The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1883-01-25
A $4,000 Find.

There was great excitement on Friday
among the laborers in the Street Cleaning
Department who are engaged filing in
| the North River front at the foot of
Seventy ninth Street. 1t was reported
that Michael Cummings, the father of q
young man who is employed BY the De-
! partment as a trimmer at the river, had
| found Government bond valued at
$4,000 among the refuse, and that some
| of the men had seen him pick it up and
tuck it carefully into the bosom of his
shirt. Cummings could not be found
| that afternoon, but on Saturday, when
his friends congratulated him and sug-
| gested that he ''wet'' the bond, he COM
piled with great generosity This settled
the question in the minds of his friends,
and when he disappeared again it was
said he had gone to buy house and lot
| in Fifth Avenue. A Times reporter
called upon Mr.. Cummings last evening
| to ascertain how much truth there was
| in these stories. Mr.. Cummings was
found in his comfortable cottage at the
foot of Seventy-ninth Street. He was
attired in blue '.overalls'' and a
Jumper" and was complacently smok-
ing clay pipe in his sitting-room. Mrs.
Cummings and Mr.. Cummings, Jr. !,
were also present. When the reporter
| announced the object of his visit the ex-
| preston of Mr.. Cummings countenance
changed from lofty calm to one of ex-
treme sheepishness, and half suppressed
smiles were noticed upon the faces of
Mrs. Cummings and Mr.. Cummings,
Jr.
SIN jist wan minute, sir!' he said, and
disappeared into back room, while Mrs.
| Cummings and MIR. Cummings, Jr., /,
laughed outright.
s'Poor divvle," said the former, "he'll
| niver hear the last O. that. sd ye see-h
But here Mr.. Cummings appeared with
small lamp and beckoned the reporter
to follow him. He led the way through
bedroom and the kitchen out into the
woodshed. Then he placed the lamp
on a shelf and babe the reported be
seated.
..Now I'll give it to We straight
Yell excuse me for bringin' We out here,
but I'd git the grand laugh if 1 staid
there, agin, and I've got all want of it
already. Now, thin! About four
| o'clock Friday afternoon was out wild
a coal picking up small bits of
L
/ finds piece of paper marked tin
thousand dollars. looked at it two or
three times to make sure 1 was right,
an then kicked the coal-scuttle into
the river and made break for home.
The old woman was mending me socks.
"'Throw them old things into the
stove!' saws, and showed her that
bond. Thin some of the boys got onto
it an came in to see about it, an sent
out for the whisky and called in the
neighbors an we had high time. I
showed the bond to the foreman of the
work at the river, and he told me fer to
go to Drexel, Morgan & Co. 's-which
it was good. So on Monday took it
4 arounf uhere-Say!''- said Mr.. Cum
mings. suddenly interrupting himself
and pointing to the corpse of a remark
ably large and plump turkey which
hung from rafter. ''D'ye see that
bird hangin' there? That don't look
as if this family was goin' to starve il
that bond wasn't genooine, does it?
Well, sor. Mr. Morgan told me that il
was no good. 1t was only q cheek that
had been Cancelled dye mind? 1 took
that check and-''
At this juncture the door opened and
Mrs. Cummings appeared. Mr.. Cum.
mings looked at her warningly, but she
asked, with great hilarity:
"Did ye tell the gentleman how ye
run ten dollars in debt settin' 'em up for
the boys, Mike?''
"Willy We be good enough to howld yel
asperity. .sShe's tryin' to play it on ye
| OF, Ac I
took that check and tore it up in small
bits
"And the more fool you" interjected
Mrs. Cummings.
81 tore it up in small bits right before
that mans desk, and that's s the end of it
Will you be good enough to leave this
apartment before l feel obliged to us,
my authority on yeP'' Mr.. Cummings
whereat she laughed inordinately.
There's another thing" went on Mr.
Cummings, bestowing a savage glare
upon her, 81 want to tell We about. A
reporther wrote in wan of the papers thai
I lived in shanty-a adilapidated shanty.
Now l ask you as a man and a gentle
man if this looks like dilapidated shan
typ If 1 had that reporther here,' con
tinued Mr.. Cummings with great indig-
nation, "rll tell We what I'd do, I'd sind
my son out to ring the fire alarm fer an
ambulance. and thin I'd pound that re
porther until the ambulance got here te
take him away
Mr.. Cummings is evidently sly fiat
terer. for he came outside of his dool
when the reporter went away to re-
mark:
''Say, can till by yer appearance thai
ye're the only reporther I've talked te
that knows anything. Jis give Drexel
Morgan & Co. the tip in the paper, thai
if they should sind me a check fer one
hundred dollars as reward fer my
honesty, shouldn't have any hard feel
ings against 'em on that account.-N. ]