Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1886-02-25

full o people as an egg full o. meat,
and the platform was crowded from
end 10 end, like a Lord Mayors show,
and stitch a shown, and squeez'n',
and fightln'. that you'd ha' thought il
was an election, or else that they was
a-buyin tickets to see Emery h'Irving
So / thought for sartin there'd be
plenty of things left behind, and /
was just a-going up to the train TO
look, arter the rush had passed, when
what should | see but little black
case OF glazed leather, like what they
puts spy glasses in, and when opened
1t, 1t was a spy-glaSs sure enough.
There was ring on the top with
thin bit of torn leather Arranging to
it, shown how the thing must nave
broke away. So l says to myself
says I IF that don't belong to some
school-boy, says l, I'm Dutchman.' },
And you were right, | SUPPOSED.
Right | was, sir, and no mistake.
The very next mornin' / was a-sittin'
in the doorway here, when / sees a
boy comm up TO me, quite a young
ster, with a face as round and fresh as
a ripe b'apple and a tall hat on like a
Elton boy altogether. So he says to
me, very earnest like, Porter, have
you seen a spy-glass anywhere about2
lost one here last nlgnt, and he de
scribes it pint for pint, the very one
I'd found So | fishes it out and gives
it to him, and he looks as pleased as
/ Punch. Well done, our side, says
he, you're g brick and no mistake.
That glass was present from my
h'uncle, the h'AdmirAl, and / would
not have lost it for any money says
he, and with that he outs with his
purse and forks me out 'arf sover-
eIgn,"
well done" "Well in course 1
thought as he'd madea mistake, and
l says TO him, says /, Amt you give
me more'n you can'spare, p'raps2 for
1t did seem . lot to take list for piekin
a thing off the ground. But the young
chap he drawed hisself up like tele-
scope pulln' out, and he says to me,
as grand as you please, I've always
money enough to spare. says he, for
man that's done me service, and
with that he turns his back and walks
off as If the ole place belonded to
him. So young lord or other, "rll
be bound; but he was a nice boy for
all of that"
II dare say you wouldn't mind
meeting another such boy every day
| in the Week2n "No that | wouldn't
nor ofener than that neither; stitch
visits as them amt no intrusion no
how. But it amt all like that, worse
luck. Thee was a thing 'appened
rayther better'n year ago, as give
me SIGH a turn that l had more'n
'arf mind to quit the business al
together"
What wos that2" asked l, guess
ing from the grim emphasis of the
mans tone and manner that the tale
which l was about to hear must be
one of no ordinary interest. "Well,
you see, me and my mate had been
a lookin' all through the train as
usual one night, and we 'adn't found
thing, was asayin', Jim, we shant
ketch no fish to night, that's sartin,
when all at once, right away under
the seat III the last kerridge of all, we
comes upon black leather portman-
tey. A Numbering heavy one it was
and | thought TO myself what a
muH the Teller must have been as
howned it, and that if it had been
mine I'd ha' took better care of it
Well we slowed it in here, and /
thought no more OF it till pretty late.
next day, when Jim looks in, says to
him, Jim says /, there amt nobody
called yet for that coffin as we found
last night Coffin, says jim, pick
ing it up. Well, it looks uncommon
like one (and then he give a start and
sort O. sniff, and what's more, it
smells like one too. Then [ give a
sniff at it myself, and sure enough
! smells a queer, sickly sort OF a smell
as made me feel all nohow. Jim looks
at me very grave and I looks at him,
and we neither Of us says a word for
q goodish bit. AT last my mate says
70 me: Sam, says he, there's some
al wrong here, or my name amt Jim
Barker. I'm a.goin' right off to the
ststlOnmaster this VERY minHlt.
We'll, the stationmsster he comes in,
and he looks at it and shifts at it, and
then he shakes his head and tells us to
fetch a 'ammer and a chisel and bust
the p9rtmantey open. And when
we'd done it what dye think we found
insidel"
"a dead body" suggested 1. "That
was 1t, sir, sure enough, and the body
of a baby into the bargain, poor
little mite of thing as you'd ha' no.
body would have the heart to touch.
AT first we thought 1t only naight be
some medical student or other tal1in'
'ome a subjeck to dissect but then,
you see, (here his voice sank almost
to a Whisper "there was a queer sort
OF mark round the neck as we didn't
like the look OF, no more didn't the
poIce neither when they came TO hear
of 1t. But although they tried there
very ardest, for weeks and weeks to-
gether, to git to the bottom OF that ere
business, nobody's ever found out
nothin' more about it from that day
to this"
Do You Want a Claim.
Detroit Free Press.