River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1882-04-20

he cried, with a sudden change in his
voice; she cannot mean it. rob my
uncle-I-"
"Mr. Fred" said the clerk, respect
fully, 81 only waited to see how you
| took the note to speak a few words of
advice. Mr.. Fred, was with your ia
ther when he was killed on railway
train; was with your uncle when he
brought you home for the holidays;
and I've loved you, boy and man, since
you were ten years old-and that's
twelve long years. | know You never,
never took the money; but things look
very ugly for you"
But" said Fred. grasping hard the
hand the old clerk held out to him. 81
cannot understand it. Listen" And
he read aloud the note from his uncle
'MR. FREDERICK TRYoN-I could not
believe without proof-undeniable pos
tive proof-that you could rob me of
five thousand dollars, taken, as you
know, from my private desk on
Wednesday last. You are my sisters
son, and | will never be the one to i'm
prison or punish you; but you are no
longer a nephew of mine. Willingly,
| will never look in your face again.
Your ill-gotten gains freely give you
to start in some business, trusting that
you will endeavor to live honestly in
the future. Do not try to see me;
will not listen to any explanations |
know to be false. Do not write, for |
will not open your letters.
RUFUS MARKHAM,
Maud Clarkson grew white as death
as she heard the stern edict.
80 Fred % she cried, "what can you
do I"
"Starve, l suppose" was the bitter
answer, "as do not happen to possess
the ill-gotten gains he so generously
presents me. But / will not ask you to
starve with me, Maud: You were be-
trothed to the millionairie's nephew and
heir; the disinherited beggar frees you
from your promise.
Erred" she cried bursting into tears,
chow can you he so cruel?' Then, I'M
needing the clerk, who wss discreetly
looking from the window, she came
close to Fred's side. Darling, she said,
fixing her large black eyes upon his
face, "if all the world believes you
guilty do not. If all the world casts
you off l will keep my promise"
The young lover had been bewilder-
ed, indignant, desperate, but he folded
the gentle comforter fast in his arms
and great tears fell on her upturned
face.
"God bless you, Maud l'' he cried
81 can defy the world if you are true
to me. Now, Potter, sit down and tell
me what you know of this wretched
business"
"Well, Mr.. Fred, l neve~ heard of
the robbery myself until this morning, !
when Wedges, the detective your uncle !
employed to work it up, came to make
his report. They did not notice me at
first, and when your uncle remember
ed / was in the room had heard about
all Wedges knew. You remember there
was a note coming due last Wednes-
day ?"
ITO Johnson?"
eyes; well, thought at the time it
was curious that your uncle gave him a
check when L knew the money was
drawn out of the bank the day before,
to meet that very note. But never
knew till this morning that the money
was stolen from Mr.. Markham's private
desk by means of false keys. Mr..
Fred" said the old man earnestly, it
was all in five hundred dollar notes, and
your uncle had the numbers"
Well ?'
"This morning Wedges brought back
one of the notes which you gave to
T, yesterday, in payment for
pearl locket."
Stop, Potter, let me think. Where
did l get that note? L have it. Arnold
gave it to me to take out q hundred
dollars | lent him some time ago. And
Arnold-Potter- borrowed my
keys, last Wednesday night, to open
his trunk. Potter, huzza we known
the thief"
Not so fast, Mr.. Fred; not so fast.
1t will not be an easy matter to prove
this. Were there any witnesses pres
ent when Arnold borrowed the keysY
"No; l was alone in my room, half
undressed, when he knocked at my
door and said he had lost the key of
his trunk. / lent him my bunch of
keys, which he returned before was
out of bed the next day."
"And you were also alone when he
paid you the money!"
"Yes: 1 thought he was very flush,
for you know as well as / do, Potter:
that note for five hundred dollars is
not daily visitor in Arnold's pocket"
ale is a cunning scoundrel. He
wants to ascertain if the notes can be
identified before he tries to get rid of
them himself. Mr.. Fred, will you leave
it to me few days-only few days
and, if / do not catch the thief you
may try"
"But my uncle?"
"Wait till you can prove your inno-
cence before you see him. Only a
Before night Fred was on his way
to visit another city, and his landlady
had agreed to allow Mr.. Potter to occu-
by his place during his absence.
Fred had been gone two days when
the old clerk called upon Miss Clark
son to report progress.
81 am completely bafiied." he said,
in answer to her inquiries. "You see,
Arnold knows me and evidently sus-
poets me. He is so affectionately de-
sirous of keeping me in sight that |
cannot get peep into his room; and
whenever he is out he locks the door
and gives the key to the landlady. l
cannot force the door yet, and by the
time Fred returns 1 am afraid the
money will be struggled away. | am
sure the money is in his possession
now, he is so careful about his room.
Nobody gets in there but the landlady.
l did think of bribing the chamber
maid to let me in when she was at
work there. but unfortunately she left
to-day"
A flash of light seemed to pass across
Maud's face, but she only said de-
murely:
"Your landlady is German, is she
net?"
Eyes; her English is very imperfect.
Have you ever seen her ?"
| HNo. I have heard Fred SnaaE M