The Tiffin tribune. (Tiffin, Ohio) 1868-1887, 1879-04-24
NICK PEPPER,
And How He Kept the Combination
EY CARL BRENT.

Mick Pepper, you ever expect TO bC
of any account in the WOrld?'
"NO use talking, Sarah. have Civ,
en up Nick rs a bad job. would
never have thought that my brothers
son would turn out so triiiing,"
Nick Pepper only smiled at these re.
marks. He was sunDing himself on
| the deck of the canal boat General
burnside, bound from Buffalo for New
York with load of wheat, and Just
then decending the Hudson rs one of
a fleet in tow of Il steamboat The first
speaker was his aunt, Sarah Pepper,
and the second was his uncle, Cap
tain" Pepper, owner and commander
of the Burnside. Nick may he said to
have composed the crew, and it was
the opinion of the first and second Of
ficers, above mentioned, that more
useless crew was never shipped.
Il have lived in hopes" said aunt
Sarah, that we would be able to make
a man OF HIM; but the older he grows
the less use he is. He does nothing
but fool around from sunrise to sun
set"
Nick stretched himself and smiled
again.
"Auntie, said he, aid ycu eyer know
me to lie or steal Z"
mo. You are good enough boy as
far as that goes You never do any
thing at all. What's the use OF being
good, when you are only good for moth
ingY
Nick raised himself up sufficiently
to rest his head on his elbow.
~Auntie," said he, lust look at the
burnside. She tolls not, neither does
she spin, but she gets fresh coat of
paint every season. She lies in the ba-
sin ut Buffalo till the elevators ill her
up with grain; then a mule hauls her
down the canal; then a steamboat
bitches on 20 her and tOws her To New
York; then 4 tug yankS her over To an
elevator that unlGads her; and then
she lOafs around till somebody takes
her up the river again. She don't do Il
stroke OF what you might call work,
and yet she makes a good living for
you and uncle. Why should 1 be any
better than the BuTnSioteF
Aunt Sarah WAS sharp enough to see
the fallacy Of this argument, but hard
~ sharp enough to expose it.
"What do you mean?" she asked, ''by
comparing yourself to q canal-bOat2
You are 4 boy, or almost a young man
now, with a soul To be saved. The
Burnside is only q lifeless thing of
wood and iron, and when she rOts and
goes 10 pieces that's an end to her. l
wish you were as useful rs the Burn
side, but there isn't no earthly thing
that you have learned to do"
There is one thing that l can do,
auntie."
Il would like to know what that is"
Il can keep a secret"
AS if anybody would give you a
secret to keep"
The General Burnside reached New
York safely, was left in the basin on
the Jersey TO await unloading. Nick
Pepper put on his coat and prepared to
go ashore.
where are you going?" asked aunt
Sarah.
%Out in town TO do an errand for
man."
Il pity the errand that anybody gets
you to dor
Nick went ashore, whistling.
Jacob Messner, wealthy magufac-
turer of Jersey City, was seated in his
Office, and with him was Mr.. White,
lawyer. Mr.. Messner was reading, not
for the first time, aletter which is given
here in full:
BUFFALO, Aug. 3. 1878.
my DEAR Mr.. MESSNER when l
left your place so hurriedly, called to
the death-bed of my father, at this city,
l was very sorry you were absent, so
that / was unable TO explain to you, as
wished to, the result Of my inYesti-
cations of your business affairs. The
surpiciOns which 1 had previously
impaired to you were confirmed, and l
became convinced that you had been
Systematically robbed by your trusted
clerks, Ebbitt and AlbersOn. l Isecured
the books and papers which proved
their crime c0nclUsiYely, and locked
them up in the old safe, giving the
combination to no one, as l did not
know whom to trust. l expected to
return shortly after my fathers funeral,
and have since been unable 20 leave
my bed. | have been troubled 10 de-
eFde how l should send you the COM
bination, as you will need it to get the
books and papers l speak of, though !
not for any other pHrpOse. l can not
send it to you by letter, as l am sure
that Ebbitt or AlbersOn will read the /
letter, before you get it, nor do l know |
any trustworthy person who is going |
direct to New York. Therefore / was /
compelled to send it by roundabout
route. l gave il to a boy named Nick |
Pepper, Of the canal-bOat. GeueraE |
Burnside, which left here three days /
ago. In this boy place entire con
fdence. He will visit you as soon as
his boat lands, and will give you the /
password which we formerly agreed /
upon. When you give the counter
sfgB, be yill tell you the combination. |
| must run tho fIsk Of laying this let
ter read BY Ebblt or Alberson, but | |
hardly think they will decamp. As
soon as you get the books and papers |
out of the old safe they should be ar
rested, and hope to be with you soon |
rHo4sil - flEligh other proofs.
Yours very truly,
STHoS. +. BENDIx.
@Queer, isn't it?" remarked Jacob |
AIessler, when he had read this letter
aloud 70 the lawyer,
:YeFy queer,H replied BiE. White. |
:D0yoq suppose that the letter was read
by those parties before it reached you? |
"fhat Is what Mr.. RendiX seems to /
have calculated on. There was a de-
lay OF several hours before the letter