The Northern Pacific farmer. [volume] (Wadena, Minn.) 1878-1885, 1881-08-11

"'Oh, how very listressingr went on my.
husband. Can We not be spared this
pain?'s. .8. .
4 TIE other paused, and then said slow
~, with peculiar expression Oh his face:
B. "Well, surely, surely with what you tell
me, and with what have seen of the case
Iimieht perlapscertify, and SO spare you
the distress Of an inquiry
Thank you, thank you thousand
times said my husband earnestly, as I saw
him press a couple of sovereigns he had
lately taken from the dead mans pocket
into the doctors's hand
Very we'll, them answered that func-
tionary; 4 will manage it, and do oil that is
necessary. I will send some one immdi-
ately. Good night
when he was gone summoned up
courage to ask the meaning of what had
heard. : 49,
"what are your intentions?s pray tell
me, said.
"You always were an idiot he answered,
but / will try and make you understand
for once in a way. Any woman who was
not fool, and had been Toying wife and
alive to her husbands welfare, could have
seen with half an eye what my game is. It's
very simple one, and mind you do not
spoil it or it will be the worse for you; and
that you may have no excuse for doing so
I'll tell you plainly what it is. There was
something like 5000 in notes and gold in
that poor DEVILS pocketbook. There is
nothing to show who he was to anybody
1,,,fv xpho Il, oIyi1xr a r
shall not tell You his name; besides, it does
not signify. Not soul but our two selves
knows how he came on to my premises; he
can never be traced there. / pass him off
as my brother, and bury him accordingly
No one hereabouts knows who we are. SO
who is to say he is not my brother? Had
not good luck brought him up to our hos
pitable gate at the critical moment. and had
you net been the far-seeing, clever woman
you are, and not let him in, why, he wonld
have fallen down dead in the public high
way, and his property have been at the
mercy of the first person who found MIN.
They might have been honest or not. He
wonld have been taken to the hospital, and
of course his friends would have been duly
informed of the sad loss they had sustain
eA. Now as it Is they will be spared this
sorrow, because they will never know what
has become, of him. He will only be one
more victim added to the list of mysterious
disappearance"
"'Well, but I broke in, his friends will
make inquiries after him. He may be
traced to our gate, and We will be called
upon to explain
we may be- continued my husband
but it's sufficiently unlikely. It will be a
cursed piece of ill-luek if ne is. Who is
to trace him into this God-abandoned ro-
gion? Under all the circumstances and by
your own showing it is most improbable
nay, it is impossible
Yes, again interposcd; but he will
be advertised for and described
Very likely he went on, but the doc
tor and the undertaken are the only people
besides ourselves who will have seen him,
and they will have nothing to identify him
by even if they ever know or hear anything
a ~ tas rs aisspRse'GS D nv They ssy
brother, poor John Smith, who
died of apoplexy here in my house, under
the very eye of the doctor, the :forlorn man
by the name Of -- (but I will keep that
to myself, who was last seen," etc., ETC.,
as the advertisement will run. No; they
will not know the name. It will convey
nothing to their minds; how should it? For
remember the moment you SO judiciously
let him in and closed our garden door upon
hiE>, the lost man had ceased to be. From
that moment he became my brother John;
the real man"was gone as completely out
of existence, had as clean parte with his
identity, as if he had never been! BY heav-
ems! it's stroke of genius on my part.
never guessed was half so clever fell
low, replied my husband, triumphantly.
but, cried I once more, this is very
dreadful, very dangerous game, as you
call it, to play. 1t is absolutely theft, and
worse
If you cannot use better language hn
said, hold your tongue: don't insult. tell
you the money might as we'll have fallen
into my hands as into those of som e
policeman or post boy who might have
found him. I want it badlyenough and if
you don't betray our secret there is very
little risk of my right to it 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 they are
carefully converted, and will manage that.
The notes are the only difficulty, but can
get over that, too. If I go straight to the
Bank of England tomorrow !morning, di-
gold, shall be there long before their loss
is known, or consequently their numbers
stopped. The young fellow, perhaps, will
not be missed for week; he comes long
way from here: I have seen enough to tell
me that. We do not know what his habits
were; we do not even know that any one
was aware he had the money about him.
No; the more think Of it the safer the
whole game looks. You have only to keep
youy own and my counsel and our fortunes
are retrieved fora few months, and we have
nothing to fear. All, that's the undertaken,
no doubt. You get out of the way; leave
it all tome
''There was ringat the bell here, which
he went to answer.
"Ah, that was dreadful night, and
during the next few days following I was
nearly beside myself with terror. Of course
the house was closed as became the &C.
casion. The funeral-a very qu:et one
took place in due course at Kensal Green
cemetery. my husband following as chief
mourner in the COACH accompanied by the
doctor. - -. -. !
mo remarks, no suspicion attended so
commonplace q circumstance, and when
the ground had closed over the unfortunate
unknown man, and when a week later a
modest tombstone Recorded the decease of
the imaginary John Smith, aged 49, all
traces of the dreadful fraud, save that
which is printed indelibly in my mind,
was gone.
:. Her husbandsutterly deserted her in less
than six months afterwards. and she was
left-well, what does that matter. To
this day she knows nothing of who OF
what the unlucky young fellow was. where
he came from, or whether he was ever
inquired after; but though when she
told me her story seven years had passed
since the evening she let him in the garden
door, and fell all but dead at her feet, she
very naturally felt-and no doubt still
does feel-ext1emely uncomfortable when
any chance reference is made to missing
man ~ s.
Civil Rights Considered in the Limekiln
,, !, Club. ...a
From the Detroit Free Press.
At this stage of the proceedings Sweet
brier. Perkins stood up in the northwest
corner of the hall. fiourished red silk
handkerchief, adjusted his lavender tie land