Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1890-05-21

eLDTY HIIgnTTV InINpN i'm Inst
week paper, so the reader should skip from
the words tive dollars" chapter 9Th column
last week. to the beginning of the matter be-
low this eXplanation1
Mr.. Drane went ont again into the
unfeeling air Of New York and wondered
why 1t was that he lad never been able
before to see any thing in the philoso-
ply OF pessimism. Still it is not often
that some consolation can not be found
In situation when q man has as much
as two dollars in his possession. Law
renee found 1t. He didn't want to go to
Boston, anyway, for there was Bessie,
the good, the beautiful, the soul-satisfy-
ing Bessie. She was in New York, and
at the thought the atmosphere took on
q sudden freshness as II it might have
blown across garden of roses. Per-
haps her little feet had pressed the very
stone on which he stood! Lawrence
patted the stone gently with his foot
and felt comforted. He would run the
risk OF courts and retreats for the priv
nege Of finding her.
Meantime how far would two dollars
carry him? He must have a bed and a
breakfast and a shave. The bed cost
him half his pile at neighboring b o.
tel. For prudential reasons he regis
tered under an assumed name, and for
once In this history no calamity is to be
recorded as the outcome of the decep-
ton. In the morning a barber took
of Mr.. Drane's moustache for fifteen
cents, and a modest meal reduced his
capital to half dollar. Then he bought
q newspaper and sat down in a hotel
corridor to read and reflect. The news
paper was uncommonly interesting.
Conspicuously displayed on the first
page was an account of the escape of
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
a reward Of five hundred dollars
for his capture, and the proprietor
of the Retreat supplemented that
inducement by an offer Of fifty dollars
from his own purse. Then followed a
minute description of the missing man.
Lawrence felt hattered, 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 fellow had a
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 a
mighty effort, but the stranger paused
Rwkwardly and said:
Excuse me, sir; see that was mis-
taken. 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
snotheE trial. He must get away
Even his friends would discredit his
story and consign him to an asylum.
But how was he 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 fed to
that city.
Again his thoughts reverted to Bessie.
She would help him, but he dared not
90 to Mrs. Bowers house. So he wrote
q note TO Mrs. Bowers inquiring IL 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 mos
senger. After what seemed lntermin-
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 a
policeman. You may not be insane, but
/ am convinced that you are bad, bold
ddrenturer. So do not, on any account,
expect any further assistance from me-
EMILY BowERs."
And whao did poor Drane do then?
He went down to the East river and
wondered IL some condemned fool of a
hero wouldn't rescue him ii ho 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 idoa. 1t was but a
passing frenzy. His native yigor re-
turned soon and it was reinforced by
the image of Bessie's face that haunted
him constantly. He would seek her II
It took the rest OF his life and cost him
his fortune-when ho got possession Of
it again.
During the rest of the day he wan
dered aimlessly about the docks and in
the quiet streets. His hunger he ap-
peased with q sandwich, reserving his
balance, eight cents, for another meal
The more he wandered and the more he
thought, the more desperate his situa-
ton seemed; but relief came from the
most unexpected quarter. just as it was
growing dark whom should he meet but
the original tramp. Each made as II to
run at first sight, then they thought
better Of it and stood facing each other.
"Well," said Mr.. Drane.
"Well," returned the tramp, you've
done me up nice, haven't you?"
''Done you up?" exclaimed Lawrence;
show about me, you rascal? Have you
read the morping papersP"
''Read the paperst Do ] look as II
had rad the papers9 II the papers
were two cenessa thousand couldn't af-
ford to read bulletin sSoard. No, I've
just como from the island. Your = an
sas City friends said ] was the wrong
man. and Of course they had to let me
CO."
Lawrence was on the point Of show
ing the tramp the story of the escape
printed in the paper. when a perfectly
tremendous idea occurred to him. II
was so great that his voice trembled as
| he said;
tsThat's rood. No,v. I am willing IN