The Opelousas courier., 1894-05-05
The Boston experience was liable to be

young New Yorker, by the name OF
Yelyerton, seemed to take a special
fancy to me, and we put in several
hours conyersing together. He had
visited the coast before, and although
only a few years my senior, was evil
IDENTIFY a man who had hada good deal
O experience in the world. Naturally,
after our acquaintance had progressed
to a certain stage, | talked Of the sub
iect uppermost in my mind, and told
him all about the letters,
I had hoped hat he would say
something that would prove reassur-
ing; on the contrary, he aggravated
my woe.
"Why, my dear fellow" he said,
'if you are going to undertake to de-
liver those epistles, you have my sym
pathy. Just now the very words
letter of introduction are, to the av-
erage Californian, like a red rag to a
bull. They are a hospitable people,
but their good nature has been so
grossly imposed upon by the horde OF
imposters and mountebanks that mas
poured in since the building of the
railroad, that it is no longer easy fora
! stranger to get into their good graces.
The Observation-Disclosures device has
been worked until it is threadbare, and
the man who offers to present n risks
an immediate arrest from the police,
or even severer treatment at the halds
of the vigilance committee"
"You brighten me-" | said; chow
ever, as my letters are all genuine, and
bear the names of many OF the o
prominent people of Cleveland, |
hardly expect to meet with dlhlcul'leS
of that Sort
Probably not" said Yelverton;
"but you may expect to be rather
coldly treated"
Well, blast the letters!' | ex-
claimed, angrily; Il can see they are
going to destroy half the pleasure of
my visit to the coast
My annoyance seemed to afford lel-
verton no small amusement, and he
required several times to the subject
after I had allowed it to drop.
1t was a part Of my plan to stop
over in Denver about a week to visit
some friends. Y~elverton, also, made
a brief stay in that place, and we oc-
cupied adjoining apartments in the
same hotel. Once, when he hap
pened to be in my room, | had occa-
sion to look for something in my
trunk, and | came upon the hated
bundle of letters.
"Here are those internal docu-
ments," | remarked, tossing the
bundle over to the table hear where
he stood. He picked it up, felt OF its
thickness, and then gave a sardonlc
laugh.
"You are certainly in for it, my
boy" he said, and put the letters
back on the table amid a pile OF news
papers and magazines.
Before his departure, which took
place the next day, Yelverton made
me promise that | would telegraph
him when | left Denver, so that he
might meet me on my arrival at the
coast. I promised it unhesitatingly,
for / was satisfied that his friendship
would bring opportunities not to be
sighted.
Various circumstances which |
need not detail heightened my stay in
Denver from a week to nearly a
month, and in the course of that time
| quite forgot about the letters Of in
PRODUCTION. When | was ready to
depart, however, I thought of them
with a sudden and intense pang OF
discomfort.
telegraphed to Yelverton, and pro-
ceeded to pack my trunk. Just as was
about to turn the key. it suddenly
occurred to me that ! had not noticed
the bundle of letters in its customary
place in the corner of the till.
opened the trunk and investigated
The letters were not to be found, eithel
in the till or elsewhere. Then l re
membered that shortly after my az
rival at the hotel | had taken them gu
to show to Yelverton, and had pu'
them on the table. However, the.
were not there now.
| made a thorough search Of thu
! room; the letters had plainly disap
peared.
!. Invent Immediately to the clerk an
: told my story. He sent for the hea'
chambermaid.
: : "Who takes care of Mr.. Bonworthy'
room?" he asked.
! ! Maggie" answered the hea'
q chambermaid.; 'but Clara had tina
| room when he first came
Il have lost package e. letters,
= said L.
The two exchanged significan
chances.
"Do you think they were stolen?
: asked; mo one could have any pos
sible object"
"Oh, no." said the clerk. Then b
- asked me if the letters were valuable
~ "N-no," / said mot exactly"
, well, I'll tell you," said til
y clerk, evidently much relieved: Wv
:, let that girl Clara go, because 81
had a reckless way Of burning u
things that she found lying around
= the rooms. If you have made a tho
:. ough search and you are sure the le
) tiers are not there, the chances al
they are destroyed
!, I found it difficult to repress m
+ Joy at this intelligence. 1t is to
doubted if the clerk and head chan
e bermaid ever succeeded in explainir
my strange conduct, in actually r
? fusing to make a row when one W.
- quite justifiable. ] FASTENED back
the oom and executed a fresh scare
:, so as to satisfy my conscience. Whe
y / was absolutely convinced that IL