The Press., 1883-11-22
THE MYSTERIOUS NOTE.

store, then became a.school teacher, next clerk in a drug store, where learned my chemical mysteries !; finally, became law student; and it was my knowledge of chemistry-a science of which l am pas sionately fond-that gave me start as 8 law student.
 My shingle had been hung out in vain for four or five months, and had not 8 slngle b ief to prepare. What little mon- ey had possessed after my studies were compl' ted was rapidly melting away, and could not ignore the fact if no fees should come in my way for couple of months l should have to go on the street, or on the prairie, and labor for living. It would be no disgrace, to be sure, but when one has spent his little all in preparing him. has set h heart aud hops on such life, it is sad to have to abandon it.
 l was seated in my office one afternoon, indulging in certain gloomy thoughts on the subject, when the door opened, and 8 middle-aged man in humble g,rb came in, al-d recognized him at the first glance, as au honestan industrious machinest, ,nams William Campbell, a former neighbor of my fathers, who was now dead. He was Hurried and nervous, and I saw, at once, the. e was something wrong.
 "Good morning, MT. Campbell" said I. 'How did yon happen to find the office of poor young lawyer like me?"
 By accident" he sa d. "I am in trou- ble, aLd if don't get out of it I am rrin- ed. the savings of my life will be gone, unless l can find some lawyer smart enough to defeat the rascality of certain man, ,a, d I was going along, intending to call on the first lawyer I should see, aud 1t happened to be you. As I knew your father well, and knew you when you was boy, thought could not do better tha. to put the case in your hands I'd at least be sure of fair treatment, thought .
 You would be sure of that at the hands of any lawyer, to whom you should intrust you case," said I. "Now, let me hea1 what 1t Is, and I will see what can be done. J ! Well, 1t is this I've worked quite hard all my life at my trade, and accumu. lated some money-about six thousand dollars, in fact. I have seven children should like to provide for, and 1t has been my steady aim to increase my money all could. A year ago, friend of mine, who IS III the same business l am in, told me Ii he could take partner in the spring, and if should go in with him, we could make g lot of money. I looked into the matter,
 
 I saw I could, iu few years, increase my six thousand to twenty thousand, and ] told him would be ready to join him in the business when the tune came Mean time, my money was laying ill the bank, where ought to have left it, drawing five and half per cent. interest. "Shortly after made this arrangement with my friend about the partnership, a man knew well, and had great confidence in, came to me and asked me to lend him 1 the money till I should watt it at the end of the year, and he said he could readily 1 return 1t by that time, and he would give me eight per cent So let him have it, and now it is due and I can't get it back. J "Has he any property?
 "Yes-tho amount of 1t but l have since understood he's a slippery fellow, but I had not known that before"
 ''But you took his note, surely" said I.
 "Yes, but can't find it that's what troubles me- I called on him yesterday and told him so, and he said he had nc recollection of borrowing any money from me if had the note he would pay it Ii hadn't he certainly would not" "And you can't find the note ?" "No."
 "What did you do with it ?''
 ''I put it ill this pocket-book, where ] kept all my important papers but whei- I came to look for it among some other notes, and the like, couldn't find it." s'There is no promissory note for that amount here,' said. "But what is this blank sheet of paper doing here" and took up slip of white paper, that found among the documents.
 'sI don't know"
 'Who is the man thst gave you the note ?"
 Alexander Bolton, the druggist D
 I knew Alexander Bolton well. He was we althy and penurious, and had the name of b ing very tricky. was satisfied that MT. Campbell was telling the truth. was as we'll convinced that Alexander Bol ton was not man who would be likely to forget having borrowed such a large sum as six thousand dollars, and I jumped to the conclusion that he had played some cunning trick, to wrong the confiding me. chanic out of the fruits of many years of labor. But what was the trick That was the question that puzzled me.
 "Have you had this pocket-book in se- cret place ever since he gave you the note?'' asked.
 Yes under lock and key. where nc one could touch it but myself "Are you sure that 1t has been ever since impossible for any one to find it to purloin the note ?''
 -"I am perfectly sure of that. The lock of my desk in which I have kept it is one I made myself. There is but one key in the world that will open it, and here it is, J he said producing from his pocket bright steel key, of very odd outline. ''Not a thing has ever been disturbed in that desk.'
 l unused few minutes as again casual ly overhauled the papers, then said, ,-
 "Mr. Campbell, don't mean to say that MT. Bolton is dishonest, but might he not have handed you this blank sheet of paper, and slipped the note into his pocket-book with the money you lent him P
 "No, that is out of the question. I ex- amined the note again. after I reached home, before I put the pocket-book away, to see that no mistake had been made found it all right, plain as day in every let ter and figure, and I remember as well as though it had been yesterday even re- member noticing how brisk the ink was :; it had quite reddish tinge."
 was in the act of handing the pocket book back to him, as he said this, but a thought suddenly struck me, and open ed 1t again.
 s'Mr. Campbell, said, carelessly, 'sdo you remember whether the note was filled out on blank form, or not ?'