Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1883-12-06


II dusn't 90 near him, sir. - said the
girl, shrinking back "Besides, he par
ticularly said l wasn't to take the par
eel. He says he knows nothing about
it.
Every well, Them said Tom, in des-
peration. ''It is all mistake, but if
he won't see me. shan't take any more
| trouble"
With this, Tom marched out of the
house in great state of Indignation,
| but with an odd sensation that fate had
decreed he should keep the money. He
] would have left the parcel with the ser
want, in spite of Mr.. Burrows iniunc-
tions, if he could only have felt that he
was doing right. It seemed hardly like
", however, that person would deny
all knowledge of such a consignment, If
he were really the sender. 1t is true
that Tom was inclined to doubt Mr..
Burrows veracity on this point, but,
after all, he might be mistaken. He
| hurried back to his hotel, and questioned
the waiter who had taken in the parcel.
! The man, however, adhered to his story,
and was quite certain that Mr.. Burrows
name had never been mentioned. After
| all, the circumstances which connected
that gentleman's name with the parcel
was the accompanying card which had
been left at the house and Tom had
done his best to follow up his clue.
As there appeared to be no one in the
! hotel who expected to receive a parcel,
Tom resolved to apply to Mr.. Straw
bridge, of Slocum, to elucidate the mys-
terry. In his excitement he had forgot
ten all about his portmanteau; but it
now occurred to him that Mr.. Straw
| hTsi6Oro could CIVILIAN a yUhnln offaiTs
| for Tom still suspected that the parcel
had been intended for the messenger
who had carried the letter, and upon
reflection he felt more and more con-
WINGED that Mr.. Burrows, for some mys-
terious reason, had deliberately at
| tempted to deceive him.
Tom travelled to Slocum by the ear
Hest train, revolving these things
! in his mind, and at the end of his jour
ney, having recOllected the impending
election, he had formulated his ideas
a little. He was hardly surprised to
learn that Mr.. Strawbridge was the
! Conservative agent, and though it had
been given out that the election was to
| be conducted on party principles, he
| began to feel little suspicious. He
called upon Mr.. Strawbridge at his
office, but discovered that he was at
tending a noisy meeting of his party at
the assembly-rooms. Tom waited pa
tiently until the proceedings broke up,
and then took the earliest opportunity
to accOst him.
Unfortunately, Mr.. Strawbridge was
a fussy, self-important Individual, and
little suspecting the delicate nature of
| Toms communication, he declined to
accede to his request for a private inter
view, but roughly requested him to
state his business on the spot. His man
ner put Toms back up, and although
there were several persons in hearing,
Tom did not hesitate to inform him that
owing to an accidental circumstance he
had been entrusted with a box of soVer-
eigns to deliver to him. Tom then pro-
ceeded to detail the facts of the case, and
his story caused perceptible stir among
the bY-standers.
'Pooh! pooh! It's all nonsense, - in
terpOsed Mr.. Strawbridge, turning very
red, and glancing apprehensively around
him.
''But what did the note mean then?"
cried Tom, not relishiug the statement
1.-The money was sent to me because
was believed to be your messenger. "
''Hullo, Strawbridge!' exclaimed a
|
Gentlemen, assure you this is an
unworthy maneuvre of our opponents, -
said Mr.. Strawbridge, raising his voice.
cit is an attempt to convict me of bribery
and corruption. know nothing about
the parcel. This young man has been
sent here to prejudice our candidate,
and to spread damaging rumors."
''Shame! shamen' burst from the eX-
cited by-standers; and Tom, who was
by no means disposed to take this re
buff calmly, suddenly became the OBJ
iect of popular Indignation. Before he
had time or opportunity for remon-
STRANGE, his hat was crushed over his
eyes, and he was violently elected into
the street. But he chung to the pre-
cious parcel with logged determination,
and managed to carry it away with him.
Tom was hot-tempered fellow, but
he had pretty shrewd eye to his own
interests. After what had passed, he
guessed that neither Mr.. Burrows nor Mr..
Strawbridge would be anxious to claim
the box ofsovereigns, which he consid-
cred himself entitled to retain by way of
damages for the injuries he. had sus-
tanned. He took the next train to town,
and paid the money into his banking ac-
count, and then wrote to both of the
above named gentlemen, expressing his
willingness to refund the amount to
whichever was entitled to it, upon re-
ceiving a satisfactory explanation.
Strange to say, neither of these COM
munications elected any reply, and from
what he afterwards gathered from the
local press, Tom is inclined to believe
that he will remain in undisputed pos
session of his spoil.-LOnadO1g 77-aEtlb.
One of the queerest curiosities on
the globe is a man with silver skull,
who was visiting in Louisville, Ky.
During a fiercely contested battle in the