The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1884-01-24

safety IN flight crossed his mind for An
Instant. 0ut on looking round, he Der
celved that several of the passengers in
the tram: and nearly all the people on
the platform, including the porte rs ani
guards, were staring at him. This pub.
i'c'ty was too much for Bill Sn,iivy's
modesty, and he fastened 10 nut an end
g the scene by claiming his property.
ne walked up to the railway carriage
and received the bag from his late iel-
low. passenger, who remarked: y
Young man, il IL hadH't been for me
you would have had to dine at Morlbor
ou2h House In your second best suit,
which would have been pity!"
Bill thought this was the most ghastlv
joke he had ever heard of in bis lite.
out ne did not say so. In fact; he was
too aeitated to speak at all, for directly
tho baggage was put into. ills hands, he
agar. ss hea.d the o,ninous rattle inside it.
he thought he should have dropped it.
80 frightened was he by the sound. But
all the While he war conscious that
good many people were looking IT him,
which was new source of danger, for.
as we know, he had the strongest rea.
son for not Obtr::ding himself too much
upon the public gaze.
He therefore made his way as QUICKLY
az possible through the crowd and up
the staircase. Once in the street, he
imagined he would have no difficulty in
d'snosing of the bag. Meanwhile, how
ever, every time he moved the rafting
sound inside it sent q thrill through biz
nerves, and he almost gave himself I'D
TOR lost. So cruel was his suspense that
an explosion would have been almost a
relief, il 1t had left him In condition to
realize his sensations.
At length he reached the street, but
under the first lamp-post stood police.
soan, who eyed HIM very suspiviously
as i,e approached. Perhaps he knew
Bill; by sight. or guessed from some
subtle indication that the bag was not in
handed over the. lag with his most fer
vent blessing, il that would have sat,s-
fed the official; but Of course it would
have been sheer folly to do go. The
very nature of the contents of the bag
might get him into serious difficulties.
There was nothing for it but to assume
an air Of bravado, and swagger bast Us
though he had perfectly easy con-
Science. This he succeeded in doing to
his own satisfaction, but unf Ultimately
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 the purpose of keeping
him in view. This v GLANCE was espec-
tally embarrassing, for it compelled him
to avoid any appearance Of haste, and
prevented him from carrying out his
design Of depositing his burden on the
first convenient doorstep.
~ 80 ~ 49,
fever Of suppressed excitement, Bill
ria street, holding the bag with the Ut
and take to his heels. On turning
round shortly, however. he perceived
the policeman was still following in his
wake. Probably the truth was that the
officer was only pursuing his beat and
had forgotten Bill long ago. But unfor
tunately, this soothing reflection did not
occur to Bill at the moment, and, in his
desperation. he avai.ed himself of on
expedient which suddenly presented
itself. The street door of q house hap
pened to open just as he was passing,
and \ maid servant came out on the
doorstep and looked up and down the
street. Before she hal perceived him,
Bill had coolly placed the bag in her
hands, and was preparing to hurry
away.
"H,?" exclaimed the girl. "What is
thisi"
"For your MASTER" answered Bill,
over his shoulder.
II amt got no master. Hi! STOP"
cried the girl. raising her voice as be
vanished.
~ say, mate, somebody's calling Of
your said an officious errand boy, as
Bill plunged across the road.
eli! Stop here! You're wanted!'
cried another passer.by, in stentorian
tones.
There seemed to his excited imasina-
ton general disposition on the par; of
the by.standers to impede his flight, and
he hastily concluded that it would be
wiser to yield to the hue and cru tie
would stick to his story that he had been
told to leave the bag at that particular
house, and probably would succeed in
making the girl believe him. With this
object he retraced his steps, gathering
assurance as he walked. but as,ill-luck
wou have it, who should stroll no at the
same moment but lis vigilant enc my, the
constable
"Hi! You've made mistake. This
doesn't belong here. There is no
name on it," said the girl as he ap.
preached.
"What is the matter?' inquired the
constable, in Casual way.
'Oh! nothing I've made a mistake,
suppose ~ the young lady says So" an
swered Bill, hastily
He mechanically held out his hand
for the bag as he spoke, but failed to
grasp the handle, and it fell through
his fingers OH to the ground. Bi start
ed back in CONSERVATION, fearing his
last moment had come, and simuitane,-
ously he felt himself collared by the
constable.
"HuIlo! young fellow. What does
this nean?" exclaimed the officer.
Bill, VIII, had closed his eyes in all
agony OF apprehension, ventured to
open them again, and perceived that
| the shock of tie fall had burst open the
bag, the contents of which we're scat
| tered upon the doorstep. To his
amazement they consisted OF miscel'a-
neous collection Of silver plate and jew
! splav. The articles had evidently
been bundled uncernonioualy:.in Unto the
bag, and were, no doubt, the proceeds
of some recent robbery.
The constable naturally concluded
that it was his duty to escort Bill to the
nearest police station to make
| the necessary explanation. During the
journey Bills reflections inclined to bit
terness rs he realized how foolishly he
had abandoned rich prize. The me.
talic rattle which had startled him had
been due to careless packing, and alto
eether, he perceived that he had fallen
a victim to a senseless scare. Needless
to say, his ingenious story of having re.
ceived the baA from nalneless stranger
MAS not considered satisfactory, and as
the valuables were identified by a
pawnbroker in the Strand, whose prem
| ises had been burglariously entered
during the evening. Bill received the
full credit of the transaction and was
| rewarded accordingly.
Farmers Health.
An essayist discourse OF health Of the