Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1882-08-26

side public dearly loves to buy on rising
market, and yet, with all these facts be-
fore me, am proud to say l trusted my
old partner, although it was with heavy
heart / followed his instructions. sold
at the best price could get, and, just
as ] had placed the last 5000, be-
came aware Of great excitement in the
market. You will scarcely credit it, but
kilograms came in running so: Terrible
accident on Manchester and Dundee line.
Two trains completely wrecked. Fifty
persons killed and wounded 1t was an
awfnl smash-up, and nearly swamped the
dividend on the deferred shares for tina.
half-year.
I" As soon as the first excitement sub.
sided l began to think of Bobbett. /
knew he was somewhere up that way, and
for the moment felt anxious about him, and
then l laughed at my fears as l remem-
bered the telegram l had received short
time before. He, at least, must be all
right, or he could not have sent me that
line but what an artful old rascal-fellow,
l mean-to manage to forestall every one
in the intelligence He must have sped
to the nearest station, dispatched his mes
sage, snd perhaps bribed the telegrsphist
to keep back the official news until | had
time to complete the transaction. However
he had managed, it was very clever, and
ought to be a lot Of money in our pockets,
and thankful was l had trusted him.
81 dare say you two in your hearts
think this very wrong, but it is diamond
cut diamond on the London Stock Elk.
change, can tell you"
Frank and made polite disclaimers, and
49, I'D
this iniquitous exploit of Bobbett's, pressed
ing our susceptibilities.
''Of course was very sorry for the poor
people killed, but l could not help feeling
as went back to my Office that had done
a very good days work. won't close /
said, until Bobbett returns. / should
think, with this transaction open, he is
sure to get back tomorrow Even as /
made this resolution, clerk put tele-
gram in my hand. 1t came from some
railway official, and informed me that John
Bobbett had been killed in the smash My
surprise at the first message was nothing to
that felt now. 1t was utterly incompre.
hensible-is was impossible. How could
Bobbett be dead when his telegram lay be.
fore me! When he sent that he must have
been alive, and what was more, had all his
wits about him. 1t was barely possible he
could have got any one else to send off the
message, and died afterward from injuries
was greatly puzzled and alarmed, so de-
cided that the best thing l could do to
elucidate the mystery was to go myself to
the scene of the accident and ascertain the
truth. started by the night mail, travelled
all night, and early in the morning reached
Crossieigh Road, a little station of no i'm
portance. The accident had happened
some miles further down the line, aud
when reached the place l was conducted
to large barn which stood near the side of
the railway; and there, laid out on the
deal boards, saw, side by side with many
CHASTITY object, the corpse of poor old
BoDbett, maDgled and battered almost be-
yond recognition. After the emotion felt
at seeing my old partner in this state had
subsidized, a feeling of intense fear replaced
it. l saw at one glance that by no posi-
bility could he have moved foot after the
accident. But l hardly like to tell you
the result of my inquiries, it seems so
strange. l interviewed the man who
worked the telegraph. | dad not want to
get marvellous tale spread about. was
very cautious in my questions, inquiring
what messages he had sent off the day be.
fore. Al first could get nothing out of
him, but | noticed, when l asked him
whether he could remember any strange
occurrence just before the accident, he
seemed troubled and hesitated little so
l pressed him further, and at last got this
statement from him Some time, about an
hour he thinks, before he heard of the acci.
dent down the line, he was standing in the
Office with his back to the fire, engaged in
cracking nuts, eating apples, or some other
device that clerks with plenty of leisure
employ to while away the time, when he
felt breath of cold air as if some one had
entered and left the outer door ajar. He
turned round to demonstrate with the
careless intruder, and to his sur.
prise saw the door was shut. AS he
glanced around the room he heard the IA
miliar click, click, click, and he was quite
prepared to swear he saw the handle OF the
instrument working rapidly on its own &C
count, and evidently sending off a message
somewhere. He was SO taken aback, and,
indeed, frightened, that for some moments
he could not move, and when at last he re-
covered himself sufficiently to spring for
ward the movement of the handle had
ceased, and the message, whatever it was,
was speeding to its destination. He was
sure, from the short time it took in send
ing, the message was one of very few
words, and I need not say that, as sele.
graph clerks are unaccustomed to seeing
their instruments worked by invisible
agency, he was very much puzzled, but
decided not to report the occurrence for
fear his superiors should think he had
been drinking. l gave him couple of
sovereigns, and begged him to say nothing
about it. Afterward 1 inquired at the
other end, and found the message had
been forward in an ordinary way. So
that in spite of my disbelief in anything
supernatural / could only come to one con-
clusion."
at is very strange" said Frank. $50
You think"
SCI think that poor old Bobbett's ghost
flew at once to the telegraph Office and
managed to send off that important mes
sage to his old partner and friend. Bob
bett was very clever man, and no doubt
his ghost was cleverer than other peoples
ghosts"
$50 that in the general confusion it
managed to evade pursuit for few mo-
ments?"
Hopkins made no reply.
"But," l asked, have you any reason
for thinking that ghosts In general, or
Bobbett's ghost in particular, are endowed
with knowledge OF the Morse alphabet p
81 have told you before" said Hopkins,
with crushing solemnity, "that Bob
bett was clever man, and knew most
things"
"Well, what about the what.d ye-call-
ems-the young women, the Marthas?"
asked Frank.
az waited some days before closed the
account, hoping that Bobbett might send
me instructions about them somehow, but
as l heard nothing from him, l bought them
back at 10 per cent. less"
That, l suppose, means satisfactory
conclusion, and you Melted something"
"Three thousand pounds. 1t ought to
have been more had dared to wait for