The Vancouver independent. (Vancouver, W.T. [Wash.]) 1875-1910, 1882-01-26
LITTLE BLUE EYES;
Or, HOW SHE HELPED ME OUT OF IT.

''Can I sit with your"
Certainly, SIR"
"Nice weather."
Splendid, indeed"
< "Crops growing finely?"
Eyes, couldn't be better"
y was sitting in passenger coach on
Wisconsin railroad one day, years ago,
when good-looking, pleasant spoken
man came along, stopped at my seat and
the above conversation took place, tho
latter part of it after I had given him
part of my seat.
Now am regarded as a social man.
1 like joke good bit; and 1 think q
sour, morose man, who uses his tongue
only when obliged to, is bound to die Of
some terrible disease, and go to some
place of red-hot punishment.
On entering q railroad car always
look about for talkative man, and then
get as close to him as possible, and
drain him dry, if the journey is long
enough.
And want to state one thing more.
Left an orphan before Icould realize the
event which made me one, got kicked
here and cuffed there, and grew up be-
tween folks" as they say. I ought to
have had, at the time of which write,
pretty thorough knowledge of human
nature, and have bean enabled to read in
q mans face if he intended me evil. l
did not pride myself on being over keen
: or extra sharp, but the knocking around
among strangers ought to give ono
good experience.
Well, the stranger and fell into an
easy train of conversation as we rode on
together, and in ten minutes began to
enjoy his company. He was well-made
fellow, finely dressed, and he wore fine
watch and simon pure diamond ring.
1 never saw man who conld talk so
easily and SO pleasantly. 1t seemed that
he had but to open his mouth, and the
words fell right out.
I had travelled in the South, so had
he; had heard the loud roar OF the Pa
cifc, he knew all about it. / had been
up in balloon, down in mine; been
blown up, smashed up, and repaired
again. My new friend had experienced
ali these things, and was waiting for
something to turn up of a more startling
nature. We agreed on politics, and l
had never met such o railroad COM
panion.
Did you ever meet man who, though
q stranger to you ten minutes before,
could wrest from you secrets which
you'd sworn to yourself not to reveal?
Well, he was just such a man. 1t was
not long before he commenced asking
me questions. He did not seem to be
trying to draw me out, but he asked me
questions in such a sly, roundabout
way. that before knew it 1 was giving
him my history. i.
was Just at that time on the point Of
being admitted to the bar of Wisconsin
as q student of Law & Law, of Brier-
vile.
Che firm were old lawyers, with q lu-
cratiye practice, and it had been talked
over that in about month / was to be-
come the "Co." of the firm. A year be-
fore. and an old man named Preston,
down about four miles from Grafton, had
died. and his matters had been put into
the hands of Law & Law for settlement.
Preston died rich. He had money in the
bank. railroad stocks, mortgages, ETC.,
and everything was settled up to the sat-
isfaction of the relic. and fatherless.
About year before his death, being
short for money and not wishing to sell
ANYTHING at sacrifice, Preston had given
q mortgage on his farm for $4,000. While
the papers read zone year from date. I"
there was verbal agreement that it
should be lifted off any day when Pres.
ton desired. A month after, When, hav-
ing the money, he desired to clear off the
paper. the old money bags holding it
refused to disgorge, wishing to secure his
interest for year.
IVES on my way to ascertain the date
of expiration. A fire among our office
papers had destroyed the memoranda,
and must go down and get the date
from old Scrip, who lives south OF Graf
ton about Ave miles. The stranger had
pumped all this out Of me in about ten
minutes, and yet never once suspected
that he was all this time receiving infor-
nation.
lam not positive, added, "but I am
pretty sure the time is the 13th-which
would be Tuesday
ssAnd then your folks will send down
the money aud discharge the mortgage
OF course?" he inquired.
och, yes. should most likely bring
it down." I replied, and it never occurred
to me how imprudent It was.
He turned the conversation into other
channels, and did not once attempt TO
pump me further. We got 10 Grafton at
half past ten, and to my surprise he
announced that he was to stop in the