The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1886-07-07

| "
l declare, it is the strangest circum-
stance l ever knew. l do wish that ! had
some refreshment to offer you, but"
here his voice faltered, and he left the |
| sentence uncompleted.
Don't think of it, my dear SIR" said
Mr.. Manners; "but would thank you
for glass Of water"
Well call it nectar" said Mr.. Ia
Der. During the pauses in converse
ton mysterious sounds of whispering
and the tnkling of crockery had been
heard in the adjoining room that Mr..
Taber supposed to proceed from his
daughters 4" clearing away" and that
some friend had returned with her,
which accounted for the whispering.
He rose to bring the desired fluid, when,
as he opened the door dividing the par
lor from the room beyond, scene
burst upon his sight that almost took
spread, filled with a profusion of good
| things, too numerous to mention; and
there were other conspirators, busted
with preparation, with caterer and
Mary, who had returned, radiant with
fun, who welcomed Mr.. Taber with
shout He could not speak a word.
uC OlllClS lllCh III a.
tableau of the most joyous character.
"Well, gentlemen" said the old
man, finding his voice, " l don't know
what all this means, but it means well,
| cannot doubt. This is an evening of
mysteries"
"Not so much of coincidence
though, as you imagined" said Mr.
Jones; " we twelve comprise the Do
| - J LaJ, ,e 10,
enjoy a good time once in awhile, and
make such use of their neighbours per-
sons and premises in doing so as cir
cumstances warrant. We have selected
you and your abode for our purposes
tonight, begging you and your daugh-
ter to Join us, and we have assigned to
you the head of the table by unani-
nous vote, from which, according to
the rules of our club, there is no APP
peal"
This explained everything to the sat-
isfaction of Mr.. Taber, who, after lit
tie expostulation, presided, and a
thoroughly good time was enjoyed; but
it was wonderful the small appetites
that the club possessed. They ate
scarcely anything, but poured uprori-
Gus libations in hot coffee that smoked
on the board. 1t was almost midnight
before they knew it, when, wishing Mr.
Taber long-continued health, they babe
him goodnight.
My old friend" said Mr.. Manners,
eve have enjoyed a delightful even
ing, and you may, as we shall, recur to
it in after times; therefore l have
written all our names here in this en-
, velope, that you may, in recalling this
incident, think of u.s."
, "Certainly, most certainly" replied
Mr.. Taber, " shall often think of it.
i And be assured" but they were gone,
faint goodnight coming to him as he
! closed the door.
The provisions that the club had left,
which had been untouched, Mr.. Taber
5 felt justified in using, the more so be-
, cause he didn't know what else to do
with them, and for several days there
was no need to draw on the Imagination
for supplies. Providence, he said,
which they had almost doubted, had
come mysteriously to their aid, and he
t was thankful.
The snow and the cold kept Mr..
Taber indoors, away from his usual
haunts, for several days, at the end of
which he called upon his neighbor Man
ners.
7 " That was pleasant affair, the other
night" said he: so unlike a surprise
party, you know. felt very grateful
I to the club for coming to my house
though scarcely knew what to do with
the bountiful remainder of the enter.
: tainment that was left. What do you
5 suppose we did with it at last?" and
u the old man looked as if he was pro-
S pounding a very intricate conundrum
g rubbing his hands and smiling at the
5 perplexing proposition.
Ate it, should say"
>, "Well, we did. Strange you should
Il have guessed so readily, but it seemed
all the while as if it were not ours
Probably the club meant we should d.
4 so, as they were so polite and kind,
5 Did you open the envelope tina
u was given you?"
"The envelope?"
YES the one containing the names
- you know"
y "Oh, no; l can remember them wei
enough without that. But l have
safe and will open it SOON"
/ Aweek or two afterward the though
: of that envelope popped into Mr.. Tia
u ber's mind. He remembered having
4, in his hands that night, when he turne
le from the door, but he could not REGAL
u the place he had put it. He locke
" among his books, rummaged his desk
pulled his secretary drawers out, bu
: the envelope was not there. He ha
a about given up the search when h
u happened to think that it might be i
- the pocket of his faded dressing gowr
u, that hung up in the hall, the place h
IL should have thought of first. The frs
=; plunge into the pocket revealed the faC
~ that there was no bottom to it. The
u he felt down and down, till he reache
~ the hem connecting the lining with tn
~ skirt, and there he found the missin
~, w paper.
~ " Mary" cried he, 81 have foun
g, it," and, upon opening it to read tn
y names he found draft to the order {
u, Gerald Taber for " Two hundred do
70 lars" a loan from the Do-as-yol
20 please Club"
W The draft bore strangers name
40 40 but it was duly honored, and Mr.. Tabt
10 accepted the money as an accommod'
~ tion-quite different from a gratuity-