The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1878-12-07
what YOU have done for me YOUR health NAV

what you have done for me your health may
suffer. Pray 90 into your room. You will
fiup cigars, there ard a pack of cards. Do
yoo play solitaire? Count your money that
might amOse you. But sleep as quiet as
mouse shall wait on you. teDderly. care
fully. 1t is l who will bring you your din
ner. Now l must beup and stirriug."
was put in my room and locked up there.
Hardly had been in my room when heard
the room had just left apparently crowded
with anxious men, who kept going in and
out until five o'clock.
For two weeks after this, every day l was
waited on by my employer. was We'll fed,
had nothing to do but to eat, drink. read.
smoke and sleep My toilet had been cared
for; had dressing gown, slippers, aud the
best underclOlhng. There was some So
lace at nrst 10 having all the wine | wanted.
out my solitude, save when nv emplover
came, commenced to be irksome. The idea
OF being prisoner CALLED me. began TO he
loud in my complaints. ''Tomlinsou". at
last said 10 ne my employer one AFTERNOON.
II have to laud your discretion. Now your
time OF service is quite concluded Have not
fulfilled my part OF the Contract scfupulously
told you IT we succeeded yop should be a
participant in the profits There is some
$500 coming to you, and here it is-in
netes. L shall be sorry to part with you.
This evening you are free. have brought
you just mouthful to eat and bottle of
your favorite wine. will call for you in an
Jour-" and he lett me.
was delighted with the idea of reganing
my liberty. l counted the notes, which with
the g Id that had been given me amounted
to 81, 600. disposed OF the money in vari-
Gus ways about my person. dressed les-
urely, ate crust of bread and flushed off
the bottle of wine. My employer came; L
was blIndfolded again and put iuto close
carriage drawn up on the sidewalk. 1t was
dusk when we started. Whether it was ow-
ing to tho close confinement 1 had been in,
or the air affecting me er the wine that was
drueged, fell asleep. All that know is,
that was picked up on the street some
where near clubhouse, on Madison or
Lexington avenue. The police told me that
when l was found my pockets had been rifed
and lost all my money except a few hun
dred dollars | had in my boot. The police
officer gave me that back after got well. I
was i'll in a hospital Tor mouths, and when
recovered l was lett with this palsy. Then
discovered that l lad been made the tool OF a
| desperate stock gambler. 1t seems acciden-
tally bore strinkiug resemblance to gigan-
tic stock operator. l was dressed up and
used on some occasion for his substitute. In
looking over the papers of that day find
that one OF the autocraIs Of the street mad
suddenly broken with his agent. This brok-
| er had possibly followed his employer on his
| own account in his immense operations.
| Wall street got wind of it, and an effort was
to have been made to break down the stock,
in which possible turn the principal had giv-
| en- his sanction. had been exhibited tor a
briet quarter Of an hour, and the street had
been convinced i'll an ocular way that the
story was false. My employer had then un-
loaded, for in an 'hour the stock had risen
| immensely, and had profited by the heavy
| decline that folio we'd. There were differ
| ences, SO l am told, in the first day OF 20 per
cent up ward, and the next of 30 per cent.
My clever employer made himself right both
ways"
| never interrupted my informant during
this long story save to ask here: ''Well, but
! what about the poisoning? How could that
have benefited him? Did he want to get rid
of you?"
Il hardly think that he wanted to kill me.
1t was part of his plan, perhaps, to leave
me i'll on the sidewalk, so that my appear
| ance might still simulate SOM great finan-
cier, stricken down with apoplexy."
"And you never made researches to find
oat your man?" 1 asked.
Never; it would have been useless.
was too carefully kept in the dark for that.
When / got well | used to wander up and
down Wall street, but have never found a
clue. There we're a good many buildings
| torn down 10 the street in 1891 and 1872 TO
make way for new structures. 1t might have
been in one of them that was confined. All
l have LETT to remember that adventure
where | was supernumerary is this palsy,
which came on after my recovery"
Whether that supernumerary was more
knave than fool have not yet quite made
up my mind about.