Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1889-09-29
Copyrighted 1889 by S. s. Mcclure.

splicing together two frayed remnants oil
rotten rope.
''Ah, - said Mr.. Padger, glaneing
down at this wretched object with pity
not unmixed with contempt, You look
as if it wouldn't do you any harm to
have a drink-and a wash, - he added
under bis breath.
cit wouldn It, sir, that it wouldn It,
he cried. ~ haven't touched a blessed
drop this day -
''WelI, go along, then and l IL follow
You know the way, to judge by the
| looks of you. -
He followed bin into dingy, disrepu-
table pothose, and ordered him the
| glass of beer he asked for.
NOW, my man - he said, as soon as
the girl who served him had withdrawn,
''yOu know very well, 1 suppose, that
| m not standing you that glass for moth
| ing?''
The man looked scared, but, gathering
| confidence, presumably from his refiec-
ton that he need not answer questions
unless he liked, he nodded.
Where were you last week? asked
Mr. Padger.
WAS you taking the trouble of ask
! ing after me?' said the man in return.
! 81 was. Where were you?'
"HOnored, ! m sure. What was you
happenin to want IN cultivatin my dis
! tinguished acquaintance
Where were you?' repeated Mr..
! Padger, returning to the point.
81 was away in the country for change
of hair. -
con, yes, 1 daTesay. Whereof
Gwen, guy nor, if you must know
| you must. Me and the perlece 'ad
! little difference as to the proprietorship
! of piece of sail cloth, and as the jus
! tees is allus down upon me, | accepted a
kind invitation to stay with the county
for a week. If you a looked in the
paper you d found out. Lor' bless you,
guy nor, IN like royalty, nobility and
gentry. When 1 changes nay address
the fact is dooly reported in the pa
pers.
"Ah, - continued Mr.. Padger,
"where did you get this?'' and he laid
the watch upon the table. The man
turned pale and gasped with consterna-
ton.
81 didn It steal it. s'elp me Gaud,
didu t steal it, - he said as soon as he
could speak
Well, where did you get it?''
''Tu tell you the truth, guy nor,
'pon my honor, [ will -
''You had better, my man - said Mr..
Padger.
1.-THE day of that there murder. I went
down along with the other gentry to ave
a look at the place where it 'appened
Now, OWN to infant 'abits and hearty
eddication, 'ad one advantage over the
rest Of the nobility, cos yer see they
weared boots and [ 'adn't none. Con-
sekently, paddlin about in the water
outside 1 felt somethink underfcOt. 1
waited till the water moved hoff and then
l sat down casual like and grope hit hup
and slipped it into my pocket, without
nobody a noticin' hanythink. Dyer
see?''
Eyes, - said Mr.. Padger, 81 see, go
on. -
''When I got 'ome to my famerlv man
shun 1 takes it hout and seq, SEE l:
Blame me if it haint a watch [ was
rayther cumfoozelumd wot to do with it,
so [ takes it to friend o. mine with
whom We done bizniss occasional, and
he gave me five bob for it, and 10 ques-
tions asked. -
1.-The hoary headed old reprobate, -
muttered Mr.. Padger to himself at this
revelation.
g And that, guy nor, is the truth, the
ole truth, and nothink but the truth, as
the perliceman says afore he starts a per-
jurin of himself -
But didn I you hear that the police
were enquiTing for it?
Well, guy nor, I 'aint much of
and at readin the papers, but maybe [
did ear somethink about it, - /
g Then why didn { you 90 and give
them what Information you could?''
wen, yer see, me and the perlice,
we don t 1T it hoff, and I WASH t sure
'ow they might take my interference. |
The provisions at this ere county hotel |
don SUIT my delicate happetite, and l |
knowed they was allus glad of a chanst
again me, so 1 'eId nv tongue -
- see, - said Mr.. Padger. land /
you didn t tell the-the friend TO whom |
you sold it that people were asking for
''Not me, - said Barlow with a chuckle
of cunning. f knows 'ow> TO look |
out for hIsself, ne does.
''hir. Padger felt convinced that the
man had told him the truth so far, and
concluded that he might safely trust to
his reply to the important question he
wished to ask, the more so as is moment
would not impress him.
"Now, Barlow, - he said, "I'u give
you shilling if you tell me the truth -
81 ave, guvnor, elf me, l ave.
protested the man. e.
''Did you move the hands?''
"Move the 'ands?'' asked Barlow
with an air of bewilderment
eyes. Turn them around. Alter
them in any way?'
90 Could l? he asked, with the man
ner of man who has been wrongfulIv
of a lawful pleasure, and in a
tone of such complete simplicity that it (
was impossible to doubt its perfect gen
uineness.
THAT will do, said Mr.. Padger, /
dinging the shilling on to the table, and
cutting short the old creature 3 extrava-
CANT protestations of gratitude by turn
ing on his heel and walking out of the
room, with its sIckly atmosphere of bad
spirits and stale tobacco.
81 don't know that it would go for
much in court of law, but it's good
enough for me, - he said to himself as
soon as he had got into the fresh outer
air.
When he reached home he carefully
opened the watch without disturbing the
hands. 1t was an old one, and the COW
ers no longer fitted with their former
ightnesS. The steel wheels were cIogged
with rust, and a deal of extremely fine