Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1882-03-15
How a Lost Account Book was
FOund-Practic Joke on
n Good Father


Some of our readers may remember
that about year ago we advertised
the loss of an account book by a GER
tain well-kaown citizen, and that
liberal reward was offered for the re-
turn of the same to the owner. The
book was valuable to the owner and
useless to anyone else. Hence as the
months passed and no tidings of the
lost book came to hand, the gentlemen
concluded that the mystery of its dis
appearance would never be revealed.
A year passed and all hope of recover
ing it died. His astonishment there
fore may perhaps be imagined when he
received and read the following letter,
which we insert Uerbatinl ct literatina
ct punctuatinl:
PETROLIA 1st March
'Mr.-i hev a acoont box ofyourn,
hev ben waiting for a long time for
you to ofer an reword but you did not
Civ one in the paper so i hev to go to
Bradford and kin waite no more. ma
sed it wos worth dollar an half an
il you kom to the nine O'Clock trane
and gin me dollar an a half you kin
hev the box, an ask me no questions,
am a poor girl an ned the mony.
A STRANGER
Of course, this epistle was a first
class astonisher. Conjectures ran riot
in the mans mind. He at once insti-
tuted a little private detective work
which resulted in giving him a clue,
but nothing tangible. Several parties
thought they knew the writer by sight.
Finally, however, there was no re-
source left but to comply with the re-
quest in the letter which was that he
should be at the nine O'Clock train in
the evening. The gentleman was
there standing at the forward steps
when suddenly young girl appeared
on the platform of the car with the
book in hand. He recognized it at
once. The following conversation en-
sued; not, however, until he had Sc
cured the long lost book:
How long have you had this book p
"A good while'
why did you not return it before p
Ma didn't want to-
Are you going to Bradford p
Yes. Pm in hurry
DO you live in Petrolia p
Don't ask questions, Pm in a hurry
How does it happen that you re-
turn me this book at this time
Il want the money. Pm in hurry
As it was nearly time for the train
to move out, and the girl was evident
ly distressed, he handed her a dollar
and half and stepped back for a mo-
ment. A strong impulse urged him to
board the train and ascertain the girls
name, if possible. He Immediately
followed the promptings of his impulse
and rushed upon the platform and
glanced within the car. Just in the
act of doing this he caught a glimpse
of the same figure that he had been
talking with hurrying across the pave
ment in front of the Oriental House.
1t took but moment for him to jump
across the intervening space and start
in pursuit. In the meantime the girl
became aware that she was pursued.
Like a startled doe she bounded up
the steps to JamisOn street, down
thence to LazenbY's store, across to
the drug store on the east side. Her
pursuer was doing his level best to
overtake the frightened girl, who flew
over the ground as though her feet
were winged. Down Jamison street
they swiftly ran up the alley between
the Record Office and Levison's they
hurried on breathless and disordered.
At Burns bakery she screamed. Now,
thought the pursuer, she is getting
scared and will soon weaken. But
still on and on she ran, up East Main
street and be not twenty feet behind.
He had come to the conclusion that the
girl had stolen his book, and he had
determined to arrest her, take her be-
fore the Squire, and extort the particu
lars attending the theft These
thoughts and determinations were run
ming through his mind while on the
dead run. In the meantime the two
Lad approached the gentleman's own
residence. What was hisastonishment,
not to say utter CONSERVATION, to see
the girl enter his own house. He was
only few feet behind her, but while
he was covering the intervening space
he thought the girl had sought refuge
there the better to make clean breast
of it and appeal to his mercy. With
more eagerDess if possible than before,
he bounded into his own residence,
heated, breathless, and disordered, to
become the victim to the most over
whelming astonishment and surprise
of his lite. Before him stood the per-
son of his own daughter, whom he had
been so ruthlessly pursuing. Like
lightning it flashed upon him that he
had been made the victim of the best
practical joke of the season. In rum
aging through an old desk upstairs, the
mother and daughter found the book.
1t Immediately occurred to them that
they might play joke on the father.
No sooner thought of than the details
were worked out and carried into exc
cution. Success attended their little
plot even more fully than was antici-
pated. The gentleman enjoys the
joke, and willingly takes the laugh
against himself-Petrolia Record,
Mar 4.
n A