Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1878-10-24

the dining-room, and do you all jess 60
in and help yourself" Mrs. Bland was
near me, and clapped her hands with
childish glee, Notwithstanding hel
pricked finger. "Win you take me in?''
she asked quite naturally.
l had no heart for peaches, still | Of
fered the woman my arm. There was a
group of noisy boarders at a long table,
but, through David's care, Mrs. Bland
secured a small kitchen table, on which
was placed dish of peaches, thanked
with huge half-moons of watermelon.
"You saw him?" asked Mrs. Agnes
Bland, pairing a peach with silver
POCKET fruit-knife, which she drew from
her pocket. "Dear me! the juice of the
peach gets into my cut finger, and really
stings."
"Saw him, Mrs. Blaud! For Gods
sake, what does this all meant"
II like cling-stones better than free.
stones. should be so much obliged to
you if you would pare peach for me.
My finger makes me so awkward"
care you Nemesis, Mrs. Bland?"
"a what? l don't know what that
means. Explain"
ooh! the man in the coach? Now,
sir, listen. The '$2S.O7. Korrect,' you
wrote on that bill of mine gave me a
clue to your handwriting. Mr.. Bland
there is Mr.. Bland-sent me down
here after you. Those figures and K-o-r-
rect cleared you. There were no fig
ures like yours in the altered accounts.
George Harland was thief. | was glad
when could congratulate you on your
luck
"Luck, madam! what dou mean?"
"You were the only gentleman here
all the rest of them were cads and mutfs.
Your society was not unpleasant to me,
and 1 should have 50 disliked to have
been the means of bringing thief to
your door. Mr.. Bland was on that
coach, with the driver. You may have
noticed first blue splutter and then a
red splutter from the match. That
meant All right George Harland has
misappropriated $4,000 belonging to
your stupid old bank, and did it, clever
as you are in figures, right under your
nose, sir. The papers for the last week
have had an inkling Of it-not where
you would look for the news, but in per-
sonals and advertisements. That is why
I read the papers. Please don't go! any
sympathy l might have had-and | have
not much to waste-was really that of
thankfulness that quite a decent young
man like you was safe. Mind, never
suspected you, though MIR. Bland might
have done so. George Harland oug ht
to have $4,000, in notes, with him, on
his person, this very moment" There
was base look of greed in the woman S
face.
"You are, then, Madam"
"The wife of Mr.. Bland. l am
afraid" and here Mrs. Bland smiled,
showing me set Of white teeth, single
black melou.seed increasing their pearly
lustre by contrast, "that you do not
like me as well-at least my society-as
you did an hour ago." There was q
little bit of killing disdain about the
woman. l suppose the scorn on my face
was manifest, for I made no effort to con-
ceal it.
"Great Lord, save us!' said David,
coming in and addressing us, "some-
thing dreful happen-dat man in de
stage-coach-"
"Not run escaped" said Mrs.
Bland, springing to her feet with the
latent energy of Jonathan Wild. Her
eyes had lost their pale blue simmer,
and glinted like cold steel; the burrows
between her eyes took strange, arabesque,
sinister traceries. It was dreadful face
to see.
"No, Ma'am-woss nor that. He
blow his brains out, right in de coach"
David" said Mrs. Bland, now as
quiet and unrippled as dish of milk in
a dairy. "David, bring me napkin,
and I will take another bit of nelon-if
you will help me, sir"
But did not help Mrs. Bland.