El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1900-05-19

toward the town. His wOebegone face
and the quasi clerical cut of his dust
stained, filthy costume caught my hu-
NOR. Our eyes met. He hesitated.
Sir he said, with catching of the
breath, could you spare a few minutes
for what, l fear, will seem an incredi-
bic story
'Incredible!" l said.
Quite he answered eagerly. mo
one will believe it, alter it though 1
may. Yet l can assure you, sir
He stopped hopelessly. The mans
tone tickled me. He seemed an odd
character. Il am he said, lone of
the most unfortunate beings alive"
Among other things, you haven't
dinedf" l said, struck with ali idea.
Il have not" he said soIemnly, for
many days
You'll tell 1t better after that
said and without more ado led the way
to n low place | knew where such a
costume as his was unlikely to give Of
Tense. And there, with certain omis-
stons which he subsequently supplied,
l got his story. At first I was incredu-
lcus, but as the wine warmed him and
the faint suggestion Of cringing his
misfOrtunes had added to his manner
disappeared l began to believe. At last
] was so far convinced of his sincerity
that I got him a bed for the night, and
next day verified the bankers refer
ence he gave me through my Jamaica
banker. And, that done, l took him
shopping for underwear and such like
equipments of a gentleman at large.
Presently came the verified reference.
His astonishing story was true. 1 will
not amplify our subsequent proceed
ings.
He started for England in three
days time.
II do not know how l can possibly
thank you enough" the letter he wrote
me from England began, "for all your
kindness to n total stranger" and pro-
ceeded for some time in a similar
strain. Had 1t not been for your gen.
erouS assistance / could certainly new
er have returned in time for the re-
sumption of my scholastic duties, and
my few minutes of reckless folly
would perhaps have proved my ruin.
AS it is l am entangled in a tissue Of
lies and evasions of the most compli-
Gated sort to account for my sunburn-
ed appearance and my whereabouts.
have rather carelessly told two or three
different stories, not realizing the trou-
BILE this would mean for me in the end.
The truth l dare not tell. I have con-
suited a number Of lawbooks in the
British museum, and there is not the
slightest doubt that have connived at
and abetted and aided a felony. That
scoundrel Bingham was the Hither-
fa 7 find o11iIf "
Of the most fragrant embezzlement.
Please. please burn this letter when
read. trust you implicitly. The worst
of 1t is, neither my aunt nor her friend,
who kept the boarding house at which
l was staying, seems altogether to be-
lieve guarded statement I have made
them practically of what actually
happened. They suspect me Of some
discreditable adventure, but what sort
of discreditable adventure they suspect
me of 1 do not know. My aunt says
she would forgive me if 1 told her ev
erything. 1 have. 1 have told her more
than everything, and still she is not
satisfied. 1t would never do to let
them know the truth of the case, of
course, and so 1 represented myself as
having been waylaid and gagged upon
why they waylaid and gagged me. why
they took me away in their yacht.
do not know. Can you suggest any
reason? l can think of nothing. If,
when you wrote, you could write on
two sheets. so that I could show her
one, and on that one If you could show
clearly that l really was In Jamaica
this summer and had come there by be-
ing marooned from a ship it would be
of great service to me. 1t would GER
tainly add to the load Of my obliga-
lions to you, a load that I fear can
never fully repay, although If graft
tude." and so forth. At the end he
repeated his request for me to burn
the letter.
So the remarkable story of Mr.. Led
better's vacation ends. That breach
with his aunt was not Of long duration.