News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1886-06-17


Mr.. Pettigrew was of nervous and tid
gety disposition, and he suddenly re
called to mind his friends somewha
pressing injunction to him on the plat
form to put the pass in his pocket
Without suspecting anything wrong
but with vague misgivings, he now looked
at the pass himself for the first time. 1
was apparently perfectly regular, but h
, perceived with uneasiness that it wa
made out in favor of Mr.. Moss Levi
The letterpress stated that the reason o
the pass being granted should be men
toned in the space indicated for tn,
purpose, and this was filled in by the
b word shipping"
Mr.. Pettigrew did not at all like tht
idea of personating. somebody else, es
pecially when he proceeded to read the
very stringent regulations under which
the pass had been issued. The fac
that it was not transferable, and wa
only available for the individual
in whose name it was made out, was re
- peated over and over again with pain
ful persistcncy Mr.. Pettigrew now un
derstood clearly enough why the Cap
tain had manifested uneasiness. Evl,
IDENTIFY 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 ex-
cessively tender consciences which are
indicative of innate cowardice. He was
not the least concerned, on moral
grounds, how the pass had been OBJ
tained, nor would he have felt any sCru-
pie about using it it he could have felt
certin of not being found out. But he
was appalled, at the prospect of detec
tion, and the danger seemed to his ex-
cited imagination imminent. The pre-
liability was that this Mr.. Moss Levy
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 unpleasantly sug-
gestive of suspicion. 1t was possible
that this man had actually telegraphed
down the line to some of his brother
officials on the route to look out for the
impostor. A cowardly conscience is a
! remorseless stimulator of morbid imagi-
nation, and before he had gone many
miles Mr.. Pettigrew had almost con
vinced himself that his worst apprehen-
sions would be realized.
Scarcely less disconcerting than the
fear of detection was the idea of having
to keep up the character of the person
he was supposed to be. A fatal draw
back to this was that whereas the name
of MIR. Moss Levi unmistakably indicat-
ed Hebraic origin, Mr.. Pettigrew's nose
was pure Gentle snub. This was so
manifest at glance that the fact was
alone calculated to excite suspicion of
his identity. Mr.. Pettigrew felt that
he could not stand against this insur-
mountable discrepancy, and that to at
tempt to swagger and brazen out the
situation-if his identity were challeng-
ed-would be hollow mockery. The
consequence was that by the time the
train reached the first station at which
a stoppage occurred, he had fidgeted
himself into such state of abject ap-
prehension that his nervous and agitated
manner was almost sufficient TO bctTay
him. When the ticket inspector made
his appearance, Mr.. Pettigrew, who
had wrapped his offending nose in
muller and turned up the collar OF his
coat so as 10 conceal MS features as much
as possible, handed up his pass with the
air of criminal. No wonder the official,
after looking at it, favored the poor
gentleman with a long stare, which
made him burst into cold perspiratiOn.
But this man, like the other, returned
the pass without raising any objection,
to Mr.. Pettigrew's unspeakable relief
AS the train proceeded on its journey
he breathed more freely, and even for a
moment contemplated the possibility of
reaching his destination without misad-
venture.
But his dismal misgivings were by
no means allayed, and very slight cir
cumstance sufficed to arouse them again.
Ever since the start his fellow passenger
had remained quietly seated in the op-
posite corner, reading and doing alter
nately. He was a middle-aged man,
with strongly marked features and very
black eyes and eyebrows. Nothing be-
ing further from Mr. Pettigrew's desire
than to engage in conversation, and
thereby possibly betray himself, he had
been well satisfied to observe that the
stranger seemed taciturn and uncommu-
NEGATIVE. But whether it was that the
last stoppage had disturbed the current
of this gentleman's meditation, or that
he had been struck by Mr.. Pettigrew's
agitation, he now appeared disposed to
be curious. He took stock of his un-
fortunate companion, who quailed in
most guilty manner beneath his glance,
and presently he asked affably:
Going to Plymouth, sir2"
eyes" gasped Mr.. Pettigrew.
$50 am l." said the stranger; Gin
fact, it's my native place. Know many
people there, sir2"
Mr.. Pettigrew was''about to answer ner-
vously in the negative. but suddenly re-
collecting that he was personating some
body else, whose name might transpire
during the journey, he was seized with
a veritable panic.
''No-at least, mean yes. Yes, GER
tainIy. In fact" he added cautiously,
''I'm going down on business"
''Indeedn exclaimed the stranger,
with interest. "Then I'm sure I've met
you before, sir. 1 knew your face
directly. You are often up and down
this line, are you nota,'
Again Mr.. Pettigrew was about in
voluntarily to give a truthful answer,
but remembering, just in time, the po-
sition of affairs, he hastily replied in
the affirmative.
"You are not Mr.. Richardson, are
you, sir?" inquired the stranger insinuat-
ingly.
''No, sir my name is-Levi," replied
MIR. Pettigrew, with guIp, being taken
aback.
This was eminently rash, as Mr.. Pet
tigrew felt the moment he had spoken,
since the statement laid him open to all
sorts of dangers Instantly it flashed
across his mind that the stranger might
be acquainted with the real Mr.. Levi.
The idea was too dreadful to contem-
plate, but fortunately the stranger made
no sign. He might, however, recog-
nize the name and turn the conversation
on to shipping and mercantile matters,
concerning which Mr.. Pettigrew was as
ignorant as an infant in arms. To avert
this contingency, and-to check himself
from rushing headlong to destruction,
Mr.. Pettigrew, in desperation, closed
his eyes and feigned to sleep, which,
perhaps, under the circumstances, was
the wisest thing he could have done.
At all events the expedient was sue
cessful. for the stranger naturally re-
lapsed into silence. Glancing, however
at him, after a mile or two, beneath his
eyelids, Mr. Pettigrew found to his dis
NAV that he was still regarding him
quietly and persistently. 1t was try
inc ordeal to feign to be unconscious of
this, and poor Mr.. Pettigrew suffered a
martyrdom IN the attempt. He knew
that he made miserable failure of it,
vet he dared not face his companion
openly, for fear he should resume the
conversation 1t was a positive relief