St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1886-08-14

graceful writer. he managed to get in
a column or two of breezy Sp .cial mat
ter on mi>ccilanaoIS subjects each
wcek--every column of such matter
being a clean addition of five dollars to
his not princely salary.
1t was niue O'Clock one Thursday
night when word came over the tele-
phone wires from the fire chcftain $
office that the tow-boat Ohio Greyhound
was bnrning at her landing. three miles
above Newport. Ia fifteen minutes
came the supplementary report that
her entire tow of seven barges VIA:
doomed, and that John Stacy and
''Stumpy." the cook. We're mis- sing
presumably burned with the wreck.
Ferguson can have two columns for
that. cOmplacently remarked ehe city
e,litor. Here, Newport, get rig;
jump ont there; find Ferguson and help
him. Get in as much rs possible before
twelve, and, if it promises good matter
after that, wire the facts. We will
dress them up"
AT half-past twelve O'Clock was
again at the office with the skeleton
article. The fire hsi taken place early
in the afternoon. Three lives and S65,-
900 worth of property were lost. had
seen nothing Of Ferguson. But while
| was making a hasty oral report to
this effect Ferguson strolled into the
office. He was At peace with himself
and the world. and his stiff, white col
lar lifted itself immediately above his
black tie and thruffled shirt front
Nothing moving" he said, airily.
IS he placed the days report On the
editors desk. Every thing dead along
the river to-day"
No fights nor fires?' asked the city
editor in his blandest tones.
Nothing; but here is a little special
that will look we'll in the Sunday sup
plement. have been up to the library
looking up points for it all afternoon.
With scare head-first line. The
Diamond Dollar!'-it will prove as
good matter as actual news, and"
There is no actual news, them"
Nothing of Importance.
By this time the telegraph men, the
managing editor, half of the local force,
and even one or two of the BREWER
writer's, had drifted into the city room,
where they hoated about aimlessly,
waiting for the explosion that was to
lift the unfortunate Ferguson. But,
suspecting nothing. he continued his
panegyric on the Diamond Dollar.
''Unless you call this piece Of special
matter news, there is none. But it will
be news to most of the readers. 1t
deals with the subject of rare coins.
giving the dates and the values of all
United States coins worth more than
their face value. There are hundreds
Of pieces in daily circulation for which
collectors would give twenty times
their value as bullion. This article
will serve to tell the people what datei
of coin are in demand, so that they
may watch the money that passes
through their hands and sell the rare
coins at a premium. Tnere is one dol
lar, of the mintage of 1904, which is
worth $500"
For the past few seconds the city
editor had been rapidly writing upon a
slip of paper, and here he interrupted
enthusiastic remarks about the valuable
dollar.
You know the rule of the Office,
Mr.. Ferguson he said, in an icy tone;
mo man with us gets chance to be
grossly scooped twice. Youhav failed
to catch one of the most sensational
fires of the year, although you had
twelve hours in which to do it. Here
is an order on the counting room for
your money up to Saturday night.
You have my best wishes for your
future. Good night!'
That was how he lost his desk on the
Gazette, and. breezy writer that he was.
in three months he had found it necess-
ary to fake up the lines of \ street-car
drivers life or starve.
.'You remember that Diamond Dol
lar?' he said again, after answering
the sharp clang of the bell above his
head b. bringing the car to stop long
enough for the gray-bearded talker to
alight: "well. curiously enough, l
have found one of them. l should
never have known its value had not
collected the data for that unfortunate
article of mine; and
"Do YOU mean me to understand that
you have found dollar of 1904, act
ually worth S500?'
Precisely so, dear boy. Drivers
handle great deal of silver, and
among the money in my pocket last
night found this"
He had unbuckled his belt, unbut-
toned his coat. and with some difficulty
brought out in his gloved fingers a
worn silver dollar. without the milied
edges which characterize the late issues
of the coin. He was singularly excited.
He looked at the piece of silver rs
a doomed man might look at an unex-
pected reprieve. 1t meant another
start in life, = chance to build up wealth
and reputation on ajournal OF his own;
it meant wife; it gave him Virginia.
His hand trembled slightly with the
tumult of his thoughts. One OF the
ears front wheels. struck stone,
Jumped the track, and for few seconds
the vehicle jolted violently over the
cobble-stones. Ferguson face sud-
denly turned to the color of ashes.
He leaped over the dashboard sur
the platform. CROPPED in the
mud under the car wheels, and then,
with his lips set tightly together,
handed me a battered and bent piece
Of silver. Twas the diamond dollar.
1t had slipped from his uncertain grasp,
and the sharp tlanges of the car-wi1eels
had ground the date and figures from
is face and bent it almost out of resem-
blance of coin.
Then Ferguson took up the lines
again, and from his present prospects the
people who ride behind him will con-
tinue to laugh ut his old dress and asso-
ciate him in their minds with the mules