Ashtabula weekly telegraph. (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1880-1886, 1880-04-30

shook his head.
" Bolton'syour only chance, A" he said.
" IL twas on the road you dropped Il,
there's no likelihood that you'll ever
hear Of II again. The dust's eight
inches deep, / should say, and there's
been three big droves Of sheep and one
OF bullooks along since yesterday, 80 n
your wallet was a-lying there, thoy must
have tramped thunder pretty thoroughly.
IL is buried deep enough, you may be
sure, unless, which Is Just as likely 10
happen, some one has picked II up and
made off with IL. Your chance is slim
one, / reckon"
Cold comfort this; but John was
forced 10 agree with the opinion. De-
spondingly he rode through the after
noon, scanning the way as he went I;
for, despite the toll-keeper, faint hope
still fingered in his heart, though the
track, deep in dust, and churned and
trampled by the crowding droves, pre-
sented a sorry field for either hope or
discovery.
He had gained the top of a long hill,
from which Bolton was dimly visible,
when a moving object far ahead caught
his eye, and he rose in his stiyrups in
order to see more clearly. As he did so,
his horse made a false step, stumbled,
and threw him forward in the saddle,
so that his head grazed the horse's neck
It was in this position that tiny object,
Of red not over an inch square, in the
dust beneath, caught his quick eye. His
heart gave a little leap; then he called
himself fool; but all the same he dis
mounted TO examine. Already a ran
dom hoof-stroke had buried the red
patch from sight, but John recollected
the spot, and stopping, dug and scooped
till it again became visible. His fin
gers again recognized a solid substance.
Trembling with excitemenCy he contin-
ued to dig; another second the object
was uncovered, lifted out, and with a
wild, incredulous whoop of Joy, John
Boyd held in his hand his wallet, buried
deep by the hurrying herds, and uncov-
cred for one passing moment that his
eye might detect it, and no other. Ex-
cept for that lucky stumble, he too would
have ridden over the lost treasure, and
never dreamed what lay beneath his
horse's feet.
"And some folks say there amt no
Godl" was his mental comment, spoken
half aloud. Then-for John Boyd's re-
ligion, though homely, was true one
-he bent his head and said a few
words of thanksgiving after which,
jumping on his horse, he took the back
ward route, eager to tell his good for
tune, and exonerate the poor girl, who,
as he how remembered with self
reproach, must have passed a painful
day under the stigma of undeserved
suspicion.
The heat was yielding to evening
freshness, and he urged his horse, i'm
patient to set matters straight; but,
with his best endeavor, it was after
eleven before he at last drew rein in
front of Nash's Hotel. He was expected,
that was evident, for lights were burn
ing, and both Nash and his wife hurried
out to meet him, wearing faces of lu-
gubrious length, which only in part
changed to cheerfulness when they
heard of the recovery of the wallet.
"There, what did l tell you?" cried
the husband. "Haven't 1 ben Assay
ing all day that likely as not this scare
would turn out all for nothingP And
you wouldn't listen to word, but Just
kept on to that poor thing inside there,
and she nothing to blame all the time.
declare, it's too bad the way women
act to each other-and folks calling
them the softer sexl' A man would
be ashamed to be so hard. Well, dc
tell and so the money was lying there
in the dust all the time! Well, I'm
mighty glad, for your sake and ours
too. Go right in, sir, and wife III give
you some supper. III see to the
horse"
Mrs. Nash waited on the meal in
grim silence. She seemed only hall
rejoiced at the denouement.
"lt's mighty queer" she remarked
as she set the last dish on the table
al don't feel as ifwe'd got to the bottom
of it yet. Why didn't Lucy deny more
positiveP"
"But she did," said John, between
two mouthfuls; "she said she hadn'
got it,"
"Why, of course she said as much a.
that. You didn't expect her to say
that she had got it, did youP" rejoineC
the landlady with fine scorn. Bu
she didn't speak up violent and bold
as you'd expect an innocent CIR
would"
"But she was innocent all the time
you know"
al amt so oYersure about that,
replied Mrs. Nash, with shake of hel
head. ITS queer business. "
"Now look here,n shouted John
reused by this persistent injustice
"what is there queer about it, / SHOULD
like to knowP Here's my wallet
shaping his pocket" and I've tolC
you where found it. And you know
as well as 1 do that never did put i
under the pillow, and that that girl o
yours had no more to do with it thai
the babe unborn. It's her pardon
ought 70 beg, and you too. So
hope, ma am, you'll drop th'
subject, and just make it up to thu
poor thing by being extra kind, as
were, for the bad day we've made he
spend"
Mrs. Nash seemed by no means molli
fed by this not over-judicious appeal
and as soon as her duties as hostess
would permit, left the room, mutterinl
under her breath something whicl
John did not catch. He was too sleep,
to care particularly about the matter
and presently went to bed, when dream
less slumber drew her veil over tn
day's vicissitudes.
Hurrying out to the barn next morn
ing in the best of spirits, a low sighin,
sob called his attention to bench out
side the kitchen door, where sat a fgur
crumpled up into forlorn little heap
in which he recognized the pretty mai,
of the day before. She wore her bon
net, and a bundle lay beside her. He