The Opelousas courier., 1895-03-16
THREE BLACK BAGS.
-
The Part They Played in the Lives
OF Several People.

The Part They Played In the Lives
or Several People.
AS I often say to my wife, when she
blames me for forgetting her little
commissions, it's a queer thing, is the
mind, and great is the force Of habit.
] never forgot to do anything I'm in
the habit OF doing, but as lilly usually
attends to the shopping herself I'm not
In the habit of calling at the butchers
or the grocer's on my way home from
business, and th~erefore-well, there
fore, I don't call three times out of five
that she tellsme to.
!. Don't I catch it? No; not overmuch,
anyhow. For one thing, we haven't
been married very long, and lilly
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 ahabit 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 a clerk In the service of a firm
of colliery and quarry owners at Ling
ton, and every Saturday morning I go
out to Westerly, a village some thirty
miles off among the moors, to pay the
guarrymen their wages.
It's an awkward sort Of journey. I
have to start by the first train in the
morning, which leaves Lington at six,
change at DIR ask, our junction with the
main line, leave the main line again at
Thurley. some ten miles farther south,
and do the rest Of the distance in the
brake van Of a mineral train.
! The money NEARLY one hundred
pounds, mostly silver l always carry
in a little black leather bag, one Of
those bags you see by scores everyday,
which may contain anything from a
packet Of sandwiches and a collar to a
dynamite bomb, and it's my habit
when in the train to put my bag on the
rack facing me. / rarely keep it on
the seat by my side, and | don't like to
put 1t over my head.
VII It has to go there because the op-
posite rack is full / am always uneasy
about 1t, fancying l shall forget whenI
get out. / never have forgotten it yet,
but one Saturday in November, 1893, I
did something which might have been
worse. / took the wrong bag when /
left the train at Thurley.
1t happened In this way: On Friday
night went ont with lilly to a party,
which broke up so late that I had only
just time to change my clothes and get
. sort Of apology for a breakfast be-
fore catching my train. Consequently
I slept all the way from Lington to
Drask, and at Drask I stumbled, only
half awake, into the first third-claEs
compartment ! came to.
Q Three OF the corner seats were occu-
pied and ! took the fourth, though
there was nc room on the opposite rack
for my bag. couldn't put it ON the
seat by my side, either, because the
man opposite in the other corner had
his legs up and I didn't care to disturb
him. I ought, OF course, to have kept
It on my knees, but it was rather heavy
and ! was very sleepy, SO I just slung
It over my head, settled myself down
and dropped off again almost before
the train was clear Of the station.
/ didn't wake up until we stopped at
Thurley, and even thenI fancy / should
have slept on If the two men at the far
end Of the compartment had not
wanted to get out.
"What station is this?" I asked, sit
ting up and drawing my legs from
across the door to let them pass. "Ot-
terford, / suppose?"
fsNo, Thurley," said one, and up I
jumped in Q hurry, took my bag, II
thought, from the rack opposite me.
and got down IN the platform just as
the guard whistled the train away
you ran it a bit fine that time,
mister" remarked the man who had
saved me from being carried past my
destination. Il wonder il that other
chap meant going on? He was as fast
asleepa al YOU"
"Oh. he's all right" said his COM
panion. Hes booked for London. III
heard him say 30 when he got in"
Is felt much refreshed when we
arrived at the quarries. After / had had
sWashand done full justice to q second
breakfast al the miners Arms I felt
ready to face my mornings work of
making UP the mems pay sheets.
Then. as ! felt in my pocket for my
keys, my memory began to entertain q
vague suspicion that that bag was
unfamiliar to it. However,
my key fitted the lock and as I turned
nv suspicion vanished, but only to
be replaced q moment later BY an
astounding certainty.
Instead Of resting upon the familiar
brown paper packages of silver and
little canvas bags sof gold, my eyes
were dazxled BY d many-colored
i~Fidescsnce. which sAone forth from