Ashtabula telegraph. (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1874-1880, 1876-01-14

charge of it for tonight only. If J
find 1t all safe tomorrow morning,
: will make you a present of CHECK
for one hundred dollars. l would
provide you with assistants, but that
would only increase the chances Of
robbery by creating suspicion.
Has any beside yourself any knowl
edge of the treasure? | inquired, fol
Ifelt somewhat nervous over the
great responsibility which was to rest
upon my shoulders that night, al
though the mention ofthe hundred
dollar check which should be mine
if all was we'll in the morning, caus-
ed me TO rejoice that such was the
state of affairs.
| do not know, he answered. The
gentleman who called upon me to
make arrangements for the storing
of the money, imprudently stated his
business to me in the front office in
a rather loud tone of voice, and when
he went out l noticed several of the
clerks near the door.
| Well, l will do the best | can, l an
swered.
After some further conversation,
he dismissed me, saying, as he did
SO:
You have been a faithful watch
man, ever since you have been in the
store, and l feel confident that you
will exercise the necessary vigilance
tonight.
was much pleased by the evident
faith in my ability and integrity, and
it was with lighter heart than usu-
al that made my first round that
night, Immediately after closing the
store.
AS far as I could see, all was well.
The six small boxes in the cellar, Ia
belIed "Hardware," sent a strange
thrill through my whole..being as my
eyes fell upon them; and l reflected
long upon the series of events which
had collected the precious dust and
placed it under my charge that night.
In my mind I conjured up picture
of mere boys, young husbands, fond
fathers, gray-headed men, leaving
all the haIIowed associations of home
and family to engage in the search
for the precious ore IN the newly
discovered Efdorado. / saw them in
that distant lane, coming out of their
rough habitations in the morning,
equipped with pick and shovel; and
l saw them returning at night, some
weary and disheartened, others tired
but iubiIant over a small lump or
few grains of the shining metal. /
saw them in the bar rooms and at
the gambling-table, and gradually,
through the honest means of trade,
or by foul play, saw this gold flow
ing into the hands of a few men, and
by-and-by becoming the property of
a single individual, who, when his
avarice or ambition is satisfied, will
follow it to the East, and there sqan-
der it in riotous living, or hoard it
up for thankless relation to quarrel
over after his demise.
was aroused from my reverie by
a slight noise apparently coming
from behind a pile of tea chests. In a
second | was on the alert and listen
ing intently; but although strain
ed my ears and held my breath until
it seemed as though 1 could hear the
rush of the water in the sewer, twen-
ty feet beneath me, yet I caught no
other sound.
/ again. made, as I supposed,
thorough examination of the cellar,
but without any discovery; and l f.
nally became convinced that the 4
noise was made by rat or mouse in
the wall: or else the product Of an ex-
cited imagination,
| then went up stairs and laid
down on a couch which had been my
bed for several years, and soon fell
asleep.
At eleven o'clock, 1 once more
went my rounds and found every
thing so. K" After setting the |
alarm so as to be sure and awaken |
me at one o'clock, I again resumed
my rest.
Shortly after I was aroused by a |
footstep. Springing up l gTasped my |
revolver and lit my lantern, but no
person was in sight, Assa Hs
! looked in the offices, behind the |
piles of boxes and bales, and evenin-
to the closets, but my search was |
fruitless, and / finally concluded that
it was all dream.
1 looked at the clock and saw that |
it was a quarter past eleven. made
up my mind that 1 would not sleep
any more that night, but would leave
work at noon the next day and make
up for my loss of rest by kleeping all |
the next afternoon. During the |
whole of my life l had never felt so
nervous as at present, and even the
beating of the clock startled me.
Once more l laid down on my
couch, and strove to conquer my ex-
cited nerves, and at last succeeded |
SO well that fell into gentle dose
in spite Of my resolution to keep
awake. ,
Suddenly was brought back to
consciousness by the fact that some |
one was holding handkerchief sat-
urated with chloroform to my nos.
trils. / made an effort to rise, but
the an@sthetic had already taken eff
ect. In vain l endeavored to escape /
from the powerful hand which was
holding me down; / could not move
a finger. / was ware that if ! cons
tinued TO inhale the stNpifylng vapor
| should be entirely under its infu-
ence. l therefore held my breath and
feigped Inconsistencies. Much to
nv seiief the handkerchief was re,
and the person who held it
WILed IF to another part of the
store,
/ drew deep breath and partially |
opened my eyes. i saw a man in the
back part of the store fumbling in
loset; in a moment he turned and
preached the place where / was
iyjIy He wore false face, but /
H3s Ire that his form was familiar;
IN one hand he held dark lantern,
$40 F.. atba,. n hoIi Of e40Y,f onrd |