Thomas County cat. [volume] (Colby, Kan.) 1885-1891, 1886-07-01


sion of the corner seat by the door. As
he did SO, the ticket collector appeared,
and Mr.. Pettigrew presented his pass
for inspection.
1t struck Mr.. Pettigrcw that the OFF,
cial scrutinized the pass somewhat
susp;ciously. and, upon returning it,
looked at him with searching glance.
1t is probable that the man merely de-
sired to assure himself of the validity
of the document and of the respecta-
bility of the holder. On both these
points he was no doubt satisfied, for
he passed on without comment; but
Mr.. Pettigrew was of nervous and
fidgety disposition. and he suddenly
recalled to mind his friends somewhat
pressing Injunction to him on the
platform to put the pass in his pock-
ct. Without suspecting any thing
wrong, but with vague Wisgivings. he
now looked at the pass himself for the
first time. 1t was apparently perfectly
regular. but he perceived with uneasi-
ness that it was made out in favor of a
Mr.. Moss Levi. The letter-press stated
that the reason of the pass being
granted should be mentioned in the
space indicated for the purpose, and
this was filled in by the word ''ship-
ping"
Mr.. Pettigrew did not at all like the
idea of personating somebody else. es-
pecially when he proceeded to read the
very stringent regulations under which
the pass had been issued. The fact that
it was not transferable, and was only
available for the individual in whose
name it was made out, was repeated
over and over again with painful per-
sistency Mr.. Pettigrew now under
stood clearly enough why the Captain
had manifested uneasiness. Evidently
the pass had been obtained by false
pretenses, and by using it he was
rendering himself party to the fraud.
Mr.. Pettigrew had one of those excess
sively tender cOnsciences which are in
dicative of innate cowardice. He was
not the least concerned. on moral
grounds, how the pass had been OBJ
tanned, nor would he have felt any
scruple about using it if he could have
felt certain of not being found out.
But he was appalled, at the prospect of
detection, and the danger seemed to
his excited Imagination imminent.
The probability was that this Mr.. Moss
Levi, being apparently connected with
the shipping interest, was known to
some of the ticket inspectors on the
line. The demeanor of the official
who had already inspected the pass
now seemed to him to have been un-
pleasantly suggestive of suspicion. 1t
w % ,,nSsih1o that fh;c MON nod oofuo1
ly telegraphed down the line to some
of his brother officials on the route to
look out for the imposter. A cowardly
conscience is remOrseless stimulator
of morbid Imagination, and before he
had gone many miles Mr.. Pettigrew
had convinced himself that his worst
apprehensions would be realized.
Scarcely less disconcerting than the
fear of detection was the idea of hav-
ing to keep up the character of the
person he was supposed to be. A fatal
drawback to this was that whereas the
name of Mr.. Moss Levi Enthusiastically
indicated Hebraic origin, Mr.. Petit
grew s nose was pure Gentle snub.,
This was SO manifest at a glance that
the fact was alone calculated to excite
suspicion of his identity. Mr.. Petit
grew felt that he could not stand
against this insurmountable discrep-
ancy, and that to attempt to swagger
and brazen out the situation-if his
identity were challenged-would be
hollow mockery. The consequence
was that by the time the train reached
the first station at which stOppage
occurred, he had fidgeted himself into
such a state of abject apprehension
that his nervous and agitated manner
was almost sufficient to betray him.
When the ticket inspector made his APP
pearance, Mr.. Pettigrew, who had
wrapped his offending nose in a muller
and turned up the collar Of his coat so
as to conceal his features as much as
possible, handed up his pass with the
air of criminal No wonder the Off
cial, after looking at it, favored the
poor gentleman with long stare,
which made him burst into cold per-
spiration. But this man, like the
other, returned the pass without rails
ing any objection, to Mr.. Pettigrew's
unspeakable relief. As the train pro-
ceeded on its journey he breathed
AAAoAS AASOiys anu CSCu AOI q mOIucuL
contemplated the possibility of reach
ing his destination without misad-
venture. But his dismal misgivings
were by NJ means allayed, and q very
slight circumstance sufficed to arouse
them again. Ever since the start his
fellow-passenger had remained quietly
seated in the opposite corner. reading
and doing alternately. He was
middle-aged man, with strongly
marked features and very black eyes
and eyebrows. Nothing being further
from Mr.. Psttigrew's desire than to en-
gage in conversation, and thereby pos
sibly betray himself. he had been well
satisfied to observe that the stranger
seemed taciturn and uncommunicative.
But whether it was that the last stop
page had disturbed the current of this
gentleman's meditation, or that he had
been struck by Mr.. Pettigrew' agita,
ton, he now appeared disposed to be /
curious. He took stock of his I'M
fortunate companion, who quailed in
most guilty manner beneath his glance,
and presently he asked affably: