The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1886-07-09

| by detective, presently nasneu lntt
my mind, and developments forthwith
served to corroborate this theory. i
he strayed, naturally enough it seemed
to me, to the edge of the railing, there
wandered after him a man who, be
traying the athlete in gait and frame
certainly kept one eye upon my sus
pected fellow traveler-I was sure OF
that-and the other one, may be, or
the life-preservers in the racks above
those valuable life-preservers in the
racks above-those valuable life pre-
servers which are invariably ont Of
order and unattainable if an acciden,
occurs. Nor was this espionage abat
ed az meal time. We went to dinner
at the same hour and sat alongside OF
each other. There a single moment
convinced me that m, companion had
not been reared in the luxury he wal
now able to command, for whenever
he used his napkin he bent his head
forward as he must have done when a
boy to meet a scant-cut tablecloth. Sc
much for solitary hint cf earlier his
tory.
Not far away there seated himself
with evident reference to our position,
an entirely different prosecutor this
time; one with scrupulously neat cloth.
ing, finely chiseled features and thought
ful brow, and, if | could Judge by the
way he carved his chicken, of firm and
| skilltul hand. There was 10 communi.
cation between him and my neighbor
across the table. except now and then
glance of partial recognition of each
others presence, as though they were
not total strangers.
/ became fascinated with the ap-
parent mystery, and could not but at
tempt to fathom it, feeling all the
while half ashamed of my i'll con
cealed curiosity. At The landing at
Albany three men whom | had singled
out as specially attached to my hero
gathered somewhat closer about him
than before, and | fully counted on
seeing him led off by officers of the
law, who should have been notified to
apprehend so important fugitive
OF what had he beer guilty? Was
it that he was making a beeine for
Canada, that ready refuge for certain
class of felons; or were the evidences
of his guilt gathering about him SO
rapidly and so unmistakably that he
would not be permitted to pass the
happy boundary which meant his free.
dom; or was there some worse Grim.
than forgery or defalcation on his con
science and on his track that was
bounding him to death =! / though,
over the more heinous offenses in the
category of crime, any of which nigh,
pertain to this case. There was nc
telling / was confident Twas to be
separated from my unhappy compan
ion. The Rataplan House, with its
bountiful table, well known to all trav.
elers, was to be my lot, and his posi-
bly, prison cell.
Judge of my surprise when | saw
him also register his name close tc
mine, and that name (you may be sure
| was bound to see it) was Holmes
Here was a ray of light. The features
of my old college acquaintance became
outlined through his hirsute exterior
now that [ knew who he was, and with
great sense of relief, as though q
Court of Justice had pronounced him
innocent after an. exhaustive trial,
clapped him on The shoulder, intro
duced myself, and greeted him warmly
In a few moment we were talking
of the old times and old friends and
with certain dash at our present es
tates. My story was quickly told
The books | foudled now were the day,
book and the cash book, with the led
ger as chief book of reference, instead
of the Latin dictionary. But his ex
perience was the thing that interested
me most, and | felt that what | haG
impaired must prove poor quid pre-
quo. There was slight tinge OF the
old reserve as l propounded few
questions, although there certainly
could not be the same cause for it a:
before, for | have said his personal out
fit and general style in which he travel
ed betrayed ample means. My curiosi
ty, by no means satisfied with simple
identification, determined should b,
satisfied to the utmost, if possible, be
fore retired that night.
"My history" he promised, "has beer
rather peculiar one. You know m!
old fondness for travel. | had hardl.
hoped to be in position to crafty it
but my father dying shortly after
left college betrayed the fact that in
stead of being poverty-stricken, as hi
family supposed, he had been savin:
and skimping all the while to keep NJ
a large life insurance of which we wer
altogether ignorant. A fortune coul'
not have come more suddenly or unex
pectedly had it dropped from the sky
sin the twinkling of au eye my Gil
cumstances were changed and tn
whole outlook of my life different. Th
effect was not merely one personal gra
| ifcation at being able to follow m
own fancy as to a career, but ther
grew upon me with all the strength {
hereditary instinct a determination t
follow my fathers footsteps as benz
: factor in my death, Being a compari
lively young man, the premiums woul'
| argued, be light, and, moreover,
/ could begin in moderate way. M
other ventures prospered, and as the
prospered l increased my insuranc
, As the miser counts his gold greedil
3 so oftentimes fingered over the nea
= ly folded policies which were alreac
1 mine, aud counted up their full vail
y and dreamt of the benefcent resul
/ which should one of these days flo
y from their realization.
0 "Strange as it may seem, | had
e much enjoyment from the imagina
A post-mortem distribution of my veal
a wealth which should become ava
y able only by the final act of my exi
e ence, as most have in the actual posse
+ ion of life itself,
a "The Scriptural inquiry of the Rev
d ed Version, What shall man give
h exchange for his life 2 seemed to ha
y found in my soul its answer, viz. /:
1t large legacy of insurance money
E. posterity, In short, il became a p
s. sion with me to be the most heavily
d. sured man that ever lived, aud street