Richland beacon. [volume] (Rayville, La.) 1869-1890, 1881-01-22

nothing to their minds: how shoulI it
FOR, remember, the moment yOu so ju
diclOusly let him in and closed our GER.
den door upon him. the lost man haG
ceased to be. From that moment h. he.
came my brother John: the real mal was
gone as clean out of existence, had a-
clean parted with lis identity, as if lee
had never been. BY heavens, it's q
stroke Of genius on my part. 7 never
guessed | was half So clever a fellow.
added my husband, triumphantly.
"Bnt. cried | once more, this i a
very dreadful. very dangerous game.
as you call it, to play. it is absolute
theft. aud worse -
If vou can not use better language.
he SAID, hold your tongue: don. insult
Inc. | tell You the money might a.
well have fallen into my hands as into
those OF the first policeman or pot boy
who might have found linn. I want if
badly enough, and if you don't Lciray
our secret there is very little risk oI my
right 10 ii being Disputed
But, said. the watch the rings.
as Well as the money-they may lead
to your discovery
Not at all, he answered. If thev
are carefully converted. ana | will man
age that. The notes are the only diff
ficulty; Int L can get over that. too. II
J. go straight to the Bank Of England to-
morrow morning, directly i. is opened,
and change them into gold, ] shall b.
there long before their loss is known. or.
consequently, the numbers are stopped
The Young fellow, perhaps, will not Il
missed for a week; he comes a long way
from here; have seen enough TO tell Iuc
that. We do not know what his habits
were: we do not even know that anv one
was aware he had the money about him
No; the more l think Of it the safer the
whole game looks. You have only to
keep your own and my counsel and orr
fortunes are retrieved for a few months.
and we have nothing 10 fear. All. that's
the undertaken, no doubt. You get out
OF the way; leave it all to me-
There was ring at the bell here.
which he went TO answer.
"Ah, that was q dreadful night. and
during the few days following / was
nearly beside myself with terror. OF
course, the house was closed, as became
the occasion. The funcral-a very duiet
one-took place i'll due course at Kensal
Green Cemetery. my husband following
AS chief mOurner Ill the coach. accom-.
panied by the doctor.
'No remarks, no suspicion attended
so commonplace a circumstance. and
when the ground had closed over the IN
fortunate unknown man, and when.
week later, modest tombstone recorded
the decease of the imaginary John
Smith, aged twenty-three,' all trace of |
the dreadful fraud, save that which is
printed indehbly in my mind was
gone"
As my friend reached this part Of her
story she was good deal overcome. and |
said she had nothing more to tell: but
after while / learned from her that the
5coundrel had managed the conversion
If the notes exactly as he had proposed
He slipped away from the house quite
Early the morning after the death, and
almost rs soon as the Bank of England
vas opened changed the notes into gold.
Is he could do, 10y merely writing a
lainc and address-licticious, Of course
ON their backs.
He returned from the city with his lit
lie black bag, as he had gone, by cir
'uitous route; so evading all chance of
'eing followed, though. of course, there
vas really no hkcl,hool of any one
,eing on the alert He got drunk in the
fterIIoon and confided these details to
lis unhappy wife. The unfortunate
.ictim of apoplexy had probably not
hen even been missed. 1t was q Gun
ling game truly. and boldly played out
nd this is really about all know of it:
ny poor little friend refused to let out
ny more very important facts.
Her husband utterly deserted her in
pss than six months afterwards, and she
vas left-well, that does not matter. To
his day she knows nothing of who or
that the unlucky young fellow was,
'here he came from, or whether he was
yer inquired after; but, though, when
he told me her story seven years had
assed since she let him in at the garden
DOR, and he fell all but dead at her feet.
he very naturally felt-and, and, no
oubt, still does feel extremely uncom-
prtable when any chance reference is
lade to missing man.-AH the Year