Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1889-09-05
Prof. kirkpatrick islaying the found

| straight, buSlneSS-ilke and honorable.
but you will be richer by Sc, $50.
Now, if you can find any moral flaw in
this simple little matter of business.
you have sharper perceptive powers
than ! have"
Bob's reason began TO look plausi-
ble- 1t was quite true. as he said.
that the board OF directors would will
ingly loan him $1,000, but after all
this business was little irregular and
didn't feel quite right about it.
Time is passing" said Bob. glanc-
ing at his watch, land if you can't IA
vor me in this little matter of business.
l must try elsewhere. l am going to
have the money tonight, sure, and If
you won't help me there are others
who will, Why, Tom," said he, earn
estly, ''how can you hesitate one mo-
ment? You have my positive assur-
ance that every thing is all right. 1
only ask you to do tonight what You
wouldn't hesitate moment in doing
tomorrow. Then think of your duty
to yourself-to Nell"
Say no more said I, you shall
have the money i
Bob and ! hurried to the bank, and
! after going through the form Of sraw-
ing gp and signing the necessary note,
l went to the vault to get the money
A queer, nameless FEELING 80
me Us apDr6s ,.opt over
--..Ieu the door and seized
+ Tie handle to work the combination. I
gave the handles the usual preliminary
turns and then started to work the
combination. To my great surprise,
to my horror | may say, l found that
the combination was completely oblit-
Grated from my mind. l couldn't re-
mem Der turn nor figure. was as
utterly helpless as If | had never seen
combination lock in my life. l shut
my eyes and rubbed my forehead. 1t
was no use, The combination wouldn't
come. 1t was something that never
had occurred before, the combination
being always so ready in my mind that
l worked it almost mechanically. But
tonight it was no go. Some influence
had so upset my mind that the combi-
nation was entirely wiped out of it.
Hurry up, Tom" said Bob, land
let's get through with this business. :"
But can't" said l, helplessly;
'pve actually forgotten the combina-
ton"
Come, come, Tom," said Bob, chat
won't do, you know. If you don't want
to let me have the money why say so.
but don't resort to a subterfuge like
that"
ITS no subterfuge at ALL" an
swered, Indignantly. You shall have
the money if l can unlock the vault,
but declare to you positively that !
know no more how to work this COM
bination than you do"
well, that's singular" said Bob.
Haven't you a memorandum of the
combination somewherePn
Yes" said L II have-and it ia
locked up in the vault
wait a 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 a blank so far
as those numbers were concerned.
There's no help for it, Bob" said
l, at length. eff my life depended on
it l 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, lit
may be all right. l confess l am a
little superstitious, and what you call
a strange mental freak may be some
thing else-I don't know what-but
something that seems to say stop
right here and l 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 special providence!'
What on earth do you mean, Bob?"
said /.
just this. By your forgetting the
combination we were prevented from
1