The Pulaski citizen. [volume] (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-current, 1884-10-30
A Mysterious Note.

E WAS a harum- scarum you'll
and for a dozen years of m
" manhood had no settled aim.
S2 started out as a clerk in a cOun
Z tTy store, then l became a schoo
, teacher, next a clerk in a dru,
store where | learned my chemica
mysteries; finally became la'
student; and it was my knowledg
of chemisjry-a science of which
t am passionately fond-that CAV
me a start as a law student.
: My shingle had been hung out il
vain for four or five months, and
8 had not sirgle brief to prepare
! What little money l had possessed
after my studies were completed
was rapidly melting away, and
. could not ignore the fact that if &c
fees should come in my way for &
couple of months ! should have tt
90 ON the streets, or on the prairies
and labor for a living. 1t would be
no disgrace, to be sure, but wher
one has spent his little all in pre-
pairing himself for a professional
life, and when he has set his heart
aud hopes on such a life, it is sad
to heve to abandon it.
was seated in my office one af-
ternOon. indnlging in certain gloo
my thoughts on the subject, when
the door opened and a middle-aged
man in humble garb came in, and /
recognized him at the first glance as
an honest and industrious macbin-
ist, named William Campbell, for
mer neighbor of my fathers, who
was now dead He was fiurried and
nervous, and saw, at once, there
was something wrong.
"GoOd morning, Mr.. Campbell .
said l, "How did you happen to
find the Office of poor lawyer like
me-"
by accident" he said. 81 am
in trouble, and if / don't get out of
it l am ruined. All the savings of
my life will be gone, unless l can
find some lawyer smart enough to
defeat the rascslIty of a certain man
and 1 was going along intending to
call on the first lawyer 1 should see,
and it happened to be you. AS L
knew your father well, and knew
you when you were a boy, thought
I could not do better than to put
the case in your hands; I'd at least
be sure of fair treatment, / thought. J"
"You would be sure of that at the
hands of any lawyer to whom you
should lntrust your case," said l.
Now, let me hear what 1t is, and l
will see what can be done"
well, it is this: I've worked
quite hard all my life at my trade,
and accumulated some money
about six thousand dollars, in fact.
/ have seven children l should like
to provide for, and it has been my
steady aim to increase my money
all could. A year ago, a friend of
mine, who is in the same business l
am in, told me if he could take a
partner in the spring, and if 1
should go in with him, we could
make lot of money. l looked into
the matter, and found he was not
mistaken about it. l saw l could,
in a few years, increase my six
thousand to twenty thousand, and l
told him would be ready to join
him In the business when the time
came. Meantime my money was
lying in the bank, where l ought to
have left it, drawing five and half
per cent interest.
Shortly after I made this ar
rangement with my friend about the
partnership, man l knew well, and
had great confidence in, came to me
and asked me to lend him the mon
ey till should want it at the end
of the year, and he said he could
readily return it by that time, and
he would give me eight per cent. So
let him have it, and now it is due
and can't get it back"
"Has he any property?'
"Yes-the amount of it; but /
have since understood he's Nslip-
perry fellow, but I had not known
that before"
"But you took his note, surely"
said /.
Eyes, but 1 can't find it; that's
what troubles me. 1 called on him
yesterday and told him so, and he
said he had no recollection of bor-
rowing any money from me; ifI had
the note he would pay it; if hadn't
he certainly would not"
"And you can't find the note?''
mo-
"What did you do with it?''
Il put it in this pocket book,
where l kept all my important pa
pers; but when I came to look for it
among some other notes and the
| like, | couldn't find it,"
He produced large, old-fashion-
ed leather pocket-book, as he spoke,
and looked through it, and exam
ined lot of receipts and notes that
were packed together in one of its
pockets, thinking that two of the
papers might be sticking together.
There is no promissory note for
that amount here" said. "But
what is the blank sheet of paper do
ing hereY' and l took up a slip OF
white paper that L found among the
documents.
81 don't know"
"Who is the man that gave you
the noteY'
alexander Bolton, the druggist. y
l knew Alexander Bolton well
He was wealthy and penurious
and had the name of being very
tricky. L was satisfied that Mr.
Campbell was telling the truth.
was as well convinced that Alexan
der Bolton was not man who woulC
oe likely to forget having borrowed
{ such large sum as six Thousand
dollars, and jumped at the conclu
sion that he had played some Gun
4 ming trick, to wrong the confdins
IS mechanic out of the fruits of man,
years labor. But what was tn,
trick? That was the question tha
puzzled me.
ssHaVp Won ho1 tbiS ,NOclyat boOl