The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1897-06-18

ing after the tennis-playing, flirting,
insipid Mudford maidens. Besides. l
always had hankering after curios,
and at Miss Almira's one lived in a
world of them, So that soon the old
lady and / became very good friends,
and, after a while, l forgot to notice
her eccentricities. | believe she re-
garded me like son, and found that
supplied some want in her lonely life.
"About a fortnight before l left, |
ran up to Miss Almira one afternoon,
as had promised to look through
some old MSS. with her.
"When we had finished our task, the
COOL old soul was silent for a moment
Then she cleared her throat and said:
Reginald. | have something i'm
portant to speak to You about
"'Yes, Miss Muggins,' l replied,
wondering what it could be.
"'During the last weeks, Reginald. ,
she said, Il have become as fond of you
as | might have been of son of my
own, and | shall miss you sadly when
you 90. | have neither kith nor kin,
and so, briefly, | have decided to leave
my fortune, this house and it's con-
tents, to you. The only condition l
make is that you undertake to provide
for my dear Alonzo, and make it your
special duty to watch over him and
see that he leads the same life he has
been accustomed to. My will shall be
drawn up this evening. Don't thank
me, or you will annoy me-
"This speech literally took my
breath away
"'But, Miss Muggins, u stam-
mered.
"'Not word she said. The tea
is ready, l perceive.
Il did not know whether to regard
this as eccentricty or sheer madness,
but at last came to the conclusion that
Miss Almira knew what she was about,
and that some day | should come into
the possession of a large fortune, and
-AlonZo. He was minor considera-
ton, however, as | trusted an apoplec-
tic fit would do for him very soon.
Altogether it was a pleasant idea, and
| felt very grateful to the old lady. al
though could not grasp it. But
there's many a slip, etc, Us found to
my cost.
at was hard luck, though" said
Ruth, pausing to- relight his cigar,
"deuced hard luck
well, a few nights after this little
episode, | and halfa-dozen others went
to a farewell dinner given by some
friends living half a mile out of Mud
ford. We had glorious time, CHAM
pagne galore, and We decided to walk
home as it was a fine moonlight night.
We were in mad spirits, and, as we
reached the outskirts of the town, we
found vent for them. Slowly crawl
ing down the road was the one and on
ly Mudford cab detected, broken
down vehicle, driven by sleepy man,
and dragged by spiritless and nom
descript quadruped, called by cour-
tesy a horse. 1t was crawling along
at its usual rate of a mile day. when
suddenly my evil angel prompted me
to suggest the deed that ensued.
"'Here, you fellows said, ten to
one that old Waterloo and his lady are
inside that cab; they were going out
tonight. Let's drag 'em backwards,
and see if they notice the difference.
"No sooner said than done. No one
thought of the consequences. The
wilder the prank, the more acceptable,
in our eXhiarated state of mind. 1t
was quiet road, and we soon caught
up the cab. Then seven of us held on
to that old cab and pulled with might
and main, while the eighth jumped on
the box and gagged cabby. The un-
usual manner of locomotion pulled the
old horse up suddenly, so that he stood
on his hind-lrgs and then slid back
wards
"We had gone several yards in this
manner, and nothing had occurred.
"'Seem to be asleep inside whisper
ed some one.
"'Shall we beat rctreat?' said an
other.
"'I es,' was on my lips, when sud
denly the cab gave violent lurch, and
we had the utmost difficulty to prevent
it from overturning.
"Then a shrek Of Help, help' broke
| on the air
by Jovc. Ruth, you'd better 90
round and explain said one or two OF
| my companions, who were beginning
to sober down. Wen get into devil
Of row over this
There was no escape, for | was the
| prime mover in it.
$50, hat in hand went round to
the cab door. A head was thrust out
of the window, but it was enveloped in
shadow and shawl, so | could not
make out who it was.
"'Allow me, madam, to assure you
| that there is nothing wrong | began,
when-Great Heavens! the light of the
lamp fell on the features of-Miss AL
mira NupUinS She looked at mo