St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1879-09-12
The Mysterious Note.
AN ATTORNEYS STORY.

| was larum-Scarum yOuGn, sdiu
certain lawyer, whose acquaintance
formed in Chicago, some ten years ago,
and for the first dozen years OF my
manhood / had no settled aims.
started out as a clerk in country store,
then became school teacher, next a
clerk in drug store, where L learned
many chemical mysteries; finally be-
came a law student; and it was my
knowledge of chemistry-a science OF
which l am passiOnately fond-that
gave me start as lawyer.
Let me hear the story, said l.
Certainly. My single had been hung
out for four or five months, and L had
not single brief to prepare. What lit
tie money / had possessed after my
studies were completed was rapidly
melting away, and 1 could not ignore
the fact that if no fees should come in
nv way for couple of months | should
have to 90 out on the street, or on the
prairies and labor for living. 1t
would be no disgrace to be sure. But
when one has spent his little all in pre-
pairing himself for professional life,
and when he has set his heart and hopes
on such life, it is sad to have to aban-
don it.
Twas seated in my Office one fore
noon, indulging in certain gloomy
thoughts on this subject, when the door
opened and a middle-aged man in hum
bic garb, came in, and l recognized him
at the first glance as an honest and in
dustrious machinist, named William
Campbell, a former neighbor of my
fathers, who was now dead. He was
Hurried and nervous, and | saw at once
that there was something wrong.
Good morning, Mr.. Campbell, said.
How did you happen to find the office
of poor young lawyer like me?
By accident, he said. am in trouble,
and if do not get out of it am ruined.
All the savings of my life will be gone
unless | can find some lawyer smart
enough to defeat the .rascality of GER
, tain man, and was just going along,
intending to call on the first lawyer l
should see, and it happened to be you.
AS knew your father well, and used
know you when you were a boy,
Thought [ could not do better than to
/ put my case in your hands, I'd at least
be sure of fair treatment, thought.
You would be sure of that at the
hands of any lawyer to whom you
should intrust your case, said I Now
let me hear what it is, and | will see
what can be done.
Well, it's this: I've worked quite
hard all my life at my trade, and &C
cumulated some money about six
thousand dollars, in fact. have sew
eral children | would like to provide
for, and it has been my steady aim to
increase my money all l could. A year
ago, a friend of mine, who is in the
same business | am in, told me he could
take partner in the spring and that if
| should go in with him / could make q
great deal of money. l looked into the
matter and found that he was not mis-
taken about it. l saw that l could, in
J a few years, increase my six thousand
to twenty thousand, and told him
would be ready to join him when the
time come. Meantime, my money was
laying in the bank, where l ought to
have left it, drawing five and a-half per
| cent. interest.
Shortly after l had made this ar
rangement with my friend about the
partnership, a man l knew well and
= had great confidence in, came to me
and asked me to lend him my money
till | should want it. | told him /
should want it at the end of the year,
and he said he could readily return it
e by that time, and that he would give
r me eight per cent. So let him have
it, and now it is due, and can't get it
back.
Has he any property ? l asked.
Yes-any amount of it; have under
+ stood that he's a slippery fellow, but
r had not known that before.
But you took his note, surely
said L.
|, Yes. But | can't find it; that's what
Y troubles me. L called on him and told
him so, and he said he had no recollec-
ton of borrowing any money from me
if | had his note he would pay it; if
hadn't he wouldn't.
e And you can't find the note
(; No.
a What did you do with it
put it in this pOcketbook where
keep all my important papers; but
when | came to look for it among some
r other notes, receipts and the like,
n couldn't find it.
- He produced large old-fashioned
leathern pOcketbOOk as he spoke, and
D looked through it and examined lot
of receipts and notes that were packed
e together in one of the pockets, thinking
q that two of the papers might be stick,
, ing together.
h There is no promissory note for thai
% amount here, said. But what is this
is blank sheet of paper doing here? Ant
'. L took up slip of white paper that
!, found among the documents.
don't know.
1 Who is the man that gave you th,
notef
% Alexander Breton, the druggist.
knew Alexander Bronton very well
. He was wealthy and penurious, an,
/ had the name of being very tricky.
N was satisfied that Mr.. Campbell wa
"A telling the truth. was well convince,
that Alexander Bronton was not maj
y who would be likely to forget havin,
e borrowed such large sum as six thou
( sand dollars, and jumped at the con
1t clusion that he had played some Gun
g ming. trick to wrong the confiding me
. chanic out of the fruits of many year
- of labor. But what was the trick
L This was the question that puzzle,
Of me.
N Have you had this pocketbook in
70 secure place ever since he gave you tn
- note asked.
& Yes, under lock and key where n
" one could touch it but myself.
Are you sure that it has ever sine
p been impossible for any one to find i
IN lrssw