that the fire was the result
of design. The flames, they said, had
been seen to burst forth simultaneously
from three distinct parts of the house
Something also they did not hesitate to
allege as to the employment of naphtha
or turpentine to quicken the action of
the fire. And they congratulated me,
as congratulated myself, upon my al
most miraculous escape.
No relatives or representatives of the
brothers ever appeared to claim the
amount of the insurance money. No
one, indeed, even ventured to own kim
bred with the departed Reklams. L have
often been told that knew more about
them than anybody else. Well, / did
not know much but certainly, to my
thinking, l knew enough.
Had any claim been made upon the
policies, was informed that the offices
were fully prepared to resist it.,
simply on the ground of fraud, and of
this, as in too many cases, there was
held to be very sufficient evidence. L
have exhausted, however, all my infor-
nation on the subject.-ChamberS
Journal.