The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1895-03-27
SELECTED STORY.
Three Black Bags,

huu RTeaJ is unB lOTC6 VI nhDlb, ucNCr
forget to do anything I'm in the habit of
doing, but as lilly usually attends to
the shopping herself Pm not in the hab-
II of calling at the butchers or the gro
cers on my way home from business,
and therefore-well, therefore, | don't
call three times out of five that she tells
me to-
Don't l catch it? No, not overmuch
anyhow. For one thing, we haven't
been married very long, and Tilly agrees
that it's only reasonable | should have
time to learn to be more careful, and for
another, if it wasn't for the hold
habit has on me, doubt whether we
should be married yet, or at least we
shouldn't be living in our own house.
with the furniture all bought at a large
discount for cash.
am clerk in the service of firm
of oolliery and quarry owners at Ling
ton, and every Saturday morning l go
out to Westorbery, village some 30
miles off among the moors, to pay the
quarrymen there their wages.
It's an awkward sort of journey. l
have to start by the first train in the
morning, which leaves Lington at 8,
change at Drask, our junction with the
main line leave the main line again at
Thurley, some ten miles farther south,
and do the rest o. the distance in the
brake van of mineral train The
money-nearly e1O0, mostly in silver
always carry in little leather bag,
one of those bags you see by scores every
day, which may contain anything from
packet of sandwiches and clean col
lar to dynamite bomb and it's my
habit when in the train to put my bag
In the rack facing me. rarely keep it
on the seat by my side, and l don't like
to put it over my head.
If it has to go there because the oppo-
site rack is full, l am always uneasy
about it, fancying l shall forget it when
Iget out Inever have forgotten yet, but
one Saturday in November, 1898, l did
something which might have been
worse. | took the wrong bag when |
left the train at Thurley.
1t happened in this way. On the Fri
day night ] went out with lilly to
party, which broke up so late that had
only just time to change my clothes and,
get a sort of apology for breakfast be-
fore catching my train. Consequently II
slept all the way from Lington to Drask,
and at Drask | stumbled, only half
awake, into the first third class COM
partment | came to.
Three of the corner seats were occu-I
pied, and took the fourth, though therel
was no room on the opposite rack forI
my side either, because the man in thel
other corner had his legs up, and II
didn't care to disturb him. | ought of
course to have kept it on my knees, andl
on any other morning l dare say II
should have done so, but it was rather
heavy, and | was very sleepy, so | just
slung it up over my head, settled myself
down and dropped off again almost be-
fore the train was clear of the station.
l didn't wake until we stopped att
Thurley, and even then fancy l should
have slept on if the two men at the far
end of the compartment had not want
cd to get out. +
"What station is this?" l asked, sit
ting up and drawing my legs from
across the door to let them pass. cot
terford, SUPPOSED"
"No, Thurley," said one, and up I
jumped in hurry, took my bag, as 1
thought, from the rack opposite me, and
got down on to the platform just as the
guard whistled the train away.
"You ran it a bit fine that time, mis-
ter, remarked the man who had saved
me from being carried past my destina-
ton. 81 wonder if that other chap
meant going on? He was as fast asleep
as you"
"Oh, he's all right" said his COM
panion. Hes booked for London I
heard him say so when he got in. Good
morning, governor.
GOOD morning, replied, and then,
having thanked them for waking me, l
made for the siding, where my mineral
train was waiting for me.
"You look tired this morning, Mr..
Corner" said the brakeman as soon as
we started on our somewhat slow and
wearisome journey.
81 look what l feel, JIM" said l.
"And lam as sleepy as an owl. l never
went to bed last night. "
'"Then lie down and have sleep
now, sir, suggested Jim. Here's some
sacks and rug to cover you. If the
jolting don't wake you, you may he sure
won't. -
The good natured fellow kept his
word, and as l am one of those happily
constituted individuals who can sleep
on or through anything | felt much re-
freshed when we arrived at the quarries
after what Jim called "a roughish pas
sage over tho uneven surface of the
moorland line which had been laid sole
ly to serve the needs of our quarries and
some neighboring iron mines.
After had had wash and done full
Justice to second breakfast at the Min
ers' Arms, | felt ready to face my morn
tng's work of making up the mems pay
sheets. While was doing that the bag,
which fondly imagine to be mine, lay
OH the table before me, nor did any
doubt as to its identity trouble me until
l had finished my calculations and was
raadV to ennh61v tha raSultc IF thay, In,