Bismarck weekly tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, D.T. [N.D.]) 1875-1878, 1877-04-14
The Iron Vault.

..~.. The IRON Vault --.
Hive in San Francisco, and am a lock-
smith by trade. My calling is a strange
one, and possessesa certain fascination,
rendering it one OF. the most agreeable of
pursuits, Many who follow it see moth
| ing in it but labor think of nothing but
its returns in gold and silver. To me it
has other charms than the money it pro-
duces. Lam called, upon almost daily
I'd open doors and peer into long-neg-
lected apartments; to spring the stub.
born locks of safes, and gloat upon the
treasures piled within; to quietly enter!
the apartments of ladies with more beau
! ty than discretion, and pick the locks of
drawers containing peace-destroying
missives, that the dangerous evidences
of wandering affection may not reach the
eye Of husband or father, inpossession Of
the missing key; to force the fastenings
of cash boxes, repositories ofrecords, tell
ing of men made suddenly rich, of cor
porations ,plundered. of orphans robbed,
OF hopes crushed, of families ruined. Is
there no charm in all this? no food for
Speculation? no scope for the range of
/ pleasant fancy? Then, who would not
be locksmith, though his face is be-
| grimmed with the SCOT of the forge, and
his hands are stained with rust?
But have story to tell-not exactly
story, eeither-for story implies the
completion as we'll as the beginning ofa.
narrative-and mine IS scarcely more
than the introduction to one. Let him
who deals in things of fancy write the.
rest. In the spring of 1861 think it
| was in April-I opened a little shop on
Kearney street, and soon worked myself
| INTO good business. Late one evening
| a ladv. closely yelled, entered my shop,
and. pulling from her cloak small jap
aimed box, requested me to open it. The
lock was curiously constructed, and l
was of an hour fitting 1t with key.
The lady seemed nervous at the delay,
and at length requested me to close the
| door. was little surprised at the sug-
yestion. butof course complied. Shut
ling the door and returning to my work,
the lady withdrew her vail, disclosing as
sweet a face as can well be imagined.
There was a restlessness in the eye and
a pallor in the cheek, however, which
told of a heart i'll at ease, and in mo-
ment emotion for her had given place to
that of pity.
|
and the night air is too chilly:'' said l.,
rather inquisitively.
I I felt rebuke in her reply.
"In requesting you to close the door, l
had no other object than to escape the at
|, tention of other persons.
! did not reply, but thoughtfully con-
tinued my work. She resumed:
ssThat little box contains valuable pa
pers-private papers-and l have lost the
key, or it has been stolen. l should not
wish to have you remember that l ever
came here on such an errand,' she con
tinued, with some hesitation: and giving
me a look which it was no difficult mat
ter to understand.
sCertainly, madam, If you desire it. Ii
I cannot forget your face, wi / at least
!. attempt to lose the recollection Of ever
: seeing it here.'
! The lady bowed rather coldIy at what
/ considered fine compliment, and l
, proceeded with my work, satisfied that a
suddenly discovered partiality for me had
, nothing to do with the visit. Having
4 succeeded after much filing and fitting,
I in turning the lock, I was seized with a
n curiosity to get glimpse at the precious
contents of the box, and, suddenly raising
the lid, discovered bundle of letters and
a daguerreotype, as slowly passed the
box to its owner. She seized it hurried
, ly, and placing the letters and picture in
her pocket, locked the box, and, draw
!, ing the veil over her face, pointed to the
door. Iopened it, and as she passed in
to the street she merely whispered:
q ssRemember!'
II We met again, and I have been thus
7 particular in describing her visit to tt e
): Shop to render probable a subsequent
recognition.
:: About two o'clock in the morning, in
the latter part of May following, was
awakened from sleep by gentle tap up
on the window of the little room back Of
the shop in which I lodged. Thinking
If burglars, sprang Oh O. oed, and in
moment was at the window. with hea
; wy hammer in my hand, which usually
q Kept at that time within convenient reach
of my bedside. o,,,,;o. xo;
the hammer, and peering out into the
darkness-for it was as dark as Egypt
when under the curse of IsraeHs God.
!, "Histr' exclaimed a figure, stepping
in front of the window; 'open the door;
have business for you"
s:Ratner past business hours, I should
say; but who are your
:'No one that would harm yeu,' re-
turned the voice, which I imagined was
rather feminine for a burglars.
sAnd no one that CAMP I replied,
5 rather emphatically, by way of warn
ing, as tightened my grip upon the
hammer, and proceeded to the door. l
S pushed back the bolt, and, slowly open
ing the door, discovered the stranger al
: ready upon the steps.
"What do you want?' I abruptly in
t quired. -,
: ~ will tell you," answered. the same