The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1890-07-18

OI MS UFOuDle. n Urdln WOulQ leave IN
the course of an hour. Good. How
much? Five dollars. Very reasonable.
One ticket, please.
While the strip of paste-board was be-
Ing stamped Mr.. Drane drew forth the
hidden bill and unfolded it, Then his
heart went down to hold sad COM
munion with his heels.
81 beg your pardon" he faltered, ad-
dressing the ticket-seller, "but 1 don't
think I'll go to Boston this evening""
The bill was a two.
The tramp had been commercially
thorough in his search through Mr..
Drane's clothes, and, having found use
for the fifty dollars, had recognized the
utility of an emergency fund and had
limited his reserve to two dollars.
Mr.. Drane went out again into tho
unfeeling air of New York and wondered
why it was that he had never been able
before to see any thing in the philoso-
ply of pcssimiSm. Still it is not often
| that somo consolation can not be found
in a situation when a man has as much
as two dollars in his possession. Law
romeo found it. He didn't want to go to
| poouOls dhJ ways GuCEC WAS DcSSlC,
tho good, the beautiful, the soul-satisfy-
ing Bessie. She was in New York, and
at the thought the atmosphere took on
a sudden freshness as if it might have
blown across garden of roses. Per-
haps her little feet had pressed tho very
stone on which he stood! Lawrence
patted the stone gently with his foot
and felt comforted. He would run tho
risk of courts and retreats for the priv
ilcgc of finding her.
Meantime how far would two dollars
carry him? He must have bed and
breakfast and shave. The bed cost
him half his pile at a neighboring h o.
tel. For prudential reasons he regis
| tered under en- assumed name, and for
once in this history no calamity is to be
recorded as the outcome of tho deccp-
ton. In tho morning barber took
oil Mr.. Dranc's moustachc for fifteen
cents, and a modest meal reduced his
capital to half Il dollar. Then he bought
q newspaper and sat down in hotel
| corridor to read and reflect. Tho news
paper was uncommonly interesting
Conspicuously displayed ON the first
| PoSO was GIL tsCSOtlO VI GDC cSCIliIc Ol
a dangerous lunatic from jenkins Re-
treat.
The lunatic was supposed to be the
wealthy Mr. Lawrence Drane, of
Kansas City. That unfortunate gentle
mans friends had come on to take
care of him and had arrived at the
Retreat but an hour after the escape
They Immediately resolved to offer
reward of five hundred dollars
for his capture, and tho proprietor
of the Retreat supplemented that
inducement by an offer of fifty dollars
from his own purse. Then followed q
minute description of the missing man.
Lawrence felt flattered, but still not
happy.
Every man but the millionaires in
the city is looking for me-" he thought,
and he glanced cautiously over his pa
per at the other occupants of the room.
His blood chilled at once, for directly
opposite sat shrewd-looking fellow
staring hard at him. The follow had q
copy of the same paper that Mr.. Drane
was reading, too, in his hand. He was
evidently detective. After moment
of agony the detective rose and came to-
wards Mr.. Drane, still looking sharply
at him.
''Now for a grand bluff" thought
Lawrence. He nerved himself for
mighty effort, but the stranger paused
awkwardly and said:
Excuse me, sir; see that was mis-
taken. l thought you were an old friend
of mine"
And he walked away. Lawrence liked
to have choked with the excitement
and relief, and he felt that he would
rather be captured than undergo such
another trial He must get away.
Even his friends would discredit his
story and consign him to an asylum.
But how was nc TO move? He read the
story again. 1t ended by saying that
the gentlemen from Kansas City had
gone to Boston on the midnight train
believing that Mr.. Drane had fled to
that city. :. q"
Again his thoughts reverted to Bessie.
She would help him, but he dared not
go to Mrs. Bowers house. So he wrote
note to Mrs. Bowers inquiring if he
might not call on the young lady whom
he knew only by the name of Bessie,
and trust to her kindness to screen him
from capture during the call. Itcost him
thirty-five cents to send this note by mes
senger. After what seemed intermin-
able delay the messenger returned with
this answer:
The young lady you refer to has re-
turned to her friends. For her sake /
refrain from sending this to YOU by
policeman. You may not be insane, but
l am convinced that you are bad, bold
adrenturer. So do not, on any account,
expect any further assistance from me.
EMILY Bowers"
And what did poor Dranc do then?
He went down to the East river and
wondered if some condemned fool of a
hero wouldn't rescue him if he should
plunge in and try to be decently
drowned. The men at work thereabouts
didn't look much like heroes, but ap-
pearances might be deceptive, and Mr..
Drane gave up the idea. 1t was but
passing frenzy. His native vigor re-
turned soon and it was reinforced by
the image of Bessie'S face that haunted
him constantly. He would seek her if
1t took the rest of his life and cost him
his fortune-when he got possession of
1t again.
During the rest of the day he wan
dered aimlessly about the docks and in
the quiet streets. His hunger he APP
peased with sandwich, reserving his
balance. piUlt cents for anotbnr ,,,aol