River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1892-10-27

wv !. !. :. !. !. ! !. !.
fIuH i f.kFE T F IT i Y f
IWT a 80 "a stories have al
H,lNkl - ~ ways been my
MA -, favorite form
~ 49, TX Of literature.
E,J%ttL j Ei5 have re a d
$3.50 many and have
gained from them a thorough contempt
F,r probability and the police. The
first thing YOU should do when a crime
: o-en committed, as ! often said to
ie Soffisius. is to suspicion the most
unlikely man as being the criminal
That was the course I adopted when
Aunt Poffkins' earrings were stolen. IL
was in the morning when the theft was
discovered Aunt came down late and
ran into the room where Uncle POff-
kins, Dora and l were breakfastiug.
My aunt bore traces Of strong agitation
and she had forg Ottcn her cap
My earrings she cried They
are g0l.a-tLey are stOlen!'
God bless my soulV' exclaimed
Uncle HlHlSins. dropping his teacup as
If he had been shot, and leaping up
with a sen Of pain He said the yell
was att-ibut q 90 the heat of the tea,
which was trickliug down his legs
Ny aunt explained The earrings
were kept wrapped in cotton wool in
jewel b9x on her dressing table. The
boxwas never locked, and the house
maid had access 10 the room. The
girl had only been in the house a week,
and wa xuoyvn 70 have n beau My
aunt and cousin at once concluded she
was the thief, and sent for a policeman,
L. nd
nothing. OF course. / could have told
them taat-
Meanwhile, 7 kept my eve on Uncle
Poffkins. lie was the one person who
could have no motive whateve- In steal
ing the ear sIgs lie was very rich.
most respectable ard extremely slow
and noisy iu his movement; moreover,
my aunt would have given him the ear
ring 1T any moment II he had asked
for them. Evidently he was the last
man 70 attract suspicion. According
IL, watched Uncle Poffkins closely.
We passed a week Of excitement The
police were running ont and in. Dora
eros examined the houscmaii inces-
sanity. Aunt Pofl5ius went about
weeping ami reminding everyone she
met that the earrings were a pres
ent from Uncle PoTSi on s.e s-ca--
ion Of their eagyEet ..rt. 49, ,.Uele
himself aUecJcd To mss. H.. ~ The
matter, and IS ent 50 far as loudly and
osteutat-ousIy to curse the earrings.
II, was wrong if he thought he could
Put me of the scent by that clumsy
vancouver never left him alone:
I tracked him To the city, hung
. boat all the morning, Swallowed
um when he went to lunch.
s zen he returned. when he crossed
over To the exchange. Unknown 10
him I was on his bus. inside if he rode
on tine top. and on the top when il
raiued and ae tuwed himself away in
side Sic never ESCAPED me, except
wheu DE- was in his Office. At last,
after ten days weary chasing. l was re-
wanted. ! leei not say that the police
had discovered nothing. The house
was still topsv turvey and my aunt sub
ject Is intermittent Mysteries. That
wrorgei creature. the housenaid, did
her work wlth a mop in one hand and
in tn, other handkerchief wet with
innocent tears. But to return to Uncle
PoHkins. The tenth day after the ear
rings had disappeared, as he was brush
ing his hat before leaving the house.
and looking n my auut's tear bedewed
visa-e. his conscience srnote him. and
he So far forgot himself as to cxclaim
audibly:
I'm blamed if can stand this amy
longer,- The folly Of the man was in
credible. had him now, In an instant
vas after HIM. lie took a bus. took
ca. and started for the city. Now
cam, the odd thiug.Uucle PoffSins
disappeared How 1t happened I do
not know. but when the bus pulled up
at the bank Uncle Puffl5ins was not To
BE- seen. / questioned the conductor,
but be had evidently been bribed. and
told me very rudely that he had some
thing better to do than answer my rid
dies. lie drove ON. and was left for
the first time NJ fault
Il was evening before / saw Uncle
PoTKius- I was going home in very
disclu~oiate state, when, about two
hundrcl yards from our gate, I espied
him ahead of me. OuIckeniug INV pace
l stealthily approached him. tie
opened the gate and passed in: noise
lcssly followed. A little further ON.
sheltered bv the shrubbery. he stopped
and, after a stealthv glance toward
the house, took from his coat pocket [
a small morocco case I stood on
tiptoc just behind. and, with |
mingled horror ami satisfaction as !
looked owes his sou!der, saw the ear
ring. was right! Uncle PofTlSins
sighed ''ShalI I give EN- 10 her or
not he said 10 himself Its rank
waste. still Il will keep her quiet"
watched the struggle between his good
and his evil angel Clearly the good
angel had triumphci 50 far as 70 bring
the earrings within fifty yards Of Aunt
PoffknS. hut now came the tug Of
war. Ii was severe, and II ended in
the victory of evil Uncle Poffkins, |
shutting the case with 4 snap. ex-
claimed
'.It's all blamed nonsense. III take |
EN- back 10 Abrahams Tomorrow 4
AbrahamS, no doubt was the receiver. /
for my uncle went on in satisfied .
tone:
.'Hell make no trouble about taking |
EN- He was putting the case into I
his pocket when nav feeling overcame /
me. Respect for ones elderly rela- l
tives is "A praise worthy feeling. but it /.
must not lee allowed .o override higher I
duties flung myself ON Uncle Poff- |
kins. crying;
surrender. You cannot escape met" /
NV uncle fell heavily on the gravel |
path / fell heavily on the top of him [
and pinioned his arms 10 the ground.
Tom he exclaimed. what the !
misc .sf-ara rnu firtsu l-g'f
1T is useless. sir, I began, to affect |
ign" had reached this point when |
I was violently collared from behind. |
lifted bodily of my uncle chest, /
where I had been sitting. aud was de- /
post I'd ON a grass plat. while deep /
voice said in nv ears:
Vow, then. EOung man, turn It up 4
You're 3 lively an. Won are. Fust yer