Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1895-02-13

(, me home he seemed to be satisfied
was in earnest He consented to nay
proposal, but after a moment.
thought he said an escort was un
[ necessary. thinking, doubtless thai
the handsome reward would be q suf.
/ fcient inducemcnt to insure the safe
delivery Of the preci Us va is,.
As left the tank and turned VI
| the street in the direction OF homo l
was joined by young man who came
running out of the bank after me,
hat in hand. lie said "the old man.
had rccOnsidered the matter and sent
him to accompany me back with the
money This seemed to ME to be
quite satisfactory, and as the fellow
was "a very genial young man owe i'm
mediately fell into discussing the rob.
berry of his bank. He congratulated
me on my good fortune, and know.
ingly limited that 'the old gentle
man" would treat me cleverly In thu
way of reward.
l said this young man was a very
genial fellow, but somehow l soon
began to feel an instructive distrust
in him. piled him with questions
concerning the habits and business
methods OF the missiag teller, but he
returned evasive answers. In one
or two little things he contra
dicted himself, and finally, when l
unexpectedly asked him how long he
had been employed in the bank, he
replied, after looking at me In
dazed sort of way: ''Oh, about
year or two" At once the thought
came to ME: What if my escort"
was one of the young men l had seen
outside the Presidents office; perhaps
he had overheard our conversation,
and had planned this neat scheme Of
playing the role of a clerk OF the
bank sent me for protection" as he
insinuatingly put it. II so, / readily
saw that he intended to make an ef-
fort to get his hands on the valise
and then seize the first opportunity
TO bid me good-by.
This theory was strengthened when
1 noted that my protector" seemed
gradually to become very uncommuni-
cative, ard the conversation during
the rest of the journey referred to
passing objects and sights Try as
hard as l could, failed to get any.
thing satisfactory out Of him concern
ing the robbery.
When l reached home l politely
asked the young man to take seat
in the hall while l stepped upstairs
to get glimpse Of the treasure. l
found my wife at the mead OF the
stairs. very excited. In an adjoin-
nH %
and at U rough estimate we placed
the amount at about the figure Sthe
newspapers said Swope had carried
Off with him-somewhere about $780,.
900.
I did not tell my wife Of my sus
picions Of the young man down stairs
but l resolved at once to arm myself
in order to be prepared for the worst.
1t Is we'll known fact that in Ken
lucky the sixth commandment has
long ago been declared unconStitu
tional, and l quickly made up my
mind that if my bodyguard showed
any sign Of playing me false l would
let him have a dose of cold lead.
Contrary to my expectations tht
young fellow made no offer to carry
the valise as we started on our jour-
ney back TO the bank. At the end
of the short street on which l lived
We stopped TO take Car. My friend
had again become very afable, and
as We stood on the corner he offered
me cigar. l took it, thanked him]
and placing my yalise carefully on
the ground between my feet, struck
il match to light it. Just as / was in
the act of doing so 1 received blow
from the left that sent me stagger-
ing into the middle Of the street. At
the same moment my protector"
disappeared in the other direction.
Look here, young man." said
.rutT-voiced fellow in uniform at my
side, as he shook me violently, II
tlought you told me you were going
20 take the train west tonight 1t
has just pulled out and you're left"
Opening my eyes, looked around
The waiting-room in confused way
and then reached for my valise.
1t was nowhere to be found.
My brusque arouser instantly took
in the situation, and, with a look OF
intense disgust on his face, said, AZ
he turned away:
Il guess that student-like sport
Who was sitting Leside you has taken
;are of your baggage He passed me
L few moments ago on his way to the
rain with couple of vaIises Next
ime you 60 travelling, young man,
:ou had better take some one along
With you to care tor you while you
.lecn"