Union County courier. [volume] (Elk Point, Union County, D.T. [S.D.]) 187?-1913, 1896-02-06
II M


The DRUMMER
Ten years ago found me not with the
snug business now possess, but en-
as D commercial traveller In the
grocery line. MY duties frequently
took me to Birmingham, and, il I am
to tell my story truthfully, Unjust say
/ was ct that period Of my history, to
put 1t mildly, no better than I ought
to have been. The life Of q drummer
il one fraught with very great tempta-
tatiOn, and ! was not always strong
enough to keep my feet out Of the
midst Of the briers which then beset
path, with which statement my
readers will readily agree when they
read the strange incident l am now GO
ing to relate.
1t wa 6 o'clock on an autumn ave-
ming. The streets OF Birmingham
we're swept with rain. I had hada toll
erably successful day, and there re-
posed in my pockets the sum of SlOO
which I had collected from my firms
customers. Having nothing particu-
lar to do, and the torrents OF rain alb
solutely prohibiting all open air en-
joyment, / went to the hotel I was
staying at, and although | had already
drunk during the afternoon more than
/ ought and much more than ! needed,
I called for q further supply of brandy
and while slipping it was joined by q
stranger who eager to enter into con-
~versation with me.
Nothing backward, and with tongue
fairly set a-wagglng, l talked too, and
/ believe that before many moments
he had ascertained that / had 800 be-
longing to my employer In my possess
sion.
The brandy finished nothing would
satisfy my new found friend but that
he should take me to the theater,
where the we'll known play Of "Drink"
Was being performed. / remember
we'll how, half tipsy as / was. / shud-
dered at the realistic ~portraiture by.
one Of the artists of q victim to de-
lirium tremens. / remember how the
horrors of drink we're delineated, and
was sane enough to remark to my com
panion:
"Bosh! They are o~verdrawing It'll"
Certainly" he replied. "Taey are
overdrawing 1t. But it's only a play.
There are drinking bars here, they are
2 realty. Come. let's 60 end get some
thing"
So we went and 'got something"
and, to cut q long story short, when /
left the theater, leaning on the arm of
my friend, / was helplessly intoxicated.
The next thing / knew was this:
The rain clouds had rolled away, and
fltful CLEANS of moonlight revealed to
me the fact that / was in q strange
room, lying on q strange bed. Two
o'clock chimed out from the neighbOr-
ing steeple. SObered with fright, /
raised myself, and then. quick as q
lightning flash came the thought-my
money! My clothes were thrown
across the bottom Of the bed. l
searched 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?" queried one
voice, to which another responded.
"He won't wake till six, at the earliest
time"
Every good" said the first voice.
"Mind, il he wakes while you're doing
it." the sentence was punctuated by
the unmistakable click of q pistol, and
/ shivered-not from cold.
"And at 6 or Z, or whenever he does
wake" continued the voice, .teIl him
you picked him up drunk in the street
and carried him in here out Of com
passion for safety, and you will easily
convince him that he was robbed out
Of doors. But mind, / have done my
part In plying him with drink and in
decoytng him here; see that you do
yours in gracefully relieving the poor
fool Of his hundred dollars"
Here . step on the stairs warned me
to close the door, and I got back to
bed. Hearing the knob Of the door
turn, / began to breath heavily, after
the fashion Of q drunken man, and the
next instant shading the candle with
his hand, there appeared q strange
man, who was soon peering fxedly in-
to my face.
satisfied apparently with his axamin-
alton, my visitor searched my pockets,
bounced upon the gold, OF course, and
quickly transferred It from its erst-
while resting place to-where do you
guessf He went to q bird cage, which
now, for the first time, I observed hang
ing up, drew ont its slide, and-un-
dressed and lay down beside me. He
was soon asleep, and hope sprang up
Within me; but, alasl Of all the light
sleepers, he was the highest I ever
knew. Whenever / moved he appear
ed 10 be- on the alert; It was impossible
10 crawl out Of bed without his being
conscious Of the fact. Besides under
his pillow, I knew, was the pistol, and
10 dispair I had reluctantly to rest on
as calm and unconcerned as I possibly
could.
All wakef1l, / passed the horrible
night, and the slow hours dragged on
unfortunately. But at length q project
presented itself to my now sharpened
senses, which project / put into exc
cution whom 6 o'clock struck.
STATURE" said / to myself, ameans
simply death; success means q saved
reputation with my employers and .
VOW Of strictest sobriety."
EVERYTHING being p0rfeCkly Quiet. I