The Florence daily tribune., 1899-03-22


renacrF. son of the late John and Rachel
sohwHr7enhcrs. ALES SANpEF sASpnAA
"'Thcro'' said my uncle. passing the
book To one Of the druinmers Do you
see anything the matter with thatE'
"'That's TO good said the drum
mer
lit isntr said Uncle Sandman.
I'd like to know why it isn'tI
- 1t isn't witnessed. replied the
commercia traveller.
"'Ohr said my uncle Well, you
two fellows just put your names down
as witnesses.
They did so with some joking. and
then my uncle called a brakeman wLo
WIS sitting near and who had heard the
I talk Just put your name down there,
Johnnie. ne said We might as well
do the thing in style and have three
witnesses
The brakeman signed his name. and
I then Uncle Sandman. closing the book
( handed it over to me. Take care of
that Sandy. my boy. he said There's
/ your fortune in Virgil
"The drummers began swapping
/ yarns again. After awhile the smoke in
the car began to make me sick was
only "A kid thon. you know. and WASH I
used TO it Well, got up to 90 in one
of the forward cars The smoking car
was the last on the train 1t was snow
ing, raining and hailing 10y tuIns and
the wind was blowing gale. As
crossed the platforms from one car 10
another my foot slipped ON the icy
boards and great gust of wind carried
away my hat and, nearly made me lose
my balance threw up my arms to save
myself and the Virgil slipped from my
hand and disappeared beside the track
/ was afriiG of what my uncle would
say when told him of my carelessness
So went forward into the farthest ear
from the smoker and sat down in a cor
ner.''
Tho boy stopped as if that were the
end of his story and idly rolled the cigar
in his fingers
"We.l said /. "go on Was your
uncle so angry that he disinherited
your
No, replied the boy slowly. II
hadn't been in the forward car 90 min
utes when there was terrific crash
that smashed the windows and threw
me against the seat in front.
IAN express train had come up be-
hind MS and smashed into MS, telescop
ing Tie two rear cars Uncle Sandman
and the two druumers were among the
killed The brakeman who had signed
the will escaped with only slight in
iuries
Well said that is quite a
yarn
Tho day after the funeral. the
trainboy went on "a went back to the
nearest town to the place where the
book Lad been lost and walked up and
down the track for miles looking for
it
''You never found it?' | asked
No hut three months later | was
there again aud | could not help look
ing along the side of the track as |
walked, although of course | didn I
really expect To find il | met small
boy who asked Iue what | was looking
rur l ;isEcu nm t,vrr,,
of any one who had found book near
there lie said Yes he knew n hoy
who had found one there early in the
spring gave him a quarter and made
him take me ut once to the boy house
The boy was at school, but saw his
mother She said yes. Tommy had
found book beside the track. queer
book that none of them could read |
asked her if she would let me SEQ it
She said she had sold it to IA peddler for
paper rags n day or two after it was
found She had never seen the peddler
since, and | was never able to trace
MIN The book may have been used up
in SOME paper mill. or it may possibly
have found Its way to some secondhand
bookstore never pass secondhand
bookstore without going in to ask If
they have an old copy of Virgil
r'Uncle Sandham had left no other
will He had never legally adopted me
so had no legal claim ON his money
1t was divided up among some cousins
whom he had not seen for years
"The brakeman who had witnessed
the will got me the place To sell papers
ON the cars
just then the train stopped at sta
tion. and number of passengers got
on,
II must go through the cars again
said the boy lie picked up his pile of
magazines aud went off New month
ly magazinesl This weeks comic pa
. persl
looked at the commercial traveller
across the aisle DO you suppose it =
trueY' | asked
give it up, he replied IF it's fic-
tion that hoy will be writing for the
magazines some day instead of selling
them Then he opened his bool, and
turied himself in its pages i Ken
niston in owl
shakcspcare's Name.
II has often been puzzle to students
2 Df Sha kpsusara why his pn,na - sp,ll,1