The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-08-22

in spite OF his being my most important
! witness Indeed ! quite sickened Of his
/ pei phrase Of Tommy rot"
what Tommy rot it all is" he would
( say in his riotous amiable way. "A grown
/ man. presumably sane and educated,
| spending days and days hunting the ghost
. OF 81 dead superstition for a lot of piffiing
old fools in London. Why the deuce don't
I YOU dig, man?-do something useful?
. You're strong enough"
We'll" / would say, here are my
] facts"
oh facts be jiggered!" he would say
/ Facts that prove doppelganging are facts
have no respect for"
But / have" l would say.
What beastly rot! You've got a flaw
| somewhere. You know you have. If facts
prove arrant nonsense, it shows that
| there's something wrong"
Then l would begin TO state my case
SHOW me the flaw" / would say.
And directly 1 began to marshal my
! evidence he would lose his brief temper
! and begin to shout me down. Did ! think
/ he had the time to go over every
! leally tinpot ghost story in the country be
! fore he had right to disbelieVe? And
would raise my voice to avoid being shout
! ed down.
'If Marshall has doppelganger let him
| bring him up here in the daylight" he
4 would say and similar illogical nonsense;
I
! them for a year out of his own meager in
| come, shouting extravagant prOmissory
! notes at the doppeiganger, and SO forth.
And then, suddenly at the hight of our
shouting, he would leave off quite abrdpt-
! ly, stare savagely at his pipe and ask me
! for match.
Have you a match?" he used to say, as
! though that was the thing that had driven
| him to revolt. That, by tacit under
/ standing, suspended the quarrel | would
/ hand him match to re-light his pipe.
| He would make some Indifferent remark
| at a tangent, and we would go on talking
| and smoking together like a pair of broth
| ers. The row, when 1t must have seemed
| 10 an eavesdropper on the point of blows,
| would vanish before one could snap ones
| fingers. For his choleric outbreaks like
my own were as brief they were vio-
| lent, like tropical thunderstorms more
than anything else in the world
Now, after | had returned to my cham
bers in Museum street, was surprised one
4 afternoon in May by a visit from Wend-
over. ] was collecting some new and in
! teresting evidence upon crystal-gaz
| that had recently come to hand, when 1
heard him noisly ascend the stairs.
He came in with all the tumultuous vio-
! lence of triumphant common sense Shout
| ing and blowing, flung his umbrella on a
haunted sofa | had on loan under obser-
| walton. slapped down his hat on the plan
Ghetto and sat in my easy chair.
Give me some tea, my good man." he
/ bawled.
"And then I'll tell you an eye-opener.
Your doppedgangerl He's hoistl'
! tried to be cool and acrid as posi-
| bic, though this Eruption was certainly
! something of a shock and l begged him
| to let me know how the hosting was ac-
| complished. And waving his bread and
| butter at me to accentuate his story, and
ever and anon drinking his tea noisily and
| eagerly, he told me the true story of the
Marshall doppelganger.
you know there was a laundering row
blowing up about Mrs. Marshall's sausages
| and mine pie?" he said. Libel actions
| and all that?"
remembered the trouble quite distinctly
too distinctly, indeed, for it was side
issue into which Mrs. Marshall was al
ways running, and which made Apps sus-
| picious and reluctant under examination.
! The disappearance of these dainties on
| Christmas Eve from her kitchen l had
| always regarded as a troublesome irrele-
| vance.
SO far as ] had formed a Judgment in
| that matter at all | had gone with the
| general sentiment of the village, and sus-
pected Apps and his friends. For clownish
| theving of that kind was just the sort of
| thing that would commend itself to the
rustic mind as a very good Christmas joke
| indeed.
What has the mince pie got to do with
| the story2" | said.
Everything" said Wendover, and he
| drank, winking at me over his teacup.
| old Franksi" said Wendover, putting
| his cup aside ana leaning forward as he
! spoke to touch my knee
What of Franks?" l said, for I had
never suspected that elderly sinner had
| any connection with the case.
IL
! in the Seven Thorns, a week ago; discus
/ sion running high on the great muce pie
| and sausage question. Did Apps take EN-
| or didn't he2 Friend of Apps indignant,
| tried running down Mrs. Marshall Every
| body knows Mrs. Marshall's mince pies are
| worse than her sausages, not worth steal
| ing: wouldn't have EN- as "A gift sAin't
thcy?' SAYS old Franks hiccoughlng and
winking That's all you know said old
| Franks"
| Wendover paused. looked at me took up
| two slices of bread and butter, laid them
face to face bit them enormously, and
| looked AT me again.
| MY good man." / said, have you come
all the way from Sussexville to tell me
| that?'
That and some other things" said Wen
! dover, disposing of the bread and butter
How do you know" says Apps friend.
| Never you mind says old Franks. ap-
| pcNflNE TO fe1itIe ne II maze SIP. ana
| there IN spite of few leading questions
20 the old man. his criticisms on Mrs. Mar
| shall's miuce meat came to an end"
| well" I began.
"Wait a bit" said Wendover when
| old Franks had gone, as he did rather
quickly after that. the peculiar way in
| which he had spoken was remarked upon.
| Could IL be that he had stolen the mince-
| pie I'm question Occasionally he did odd
Jobs for Marshall. as everyone knew and
IL might bc that sometime on Christmas
| Eve ne had ventured--"
Really this pothouse gossip"
You wait 1t wasn't long before this
| little suspicion came to my ears and
| confess I didn't think very much about Il
| al the time nor did l connect it with your
| wcll-authcuticated case. Who would q?
| Rut going past MarshalTs. who should l
see. as ! thought, hut Marshall himself
planting beans. lie was stopping down
| with his back to me. 50 that his neither
garments formed most OF the view"
went 10 the wall and shouted. intend
| Ing to have a quiet word with him about
| his missing pie and sausage. tie looked
| up and then saw the mistake ia made at
once. 70 wasn't Marshall at all. hut the
! I..ffH 1.HH a