The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1878-07-05

The money was safely deposited in the
car an hOur before the time for the train TO
leave, Thursday morning. 1t was securely
locked in two strong iron bound chests.
and when they were stOwed away ian the
iai ge safe and lie heavy doors made fast. |
'houeht everything was pretty well fixed.
\ few minutes before we pulled out two
wagons passed by the car, Que Of them con-
tanning two coifius, and the other six men,
who were evidently acting as pail bearers.
L looked around for the bereaved brother
with the peculiar eye, but he was nowhere
to be seen. L thought it a little strange
that he should be absent at such a time,
but | forgot ali about it in a moment.
The collins were placed in one end Of the
car, aud after il had been arranged that
one of the men should come into the car
and take look at the bodies when we ar
rived at Redwood he shook hands with the
others aud entered oHe Of the coaches. As
the door closed on him, the bell rang and
we went stedming away.
| was pretty busy for an hour or more,
and we had passed three or four stations
before | had time to cast more than a cas-
ual glance toward the quiet passengers at
The end Of the car. But after little. when
l had more leisure, an uncomfortable wish
:ook possession of me to look at the faces
OF the two dead men. l. wasn't mere
morbid curiosity, and | can't describe it in
any way better than to say it was a sort of
vague desire which | could not quiet with
out satisfying il.
| noticed that the lids were net fastened
down. My next discovery was that the
screws were gone. Tbs struck me as
sirange, for | was sure had noticed them
when the coftins were lifted into the car
l remembered that had given the attend
ants permission to arrange The casket to
their own satisfaction, and that they had
been long time doing it. Ii they had
removed the screws UuObSeTveh at that
time, what possible object could they have
had in doing so?
With this question in my mind l raised
the upper portion of the lid of the coffin
nearest ne aud took look at the face Of
the occupant. lie was a young man with
a full face and square features His
cheeks were not sunken, aud he had de-
cldedly fresh appearance for a young man
who had been dead nearly two DAYS, |
Thought.
Replacing tile lid, passed away to the
otlier coffin. Here new and startling sur
prise met me, The man in the coffin was
the man whom | had seen in the express
office That red eye was staring straight
at me, and | was nOt mistaken For a
moment my CONSERVATION was too great
for WORDS. | could not have uttered a
sound had my life depended on it.
Ihis man who was alive after the acci-
dem, which the paper said caused the
death of Van Scooter and Gr;ggs. and who
had made arrangements for .he transporia-
ton of their remains, was now here in this
coffin, to all appearance dead Then |
remembered that the bereaved stranger
bad said that his dead brother had resem-
bied him very closely. Bu; two brothers
are not apt to have red glass eyes Such
a coincidence as this was beyond the pale
OF reasonable probability.
While yet gaz.d at the supposed corpse,
the other eye opened little and was sure
that it was looking at me 1 was ron
vinced there was fraud here, but 10 show
that | had discovered iJ might cost me my
life. So I very quietly replaced the lid Of