Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1899-07-08

'HHO ~ - i'm NAC Il
ties of Its formation. Perhaps some of
you gentlemen who are interested in that
sort of thing would like to have q trial
at it,"
Gathering around. the lawyers looked
at the bit Of paper. 1t was inscribed:
Yours very truly, A. L. Mancher."
The writing was of an irdescribably
fashy. dashing style. the letters being
long and narrow, with many f1Ourishes.
and the name ending in a pyrotechnic dis
play Of penmanship. One after another
the men examined it, and all agreed that
the writing was of a singular type and
one that would be well nigh impossible to
initiate with even approximate accuracy.
MY opinion Of that handwriting" said
a lawyer who has had much to do with
photographic experts. would be that it
was written by a man who hadn't the full
use Of his fingers; perhaps one whose
hand was deformed by rheumatism.
There isn't any finger motion in those
words"
You are quite right" returned the
owner of the paper. "The fact is that
isn't handwriting at ALL"
What! Engraving?" cried the lawyers,
catching it UP and examining it closely,
Impossible! There's a spreading of the
ink there and one catch of a pointed pen
that shows it's pen work.
"Pen work it is" returned the other.
but not handwriting. There's a little
osSAS - lAal ob III PnpCl
that dates back several years, and con-
tributes one of the most successful iden-
tlfications I've ever known"
Remembering that you are on oath,'
said an ex-judge in a professional accent,
please to relate all you know about the
writing on the slip of paper I now hand
YOU"
well. Your Honor said the lawyer,
1T goes back several years to the time
when was an express agent out in Mon
tana. In those days we handled a good
deal of money out there and all sorts of
games were put up on us to get it, for the
country was full of slick crooks. After the
company had given up a few consign-
ments of cash to the wrong persons, who
seemed to have excellent identifications.
we shut down pretty close. and unless a
man had strawberry marks all over him
as per diagram received we weren't CIV
ing up n packages of money that came
on from the East to bring the prodigal
son home again. AS We found out after
ward, there was a leak in the office that
enabled the crooks to put up a fake iden-
tification on us. 1t was while we were
going our slowest that there came into
the place one day a man who looked like
a sickly gorilla just back from a two
weeks jambOree. He was stunted and
nut-headed, and he had big, long arms
that swung loose from his shoulders and
a shock of matted beard all over his face.
~ HlIu was d NdlIs INN party Will q
bandage over one eye, and miscellane-
Gus cuts all over his face. Take 'em to-
gether they Were as tough a looking pair
as I'd seen, even out there. and l won
dered if they had some little game, or
were only on the touch.
1.-THE gorilla came strolling up to the
counter and asked if l was the express
agent. l said | was and asked him what
l could do for him.. He seemed cool
enough, but there was a little quaver in
his throat as he said:
lis there a PACKAGE here for A. l..
Mancher""
MAYBE there u.s. l said. What were
you expecting if you're Mancher?' which
l didn't for a minute believe.
Yes, I'm Mancher,' he said, eagerly.
4 was expecting money. 1t might be 500
or 1T might be 5000. l sent for $780,
Then l remembered I'd had a letter
along with a package for Mancher,
saying that he could identify himself UNI
m~istakably by his handwriting. I made
up my mind it would have to be all sorts
of unmistakableness before I'd hand over
that package to the simian hob in front,
for in addition to my first suspicious 1
saw he was beginning to shake
You say you're Mancher" I said.
Got anybody to identify your
"'Ill identify him." said the hobo with
the bandage.
(Which bank are you president Off l
saul. IIc HlOhCu up. IlOlu OH. bOIl
come too close l told him and 1 showed
up a revolver.
Jim is all right said the gorilla hast
lily. We look pretty tough, Mr.. Agent,
but you'd look tough too, if you'd been
through the same. If l don't get that
money'-he broke off and l saw his throat
working; then he looked up with a pitiful
grin and added: 1t took my last cent to
telegraph for it, and l haven eaten since
yesterday morning.
Come 30 miles on foot. both Of us, on
one slice of bread added the rag bearer.
"They certainly looked the part, and /
began to soften up a little, but l kept my
gun ready.
"'What's your lay, Mancher?' 1 said.
Give some account of yourself, and may
be we can fix this thing. now any solid
citizen here that car identify your
mot a living SOUL he said. We've
just tramped in, I tell you. We came out
to this country prospecting with a gang.
and we didn't strike it right. Then Jim
and / beat back, doing odd turns around
saloons. I'm a bit of a mesmerist my
self
He fumbled in his rags and handed
out a card to me with Paul Leroy, mes
merist and hypnotic Specialist on it.
THAT don't look much like Mancher,
my FRIEND l said.
""That's my professional name he an
swered quietly. My folks name is Man
cler. FOR the rove OF heaVen! ne broke
out sharply, SIS there money to get me
home waiting for me and 1 can't get it
and the two of us starving to death?' and
he laid his head down sideways on the
counter like a sick monkey.
Writ our name l said pushing him
a pad and pen and ink.
with a gasp of hope ne grabbed at the
pen and scratched off his name in a shak-
ing hand. l looked it over and there was