Butte semi-weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1886-1890, 1886-12-15
MY OTHER SELF.

Oh WHICH no 60OTLIy 01Uor WdIU U0CouAo tto
chief, he was sent to c. to look up evidence
in a heavy cass depending upon proof Of pedi-
gree, and to watch the proceedings Of the
other side, which was suspected land rightly,
as the sequel shows, Of being engaged
there, not In looking up evidence. but in max
ing 1t. He therefore assumed the name OF
McArdle and looked out for some quiet lodg-
ing whence he could pursue his investigations
unrecogni1ed and unobserved. In the course
of an hours ramble about the outskirts Of the
city he found the very place. An old-fast-
toned house, with gabled roofs and black
beams in white walls, standing in an UMPIRE
t~entious but bright looking garden, In which
and here the charm-was q semi-detached
building, tho sort of q structure which In
America would be called . pavilion, contain.
ing two large rooms. All the windows were
closed and on the door he Observed the tat
tered remains OF q bill on which the letters
LIE and FUR were sufficiently visible to jus
tify him in calling at tho house and asking II
its dependence were to be let furnished.
He could not obtain q decisive answer; It
was-and it was not. The landlord had no
use for it. He'd like to find a good tenant,
and yet. McArdle offered himself as pos
sessing all tho qualities Of good tenant. He
would give very little trouble, nave no vist.
tors and pay literally in advance, but the
a yet" was not recalled; II he would re-
turn about that time next day he should
have a s~traightout Eyes" or "no."
He succeeded in securing the place, and
having taken possession, occupied himself
with the important legal case which was then
occupying his attention. He had been thus
engaged for a fortnight when he came upon
the track Of an important discovery, which,
II verified, would establish his case beyond
question. He was walking homo, as was his
custom, about S o'clock, with his mind full of
1t, and became more and more irritated at
what he thought was the rudeness of all
other pedestrians. Never, he fancied, had
80 many people run against him or got in
his way. Now, it Is q fact that tho streets
were unusually full, for it was a market day;
still, the chances are that if he had given d
little of his attention to where he was going
he would have got along without so much
trouble; but he was giving no attention to
anything but bis blindly hurrying
along to get at papers at home, now STOP
ping short, as q doubt struck him, to con.
slider whether he had not better go back
whence he had como. He did not bear the
angry inquiries as to where he was ~"a-going,"
and who lie was "a-pushing Of" ETC., etc.
He did not realize that for the too frequent
collisions he was himself to blame. He be-
came irritated at the awkwardness of all
other wayfarers, then angry as it began to
dawn upon him that the pushing and Oh
structions were associated with one man
one man who, whether he were pushed from
behind, or stopped from in front, or jostled
from ono side, was invariably to be seen
walking on undisturbed about five PAGES
ahead. "Of course" McArdle admitted
land hero I will tako up his narrative),
lit was most unreasonable in me to hold him
in any way responsible for what wa hap
pening; but tho idea got into my thoughts
and ranked. Ho walked along as though
there was no n else in the street, and /
was in collision every dozen yards.
IA woman knocked Oft my hat and then |
declared that l had broken her parasol with
it, and I was kept ut least three minutes |
pacifying her. When my apology was &C
cepted and I ven on again that man was in
his usual place, five PAGES ahead. 'Confound
your I said to myself. I'll get in front of
you and then We will see.' I put on a squirt,
but though I am a good walker and we had
by this time got into a less crowded part of
the city, I could not overtake him. 'Well,' l
reasoned, If l can pass you l can get rid
of you in another way
$50 I turned back and crossed into an in |
direct route for home. This ran through a
district inhabited by mechanics and was
quite clear for as for as I could sea- few
playing in front Of the houses and q
wagon rumbling along the black.
ened road were the only objects In sight. It
wasn't a pleasant way out, so I walked fast
till I gained the suburb where I lived. When
I reached the point where l had to turn again
into the road l had quilted I looked back to
zee if my aversion were in view. No; he had
either stopped on the way or passed off ia
, rude pushing crowd in the din and rattle of
he main street of a largo city. I thought of
as part Of the rudeness and the pushing,
he hot pavement, the smoky sky; and out
'ere walking on the crunchy gravel Of a
country road, seeing green fields through
poisoning hedges, under a clear blue sky,
here seemed to be no place for him.
ut was, therefore, with no little emotion
hat at a sudden bend in the road | saw him
slowly along about fifty yards ahead
me, but on the other side. My irritation,
which had deepened into anger against him,
curdled into fear. I had important pa
'ers in my pockets and some very damaging
knowledge in my head. Could I have been
ecognized and this man engaged by the
Their side to find out where ] lived and
Vorked, with a view to foul play. Seeing
i'm thus at an angle instead of directly from
be rear l bad a better view Of hirl. and now
began to feel that I must know him. at
'ast by sight. l quickened my steps and
his time with success, getting to within our
primer distance Of about five yards The on
ne side and ! on the other Of the road. at
,hicb ! was content to remain and observe.
'es. there was something in bis manner, his
ak. even in the cut and description of his
|othes. that became more and more familiar
} me. His face was turned toward the
I often turn it myself, for 1 am a
It Of a botanist-as though looking for any
ling pretty or curious that might be
mongst the ferns and flowers of the ditch.
good portion Of his profile, however, was
view, and that I thought l had seen before.
rough ransacked my memory in vain to
ut a name to it. It seemed more like some
ice that passed before me in dream. or of
hich had seen a portrait, than one that /