The Mason County journal. [volume] (Shelton, W.T.) 1886-1927, 1889-09-20

who will. Why, ION, SAID me- earn-
estly. .'how can you hesitate one mo-
ment? You have my positive assur
ance that every thing is all right. l
only ask you to do tonight what you
wouldn't hesitate a moment in doing
tomorrow. Then think OF your duty
to yourself-to Nell"
''Say no MORE" said l. you shall
have the money"
Bob and I hurried to the bank, and
after going through the form OF draw
ing up and signing the necessary note,
/ went to the vault to get the money.
A queer, name]ess feeling ciept over
me as approached the door and seized
the handle to work the com bina.iOn. l
gave the handles the usual preliminary
turns and then started to work ths
combination. To my great surprise.
to my horror may say, found that
the combination was completely oblit-
Grated from my mind. couldn't TO-
mem Der turn nor figure. l was as
utterly helpless as if had never seth
a combination lock in my life. l shuS
my eyes and rubbed my forehead. Ii
was no use. The combination wouldn't
come. 1t was something that nevtr
had occurred before, the combination
being always so ready in my mind tina,
! worked it almost mechanically. But
tonight it was no 60. Some influence
had so upset my mind that the cOmbl-
nation was entirely wiped OF of it.
Hurry up, Tom" said Bob. land
let's get through with this business. "
but | can't" said |. helplessly;
'I've actually forgotten the combina-
tion."
Come. come. Tom," said Bob, "that
won't do, you know. If you don't VAIN
to let me have the money why say so.
but dou't reso.t to subterfuge like
that"
ITS no subterfuge at ALL" an
swered. Indignantly. you shall have
the money if l can unlocs the vault,
but | declare to you positively that !
know no more how to work this COM
binatiOn than you do"
We'll, that's singular" said Bob.
Haven't you a memorandum OF the
combination sOmewhere?"
Yes" said l. Il have-and it is
locked up in the vault"
The deucer' exclaimed Bob. "Well,
wait little while and it may come
back TO you"
We sat down and tried to converse
on other matters, but l couldn't help
cudgeling my brain to try to make it
yield up that combination. But it was
of no use. my mind was q blank so far
as those numbers were concerned.
There's no help for it, Bob" said
|, at length. IF my life depended on
it | couldn't open that vault at this
time. Deuce take the luck. anyhow.
Six thousand two hundred and fifty
dollars just within my grasp, and now
to lose it. all on account of this con-
founded mental freak
"TOm," interrupted Bob, who had
been doing some serious thinking, ''it
may be all right. l confess l am a
little superstitious, and what you call
q strange mental freak may be some
thing else-I don't know what-but
something that seems to say stop
right here. and am going to. Tom,
I'll let this opportunity slide. and trust
to time for further explanations"
And we left the bank with the money
in the vault undisturbed. l went to
bed, still trying without success, to re-
call that combination. finally drop
ped off to sleep, but awoke as the town
clock struck twelve. just as the last
stroke died away, quick as flash the
combination appeared clearly in my
mind again.
THE time is up" said to myself.
WAS Bob right in his theory?"
The next morning, about nine
O'Clock. who should rush into the bank
but Bob. his face lighted up with some
unusual excitement. Reckoning me
into private room he opened the in
terview by exclaiming impressively.
Tom, it was a special providence!'
What on earth do you mean, Bob?"
said |.
just this. BY your forgetting the
combination we were prevented from
being duped to the tune of $4,000. NV
friend was an innocent tool in the
hands of the most adroit set of sharp
ers it was ever my fortune to encount-
er. 1t was the most cleverly -concoct-
ed scheme the mind of mortal man ever
conceived and plausible enough to de-
ceive better and sharper men than
either you or /. So l say, Tom, you
are under the care of special provi-
dence, and you must be singled out for
some great work in life. -
Bob's theory began to make somo
impression on my mind, but something
happened afterward that clinched nv
belief. l called on Nell that night,
fOr-would you believe it'll hadn't
seen the dear girl for forty -eight hours
and it seemed as many years-when
after we had given testimony to the
stability of our joint and separate af
fections. which didn't take more than
forty minutes. Nell remarked in the
most artless manner. Tom, | had
such funny thing come into my head
last night that / must tell YOU of it.
1t was about $50. and | couldn't fo1
L4e -hfe me ,c-.omv mind from rup-
ming on the vault IN your bank, and,
don't you think. even got to imagin-
ing that could work the combination.
why, the figures came into my mind
5" distinctly that l jotted them down
on piece of paper, and here they