The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1895-12-06
miscellaneous.
AN ADVENTURE.

Ten years ago found ME not with
the sung business j now possess, but
employed as a commercial traveller in
the grocery line. My duties frequent
ly took Inc to Birmingham, and, if /
am to tell my story truthfully. | must
say | was at that period of my history,
to put it mildly, no better than | ought
to have been. The life of a CONNER
temptation, and | was not always
the midst of the briers which then be-
my readers will readily agree when
they read the strange incident L am
now going to relate.
1t was q O'Clock on an autumn even
ing. The stseets of Birmingham were
swept with rain. had had IL tolora-
bly, successful day, and there reposed
in my pockets the sum of e2O, which |
had collected from my firms custo-
mers. Having nothing particular to
do, and the torrents of rain absolutely
prohibiting all open air enjoyment, |
went to the hotel was staying at, and
although had already drunk during
the afternoon more than | ought and
much more than | needed called for
u further supply of brandy, and while
slipping it was Joined by a stranger,
who seemed eager 10 enter into con
versation with me.
Nothing backward, and with tongue
fairly set wagging, | talked, too, and
| believe that before many moments
he had ascertained that had ego be
longing to my employer in my posses
sion.
The brandy finished, nothing would
satisfy my new found friend but that
he should take me to the theatre,
! where the well known play of Drink
was being performed. l rembembel
| we'll how, half tipsy as | was, shud.
dered as the realistic portraiture by
one of the artists of Il victim of deli,
rum tremens. | remember how the
horrors of drink were deiineated and
was sane enough to remark to my
companion:
'Bosh They are Overdrawing it ~
"Certainly," he replied, they are
overdrawing 1t. But it's only play.
There are drinking bars here they
are reality. Come, let's go and get
something
So we went and got something
and, to cut Il long story short, when |
left the theatre, leaning on the arm OF
my friend, | was helplessly intoXicat,
Ell.
The next thing | knew was this
The rainclouds had rolled away, and
fitful CLEANS of moonlight revealed to
NE the fact that | was in a strange
room, lying on strange bed. Two
o'clock chimed out from a neighbor
ing steeple. Sobered with fright,
raised myself and then, quick as d
lightning flash, calne the thought
my money! My clothes were thrown
across the bottom Of the bed. | seach
ed the trousers pocket. The gold was
| there.
Then | heard voices in soft CONVEX
sation coming up from below. Noise
lessly / opened the bedroom door and
| listened.
Sure he's all serene p queried one
voice, to which another responded
"He won't wake till 6, at the earliest
Very good" said the first voice
| Mind, if he wakes while your doing
| it, The sentence was punctuated
| by the unmistakable click of Il pistol
and | shivered-not from cold.
And at 6 or z, or whenever he does
wake" continued the voice, tell hin
you picked him up drunk in the street
and carried him in here out of compass
sion for safety, and will easily convince
| him that he was robbed out of doors
But, mind, l have done my part il
| plying him with drink and in decoy
ing him here. See you do yours il
gracefully relieving the poor fool o.
his e20r'
Here step on the stairs warned me
to close the door, and | got back tC
| bed. Hearing the knob of the door
turn, | began to breathe heavily aftel
the fashion of a drunken man, and the
next instant, shading the candle will
his hand, there appeared the form o
Il strange man, who was soon peering
fixedly into my face.
Satisfied apparently with his eXami
nation, my visitor searched my
pockets, bounced upon the gold, O
course, and quickly transferred it from
its erstwhile resting place to-wherC
do you guess He went to n birdcage
which now for the first time | observ
ed hanging up, drew out its sliding
door, quietly emptied my gold into it
replaced the slide and undressed and
lay down beside me. He was sool
asleep. and hope sprung up within
me, but, alas, of all the light sleeper
he was the lightest l ever knew
Whenever moved, he appered to b.
on the alert. 1t was impossible t.
crawl out of bed without his being
conscious of the fact. Besides unde
his pillow knew was the pistol, and
in despair, had reluctantly to rest OF
as calm and unconcerned as possibly
could.
All walleful l passed that horrible
night, and the slow hours dragged OIL
interminably. But atlength project
presented itself to my now sharpeneC
senses, which project put into execu
ton when 6 o'clock struck.
Failure" said to myself, "mean'
simply death. Success means a saveC
reputation with my employers and q
vow of strictest sobriety."
Everything being perfectly quiet,
simulated a gradual waking up, anC
my first yawn opened the eyes of my
bedfellow. The second had the effec
of raising him from his recumben
position in the bed, and When | slow
iy and painfully awoke ne was bend
ing over me, all solcitude
| DAYLIGHT was now stealing into thu