The weekly messenger. [volume] (St. Martinsville [i.e. St. Martinville] La.) 1886-1948, 1891-01-31
MOMENTOUS MAGIC.
Ii WM. A. CALDWELL.

| ness to him. 1t seems that Slcight of
hand performer had struck the town and
everybody was discussing his wonderful
fcats. As soon as Civmer appeared in a
store with his sample leases he immcdi-
ately became the target for IA running fire
Of problems in the black art how could
4 man tear up your silk hat right in front
OF your eyes and then produce the same
hat unchanged from a cask which he
/ had Just shown YOU was empty! how
/ could he cOnjure "a rabbit into Il bottle
and SO on. Clymer was generally inter-
| eSted in such things and it was conf
IDENTIFY expected tina, he would throw
some light on the subject, but he didn't
! He only impaired his opinions of fakirs
and jugglers in general in vigorous
style of English that grew steadily less
and less placid rs it became necessary for
him to repeat it wherever he went.
Clymer left knot of his former pat
irons solemnly discussing the cabinet
trick, and walked down the street
towards IIalpert's store.
'1f can't makca sale to Ialpert, ! may
as well leave the town. IIalpert's got
more sense than anybody else here any
way, and if he's got the fever, then it
must be epidemic, and I'd better clear
out or IL! catch it myself"
This last remark was Grim humor On
Clymer's part-as if he could catch any.
thing that would divert his tbouobts
from a certain little note in his breast
pocket which had reached him Il day or
two before he had left the city. and
him awake o'nirhts and worried Inv d,y
ever since. He STONED now in the shade
Of "A tree. nut down his samnle cases
wipcd his face. took ont the note 70 non.
der il AGAIN here i what no rnad
70 wrts . ns ny. dtio.t prTahs my heart
acounin,anre must cease conn or o ,Mr. a uu
explanation. but believe me it has cost NE
hard struggle to write this. can only
say forget me. can never forget y.u
AMY.
There was one place in the note where
the words Ed says had been written
and then erased, but Charlcy's Jealous
eyes had made them out at the first read
ing.
WHO in thunder's Ed, I wonder?" ne
muttered to himself now. and not for the
first time
Miss Amy Layton had come some three
months previously 10 Mrs. Walton's
boarding house where Clymer stopped
while in the CITY. His yojuble IandIadv
had spoken in high praise of her new
boarder to Clymer, and gave him to I'M
ierstand that she had come from a very
ar;stoorot;c f,,,,;I, r,b;oL III L.. l..
ken up by the failure and death of the
father. Clymer needed no praise of the
young lady after he once met her. The
neat trim figure and gentle manners
played havoc with his heart at once. He
had made love desperately to Amy since
she had been at Mrs. Walton's, and she
had received his advances kindly, so he
had been correspondingly depressed
since the receipt of the above note, which
he found awaiting him on his return to
the city from his previous trip. Mrs.
Walton sympathized heartily with the
young lover, who couldn't dissemble in
this matter so successfully as he could in
business; in fact, he made no attempt to
conceal his distress.
"Ail know" said his landlady, sis
that she settled with me up to Saturday
night, and said that she was going out of
the city. Perhaps Mrs. Bolton could give
you some intelligence OF her; she brought
MISS Layton here In the first place, you
Know.
Ciymer went TO the elegant residence OF
Mrs: Bolton, but that lady had gone
south, ana me date OF her return was un-
certain. lie moPed ABOUT the city for