The Pulaski citizen. [volume] (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-current, 1874-02-26

| such short notice. What could I do ?
could only rush to the door, and set
my back against it. Did tell you this
was our house-warming party2 think
not. Did i tell you our landlord al
tered the house for US, making our bed
room larger by adding a slip that had
formed separate room l think not
And yet ought to have told you all
these circumstances, to enable you to
understand the catastrophe that fol-
lowed. In word, the door opened out
ward. I'd forgotten that peculiarity-
never having had a room so constituted
beforehand never Will again. The door
went open with a crash. and I bounded
backward into Mrs. Marksby's arms
Smelling salts and sal volatile. was
there ever such an untoward affair +?
Rum-tid-itimity-t m-de-de The mu-
sic struck up for the dances as I hoped
back into my room. 1 hid my head
among the holsters aud muff5, and al
most cried, for I'm such ia delicate
minded man. Yes, it hurt me a good
deal more than it did Mrs. Marksley,
for, would you believe it +? she told the
story down below to the whole compa-
ny, with pantonlimic action, and when
I showed myself at the door of the
drawing room, I was received with
shouts of inextinguished laughter
think I called the Yorkshire people
dense just now, didn't I? Well, I'll
add another epithet, coarse, dense and
coarse. I told 'em SO but they only
laughed the more.
The guests were gone, the lights
were out, slumber had Just visited my
eyes, when right into my brain, starting
me up as if I'd been shot, came a noise,
a sort of dull bursting noise. I wasn't
really certain at first whether I had
heard a noise or only dreamed of it. I
sat up in bed and listened intently.
Was it only my pulse humping in my
ears, or were those regular beats the
tramp of somebody's muffied feet
Then I heard an unmistakable sound
creak, creak, creak-a door being opened
slowly and cautiously. All in a mo-
ment the idea flashed into my head
twenty-five thousand-pounds. You see,
all this dancing and junketing, laugh
ing and chatting, had completely driven
out of my mind ali thought of the sum
[ had in my possession. 1 had left it
in my greatcoat pocket, which was
hanging in the hall, down stairs.
Puff gust of wind come through
the house, rafting the doors and win
dows and then I heard a door slam,
and footstep outside of some one steal
ing cautiously away.
Away down stairs I went like mad
man, my one thought to put my hand
on that greatcoat. It was a brown
greatco with long tails, and two pock-
cts behind, and little cash pocket on
the left-hand side in front, and this
breast pocket in which I had put the
bag of money. This pocket wasn't, as
is usual, on the left-hand side, but en-
the right. There was no other coat
hanging on those rails, only my wife's
waterproof. What q swoOP made to
get hold of that coat. Great heavens
it was gone
I had carefully barred and chained
the front door before I went t. bed
now it was unfastened. ran out into
the street, and looked up and down,
hopeless and bewildered. It was a
dark, damp night; the lamp at the
corner threw long, sickly ray down
the streaming pavement, but there
wasn't soul to be seen. Everything
still, cold and dark.
The money was clean gone; yes, it
was gone. I repeated these words me-
chanically to myself, as I crawled up
stairs. All the results of this loss pic
tured the mselYes clearly before me
dismissal from the bank, ruin of all my
prospects, utter ruin, in fact What
could do =? to what turn ? The blow
that had fallen upon me was so heavy
that it had benumbed my faculties.
Then the thought came to me: should
I 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. I had given
no receipt for it, no acknowledgment.
Black had gone to America hundred
things might happen-he might never
return; at all events, here was respite,
immediate relief. I could go to the
bank next morning, hang up my hat as
usual, every thing would go on as be-
fore. If Black returned, my word was
as good as his The notes and checks
could never be traced home. But 1
don't think Iretained this thought long.
Do you ever consider how much resolu-
tion and force of will it takes to initiate
a course of crime and deception I'd
neither the one nor the other; 1 should
have broken down at once. l couldn't
have met that fellows eye and told him
I had never had his money.
I woke my wife-she'd slept through
all the trouble. "Mary, l said, ''we're
ruined-there's been a robbery"
ga robbery" /" cried she, clasping her
hands "and are the men gomez
eyes" said.
"Oh. thank Heaven" she said, "then
we're safe Never mind the rest, Jack,
as long as our lives are safe. But there's
my waterproof, Jack l-oh, do run and
see If they've taken that"
Then I told her the story of the twen-
ty.two thousand pounds. She Won dn't
believe me at first but when she heard
the whole story she was frightened
enough. Yet she had her wits about her
more than I had.
"You must run off to the town hall,
Jack" she said, "and set the police to
work. They must telegraph to all the
stations, TO London, and everywhere
oh, do go at once, Jack, this very mo-
ment. Every second lost may be ruin
to us.
Away 1 went to the town hall This
was a big, classic place, with an i'm
mense portico and a huge flight of
steps but you didn't go into the porti-
co to get to the police Office, but to the
side, which wasn't classical at all, but
of the rudimentarY style of archltec-
ture, and you went along number of
eohoing stone passages before you
reached the superintendent Office.
When I'd told the superintendent the
story-"Ah he said, ''I think 1 know
who did that job
"Oh how thankful am I ! Then
You can put your hands upon him and
get back the money. want the money
back, Mr.. Superintendent-never mind
him. wouldn't luind, indeed, reward
ing him for his trouble, if 1 could only
get the money back.
"Sir," ssid the superintendent Sc
verely, "the police amt sent into this
world to getIpeople's money back moth
! ing of The sort. We aren't going to en-
courage composition of felony and as
for putting cur hands on Flashy joe
for he did the job, mark you--well,
what do you think the liberty of the
/ subject is for? Where IS your evl
dence ?
I was obliged toc0nfess I hadn't any
whereat the superintendent locked al
/ me contemptuously.
Nov, let's see into this matter,
said he after he'd made some notes on
/ bit of paper. Glow came they to know