The Warner weekly sun. (Warner, Brown Co., Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1885, 1884-01-25

| hended as the author OF the outrage
ON the other hand, some fiendlsh ma
rhinery might be at work inside the
bag at that very moment, (which rem
dered his hesitation almost suicidal.
This last reflection brought on a SOFT
of frenzied desperation which impeLeu
him To take Immediate action. lie telt
he could not sit still another moment
and risk being blown up. even on tne
| chance Of his booty proving
He resolved TO get out ST the next STA
| ton. and leave the bag TO its late. AFTER
| all. he whispered to himself, II was
more than probable that, even II the
contents of IT, bag turned out TO DE IN
nocuous, they would not compensate
| him for the risk the possession OF the
a: would involve. 49,.
Bill did not stop to rerect that ms last
argument was rather of the "sour
~prapes' order, nor did it occur TO III u
that he was, perhaps, imperilling the
hves Of his fellow passengers by leaving
the bag behind him. His only anxiety
was TO get away from it, and consequent
Iy. on reaching the Gext station, which
| was Victoria, he suddenly jumped up
| and got out of the train; but, before he
had time to make good his escape, he
1as haiied FROM behind by several.
| voices, including the guard. who came
ont and touched him on the shoulder.
"Hi! You've left your luggage" sald
the official CURLY.
Bill turned round in~voluntarily, and
beheld his f~acetious fellow-passenger
standing in the doorway Of the carriage
he had Just left, holding the fatal bag "a
one hand and gesticulating violently
with the other. 1t was atrying moment,
for. while Bill shrank from laying a I'm
ger on the bag, he did not know. how to
avoid doing so. To repudiate all knowl-
edge of it would at once arouse suspl-
cions which would lead to unpleasant
disclosures, inasmuch as several
persons had een il In
bis possession. 4 wild idea of seeking
safety in flight crossed his mind for an
instant, but on looking round, be per
ceiyed that several Of the passengers n
the train and nearly all the people on
the platform, including the porters and
guards, were staring st him. pup
liclty was too much for Bill Smlley's
modesty, and he FASTENED to put an end
to the scene by claiming his property,
He walked up to the railway carria2e
and received the bag from his late TEL
low-uassenger, who remarked: 3}
"Youn0 man, il it hadn't been for me
you wol ! | have had to dine at Morloor-
ough House in your second best suit,
which would have been a pity!"
Bill thought this was the most CHASTITY
Joke he had ever heard of in his life,
but he did not say so. In fact, he was
too agitated to speak at all, for directly
the b g. q IVES put intoshis hand, he
again heard the ominous rattle inside it.
He thought he should have dropped 1t,
so frightened was he by the sound. But
all the while he war conscious that q
good MANY people were looking at him,
which was a new source OF danger, for,
as we know, he had s.the strongest rea-
son for notiobtrading himself too much
upon the public gaze.
He thareGara made his wav 90 e.ics!y
as possible through the crowd aid up
the staircase. Once in the street, he
Imagined be would have no difficulty IN
disposing Of the bag. Meanwhile, how
ever, every time he moved the rafting
sound inside it sent a thrill through his
nerves, and he almost gave himself up
for lost. SO cruel was his suspense that
an explosion would have been almost q
relief, tilt had left him in a condition to
realize his sensations.
At length he reached the street, but
under the first lamp-po5t stood a police
man, who eyed him very s~uspiciously
as he approached. Perhaps he knew
Bill bv sight, or guessed from some
subtle indication that the bag was not in
its proper ownership. Bill would have
handed over the bay with his most fer
rent blessing, il that would have salts
fed the official; but of course il would
have been sheer folly to do so. The
very nature Of the conttn ts of the bay
might get him into serious difficulties.
| There was nothing for it but to assume
| an air of brayado, and swagger past as
| though he had q perfectly easy con-
science. This he succeeded IN doing TO
| his own satisfaction, but inf .rtunatelv
| the constable still seemed TO have his
| doubts about him, When Bill glanced
| over his shoulder he perceived that the
| officer was strolling ~leisurely after him,
| apparently Tor tile purpose aof keeping
him in view. This v GLANCE was espec.
tally embarrassing, Tor 1t compelled him
to avoid any appearance OF haste, ano
prevented hum from carrying out hls
design of depositing his burden on the
first convenient doorstep.
Half dead with sheer fright. and in {
fever of suppressed excitement. BIZ
made his way IN the direction of vi Ito
ria street, no ding the bag with the ut
most tenderness, yet longing to drop !
and take to his heels. On turning
round shortly, however, he perceived
| I ttti0 p0ficUtnan Was Still following III nh
wake. Probably the truth was that thu
officer was only pursuing his beat ant
had forgotten Bill long ago. But unfor'
t~unately, this soothing reflection did no
occur To Bill at the moment, and, IN hi
desperation. he nvai.ed himself OF o.
expsdient which suddenly presentes
itself. The street door ola house hap
j pened to open just as he was passing
and s maid servant came out on tn
{ doorstep and looked up and Down iii
IStrest. Before she ha perceived hiu
Bill had cooIly placed the bag in he
-LG--An nad MAS rarAna VI mn 70 hnrrl