News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1898-08-10

J " - N"S A1"N- $500
prominent a man to-
He paused and looked on the ground
thoughtfully. ITO what?'' his vile
asked.
Come into the back parlor. Mr..
Twopeny said.
| They went, and Mr.. Twopeny light
ed his cigar and sat down to smoke, as
his custom was when anything disturb
ed him. Mrs. Twopeny sat down oppo-
site to him.
"Now then, to what?' she repeated.
"To take the money, he said in a
low tone.
"Well 1 don't know" " the wife said.
1.-THE money was there, and it is gone.
You haven't got it, and l haven't got
it, and it didn't vanish without hands.
cit will never do to hint at such a
thing, Bertha, " he said. "It is gone
and it's no use f~retting over it,"
"Fretting over it. But you'll have
to make it good, won't your
"Of course. 1t was to pay off a mort
gage, and l must do it tomorrow, For
tunately,I have the money and a little
more"
Mr.. Twopeny paid off the mortgage
the next day, and business went on as
usual. Years passed and Mrs. TwOpeny's
family increased so that her three boys
and three girls occupied much Of her
time. Two Of the boys were at college,
and the expenses of the family were
large. The girls were at first rate
schools, and one of them was preparing
for Vassar. Still by close attention to
business Mr.. Twopeny was able to earn
enough to get along.
Later on, however, the title guaran-
tee companies came into existence, and
in a very short time Mr.. Twopeny's
practice began to fall off. 1t dwindled
away until it scarcely paid office ex.
penses. On the top of this, a corpora
tion in which Mr.. Twopeny had invest
ed a very large sum failed, and he lost
it all. This was a terrible blow, and it
soon became evident that he would have
to reduce the family expenses. At this
juncture he was taken i'll, and the doc
tor pronounced him the victim of con-
sumption.
The feelings of the unfortunate hus-
band and father may be imagined, but
not described. In fact, an eminent ply
stefan whom his wife called in gave it
as his opinion hat it was his p~ecuniary
troubles that were wearing him away
and not a chronic malady.
Mrs. TwOpeny now comes forward as
the prominent character in this drama.
She took her husband away to pleasant
spot by the seaside and did all she could
to keep up his spirits. He visibly inn
proved in health, and then Bertha IN
tered upon the task which awaited her
and which she had long expected to I'M
dertake.
My dear husband, " she said as they
sat looking over the placid ocean, "you
must promise me not to be angry or to
blame me in any way"
"Why, my dear, how could II" he
answered. Even if I had the DISPOSE
ton l haven't the strength"
"Now, she said, 81 am going to tell
you the ~strangest story you ever heard.
You remember the 50, 500 which you
missed nearly 20 years ago?''
"Of course l do. What about it,"
II am going to tell you. You went to
the door, you remember, to see your eli
ent, Mr.. Simpson, Off"
"Yes, | remember it we'll, and when
l returned to the parlor the money was
gone"
Just so. While you were at the door
l was standing looking out of the win
dow. l heard the curtain between the
front and back parlOrs rustic. | turned
! and saw no one After the money was
missing Hay awake all that night think
ing. l remember that while you were
with Mr.. Simpson at the table my
| brother Charles came down stairs and
stood at the parlor door. looking in, and
that / spoke with him. l saw the money
7 on the table with a white slip around
it: He saw the money also. He left the
house. AS MI. Simpson went down the
stoop and turned toward the next street
e l followed him with my eyes and saw
t my brother just turning the corner,
though he had left the mouse some time
before. | didn't think much of it then,
but l did after | went to bed that night.
a l suspected that he had taken the mon.
Q ey that, seeing it IN the table, he haC
Q returned to the rear Of the house by the
alley and watched in the back parlor fol
an opportunity to steal it.
II rose early the next morning ant
went to his room. / accused him Of the
: crime and made him believe l had rec,
ognized him as he entered the room
from the back parlor. On my promise
not to disclose the fact to. you he admit
ted his guilt and restored the money,
You know that soon afterward be
t went west. l insisted on. that as part Of
the bargain. Then the question arose
in my mind as to how l should return
f the money. After much deliberation
t determined to keep it and to satisfy my
longing for wealth by Specializing will
/. it. l / began by small ventures in stocks
/ was successful every time, and by de
grees the money accumulated until''-
"Oh, until you made a big specula
h ton and failedl her husband exclaim
z cd.
"No, my dear, though l did make
Q some pretty big ventures for a woman
yet / never failed, and at this moment
o am worth over 5000, 00o."
y "What! You, Bertha?"
"Yes-I, your wife. 1t was you
a monav I usad and all that I hava mod,