, 1882-04-28
r.u Hlf GOLD
i?''

horses, and to quench ny uNl thirst IN
saloon near by. had scarcely reached
NV horses heads when heard the above
.rostion, and saw, as turned round, a
IIonnp lady standing by the side of the
cab. .., 49,, ~
:,r the carriage door, handed the lady
ino Her face had a certain hesitating,
t;mi1 expression which made me judge
mat nv fare was not an independent
III Int housekeeper or governess.
cho ei"o wore black silk dress and wooden
shavl Her hands and feet were small,
bnt Il did not escape me that her gloves
were very much worn
asked her where she wished to be
an;od She named locality not of
"a. bast fame. and with trembling
n;oo w; as if ashamed of it. climbed on
tha hox and whipped up. Although. it
wos nothing to me where my fare wished
'" m" 90 T felt a sort of curiosity as to who
y, ~ SwIat the lady might be. l had OBJ
,,oJ ", that she seemed to have q pretty
seos @ although the veil that she wore
la ~or Il did not let me see her features
,,lainly, During the trip l was driven
by my curiosity to peep through .he
carriage window behind 3e'ana saw 5iias
che had put up her veil. She looked
frightfully pale and thin. Her skin was
like wax, and one did not need to be a
doctor to know that she was consump-
She held in her hands something on
which her eyes were fixed, and there
came over her face an expression OF
thankfulness and satisfaction. What the
oi,act was could not tell exactly. l
oniv saw that it was light colored, and
had no decided shape. l had only two
seconds of time for my observation. l
bad 70 see to my horses in the crowded
street. .,,
az a 1uick trot we soon arrived at the
mart of the city indicated. As soon as l
fonni the number which the lady had
given me, I stopped, got of the box, and
opened the door to help her out. She
appeared to be in great agitation, rs if
an unpleasant interview was before her.
received from her, over the price OF her
fare, which she evidently knew, a little
drink money, thanked her, and she hur-
ried away, while l turned my carriage
toward q neighboring saloon to invest
the drink money Immediately in q glass
of beer.
But before l went in I proceeded to
straighten the carriage cushions and see
that all was right inside. AS soon as /
Opened the door again saw some object
living on the seat. II was small linen
sack-without doubt what the lady had
held in her lap. / took il in my hand; (;
It's weight astonished me. With not q
little curiosity looked at il again and
again, and at last tried to open it. 1t
was easily done, for the bag was fastened
only by little piece of string
Que can imagine my surprise when
found that it was filed with gold pieces
dared not look at them further in this
place, as policeman might possibly no.
tice, and ask how came by the gold. In
the meantime tied the sack again, and
put it in the wide pocket of my coat. In.
stead Of indulging myself in a glass OF
beer, drove to the nearest hac ckstand
and took my place in the rear OF the line
OF carriages, so that l could be sure Of
not being wanted for the next half hour.
got into my carriage, as hackmen OF.
ten do when they want little rest, and
l examined for the second time my new
found treasure. l shook the contents Of
the bag on the seat, and sat with dazzled
eyes before quite pile of gold.
After dehghting my eyes with it for a
while, counted the money, partly $40,
partly $40 pieces, singly, again in the
sack, and found that it amounted exactly
to the sum of $500.
| could not think otherwise than that
this money belonged to the pale young
lady whom / had last carried. How she
came by it, and what was she going to do
with it, was altogether another
thing. l had found it, and it was
algreat temptation for me to keep it.
What could undertake with suck capi.
tai? could bny myself carriage and
aorses, and instead of being miserable
hired coachman. would myself own car.
riages, or establish livery stable, which
would make me independent.
The picture OF future which l painted
in this way was alluring enough, but
along with it was the consideration that
l should be o thief if l retained the
money. Ny selfshness had severe
struggle with my conscience.
While now looked more closely at
the bag, found written in ink upon the
address, Miss Mildred Berkely, No. 4
Madison place" This address, which
had hitherto escaped me, 1 read with as
much disgust as astonishment, for there
now remained to me, as an honorable
man, but one way. meditated over it
time, but could come to no conclusion.
With honesty" said one voice OF my
soul, you will earn no bread; with
honesty, in your old age you can go to
the poor house."