The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1883-05-22
TIMOTHY'S FORTUNE.

stealthilY eating his lunch in dusty
corner amongst some empty packing
boxes. 1t was not a very good lunch,
and warm as the day was, he had but
one glass of water'to drink with it,
A very mild. pleaSant-looking young
! fellow was Timothy Bloom, with eyes
like pretty girls and fair hair parted
/ down the middle; but he was rather
doleful at this moment, for Crabbe, SEN
ior. had just been abusing him for per-
hitting lady, who was not to be suited
by mortal salesman, to get off without
buying ANYTHING, and had likewise in
formed him that he had been five sec
onds late that morning and would in
consequence be fined on Saturday even
ing.
Thatwas not pleasant, and Mr.. Crabbe' 5
manner was not pleasant, and the dusty
| corner and the stale sandwich were not
pleasant. And who can wonder that
poor Timothy Bloom, looking up at a
row of decorated corset-boXes above his
head, and taking his idea from the
winged rnfaRt pictured upon them, re-
marked, under his breath:
Il wish | was cherub. p"
At this moment, even as the wish ilut-
tered up to the corsct-boxes, little boy,
about three feet high, bearing on his
Der 1889, came around the counter, and
| fixed his enormous pathetic eyes on Mr.,
| Blooms glass of water.
Il say, Mr. Bloom he whispered
pathetically, won't you give me just a
mouthful Of that water? Mr.. Crabbe
| saws us cashes amt to have no drinks,
! and m chokin'."
MIR Bloom smiled pitifully at the
| child, a forlorn widows assistant bread
winner. and said mildly, as he held out
the glass:
Here. johnny, take half. I'd let you
| have it all if we were' not limited to one
| glass ourselves
Guess water is gettin' dear" said
| Johnny, eagerly swallowing the share
| allowed OF the cooling draught, but
| scrupulously careful not to exceed the
| permission
| Thank zee. You re a brick. Mr..
! Bumps hit me q lick " hen asked him.
Here have the paper? A customer left
| it on the desk. Save it for me to take
home to mar when / go home tonight.
/ She likes to read the murders and them
/ things-'
Cash 1897 shrieked a female voice.
CASH Cashf'
Its Miss Pringlc. | must 90, whis-
pered Johnny, and sped away in terror.
There were ten ca4h-bovs in the store,
/ and they had been numbered high to
| sound well
Mr. Bloom {ceped around the boxes
at the clock. saw he had ten minutes
more to himself, and opened the paper
The first thing his eve lighted upon was
an advertisement of fine country seal
for sale. AMI - read it through the
description %. lie stables. EARNS, con
aerfatory. verandah. lawn. and kitcht II
garden; the well, the octa@on parlors. |
snd the cupola; the tiled halls and fires
coed ceilings, as though he intended tc
buy it for himself that afternoon.
Then he cast his eye upon an account |
of how Mr.. Mullen had beaten Mrs. |
Mullen, and been arrested for so doing; |
and then he found himself reading a |
paragraph to the effect that the heirs of |
Timothy Bloom, of Lancaster, if living. |
might hear Of something to their advan-
tage by applying to Jones and johnson, |
street.
MY name" thought Mr.. Bloom, at |
first Then. with start, he remem-
bered that he had heard his grandfather
was named Timothy Certainly, he |
came from Lancaster. His father, |
David Bloom, had been an only son. /
He was an only son himself Well, |
then, he was Timothy Blooms heir, if |
it should prove that the Timothy Bloom |
inquired for was really his fathers |
father.
But. oh, pshaw!'' said Mr.. Bloom.
This sort of thing couldn't happen to
me. It's some other Timothy, not poor
old gTandfatheT. And he copied the
address of Jones and johnson into his
pocket-book. and went back to his coun-
ter quite calmly, though he wrote 10
Jones and johnson that night.
However, wonders viii never cease.
When Tim Bloom, the meekest of all |
young statesmen, went home that Satur-
day evening with deducted salary and
a scolding, he found Mr.. johnson him
self in his clearinghouse parlor, and
an examination of the family Bible in
his possession, and of certain bundle
of yellow letters that Mr.. Bloom had
more than once decided to burn, but
had, fortunately, spared, settled the mat
ter.
Half million of money had come to
him in the regular course of nature. and
he was richer not only than Mr. Crabbe,
but than any of his most fashionable
customers.
1t was wonderful surprise to little
Tim Bloom, and he scarcely grasped the
idea at first.
Even after he had told his chief con-
fdante, his landlady's pretty grand
Mehitable White-a pretty,
pink-cheeked, capable damsel, called
Hetty, for short-he only went SO far as
to think of a pair of patent-leather boots
and diamond crayat pin.
Hetty awakened him to a full realiza-
ton Of his changed condition by saying
rather seriously, and looking away from
him:
''Of course grandma's won't suit you
any longer, Mr.. Bloom, and You'll
never have to go back to Crabbe and
Co. s again
by George! never thought of it;
SO shan't, " said Tim Bloom; mo more
counter-jumping for me, and if Mrs.
White will let me hire the back parlor,
III take that. Go away? not IT,
Not yet, it's too soon. said Hetty to
herself, but he'll go when he quite un-
derstands. -
Let me congratulate you, my dear
Mr.. Bloom said Mr.. Crabbe, bowling
as departed from the departing clerk as
he did to the carriage-custome at the
very store door. II have ALWAYS seen
superiority in YOU over the other
young men. | said to nv daughter
Belinda the other day: If it were not
for giving offense to others should ask
M. IHnofhxr R1oor, -, go. ,:.4t. /