Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1893-04-06

TON, the 4enLlemanly manager, as VIII
his incongruous combination of two
hundred pounds avoirdupois and small
voice delicately pitched on the tone OF
c above, he advanced upon the scene.
''Col. Dayton, just look at this gentle.
man and tell rs who he u.s." cried a
dozen laughing voices before the
stranger could speak.
"This gentleman repeated the
benign and astonished colonel, his
round blue eyes rowing over the group
and then fixing themselves like two
animated Interrogation points upon
! North. '.Why, you don't say so-you
here, Mr.. North? What's up? Back to
stay? Concluded not to go east afte,
all? Nothing happened, hope?" Fol-
as he watched the face of the man
whom he was addressing growing
perplexity and uneasiness became APP.
parent in the coloners countenance and
manner.
"You would think something had
happened, colonel, if you could hear
him talk. He is actually trying to
make us believe that he never was at
the Clement house before, and that he
doesn't know one of us! What's your
opinion of the case, coloncl-temporary
mental aberration?"
The good colonel stared curiously al
North for an instant, then broke into a
musical little laugh that shook him
gently from head to foot. An expression
of calm despair swept over North's
countenance as the notes of mirth were
taken up and loudly echoed by the
others.
Suddenly checking himself in his
laughter, possibly because of the ex'
preston he caught in North's eye, the
colonel coughed automatically for a
moment, and drawing large handker.
chief from his pocket he mopped his
flushed face with it, glancing furtively
at North the while from behind the
ambush of snowy cambria. He was
still chuclzling with suppressed merri.
ment when he finally spoke again, as
everyone was evidently waiting for him
to do.
That's not so bad now, gentlemen
not so bad!'' declared the colonel, who
had a happy appreciation of humor,
however absurd or whimsical it might
be, and an amiable habit of sympathiz-
afioat. ''Glad to see you here again,
anyway, Mr.. North. You'll have the
same rooms again, suppose? They
haven't been taken yet, you see. Kept
'em for you all this timer
This was said with renewed chuck
ling and an air of good-naturedly,
though clumsily, carrying on the pleas
antry that Mr.. North had originated.
''Confound them all!' thought the
latter in despair. Whoever heard OF
such a case? How dare they dispute
my word? Oaths and protestations
seem to have no more weight than a
feather against their own stupid pre-
conceived ideas. / begin to feel my
reason tottering, my memory failing
me! Where did l ever see these idiots
before? It's all nonsense; l never saw
them in my life! And yet l am certain
ly Allan North, attorney at law. How
could they know me so well if they had
never seen me before? Was here four
hours ago? Am I their old friend and
comrade? Or am I dreaming-be-
witched? No, no! 1t is a case of mis-
taken identity; am clearly the unhap-
Ply victim of some other fellows good
fortune his strange and unaccountable
resemblance to me. The same
name, too; what a singular Co
incidence! Upon my word. this
savors of comedy, and, since it is
forced upon me, I'll take my role and
see what can make of it. I'm in the
hands of these harmless lunatics who
think they know who am better than
do myself; so I'll humor them for the
present. It's a queer ENHANCEMENT,
but protestatioas are useless unless the
other fellow should turn up and settle
the question; and, so far as I can see,
the best thing for me to do is to drift
with this tide which have found it SO
impossible to stem, and let the results
take care of themselves. 1t cannot do
any harm. How could anyone blame
me for it, under the circumstances?