The Red Cloud chief., 1877-06-21

dollars on Il, and ] will redeem It in the
future
Obi Mein Cot, Miss. fife dollar?
Wy. 1t would bankrupt me II I gif you
q dollar. / do not care to take him at
dat
In vain did Emma Harrison plead
the sacredness Of the keepsake. Mr..
Levi was inHexible. and ut last she
parted with her nestimsble treasure.
receiving a single dollar in exchange.
But this pittance only kept of starva
ton for q day or two, and at last she
was picked up one night by the police,
wandering the streets. and taken before
an alderman.
She told her pitiful story to the mag
istrate, and her brother and sister were
sent for. They came and disowned her.
and declared her an impostOr, and she
was consigned to the House Of Refuge,
which vas under the management Of
one Of the worst tyrants that eve dis
graced q reformatory institution.
A legislative committee, a year ago
brought to light the horrible practices
that had been carried on for years.
How delicate girls were horsewhipped,
and tied up by the thumbs, and sub
jected to every conceivable torture at
the caprice OF the officials. Poor Emma,
SO gentle and accomplishing, came in
for q share of the punishment. and her
recitals before the committee made
strong men weep in very indignation.
A wealthy lady, hearing the story of the
poor girls wrongs. adopted her and
gave her a home full Of every comfort,
and her young life became joyous once
But how Jared it with her unnatural
brother and sister? For awhile they
led the fashionable portion of society,
and lived m~agnifcently. They outri.
vailed all in the magnifcence of their
entertainments and the splendor of their
equipages.
Arthur prided himself on his finan-
cial sagacity, and invested his and his
sisters fortune in paying stocks that
brought handsome dividends.
But the financial crash of 1873 brought
them ruin. The collapse of the Ma
tiOnal Trust Company, Brady & Co.'S
banking house. and other banks where
Arthur had invested, beggared them,
and swept almost a million dollars out
Of their selfish grasp.
They were in As great straits for the
necessaries of life as poor Emma had
been, and lived solely on the charity of
a few of their wealthy friends, a little
less heartless than the most who had
once fawned upon them but knew them
Abraham Levi valued Emma's work
box at ten dollars, but found no pur.
chaser. After vainly trying to sell it
one day. he shook it Indignantly at the
customer as she was leaving the shop,
and was surprised to hear something
move inside of it, Taking the key to
unlock it, but it was empty. Holding
it open he again shook it, and again
heard something moving. Examining
the interior still more closely he OBJ
served q minute spring, against which
he pushed, and a false bottom was
thrown open.
And such a sight as met the aston
ished eyes of the Jew! Spread out on
the bottom of the box was a new
United States seven-thirty bond with
ten gears coupons unclipped. He
picked it up and another precisely like
it met his gaze. Grasping the second
the third appeared, and SO on until they
numbered thirty-fve. Here was a
greater fortune than Abraham Levi
had ever dreamed of. He seized a PEN
Gil and calculated the interest. The
bonds and coupons were worth more
than six hundred thousand dollars in
the money market. They were his. He
was wealthy at last. He replaced them
in the box, put down the false bottom
and locked it up in the safe.
But Abraham Lewis peace of mind
was gone. He no longer took any inter.
est in his business and began to lose his
customers. Several times he had taken
the box and started to New York to
get the bonds exchanged, but his heart
always failed him. He knew that he
ran no risk, and yet he had not the
courage to realize his fortune.
One day, after musing for an hour, a
strange smile crossed his face and he
said:
Dot shust vat l will dor
He opened his safe. took out the box
and placed it under his arm. Just as
he reached the street a carriage stopped
in front of his store and Miss Emma
alighted.
%! MI. Levi" she exclaimed, I am
just in time. 1 e you are going to
sell my box. 1 have come to redeem it,
No Miss replied Levi. I not 20 out
to sell him; l 60 to take him to you.
But COON in, young lady, I wish to ex-
plain
Emma entered the dingy place, and
Mr.. Levi told her the whole story in a
straightforward way, and then showed
her the fortune he guarded 50 carefully
and %ignorantly for so many years, and
which he had tried to sell for the sum