El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1900-01-23
7 MY Husbands Umbrella


cannot recall the weary, heartrendins
trouble without a feeling of profound
thankfulness to Providence for shaping
the end to our benefit.
My husband was then, now, col
lector for the Safety Insurance company
and he had gone down to Birmingham
to collect the sums gathered by the
agents in that town.
He had already been away a week
and had telegraphed me that morning to
the effect that he intended returning that
same afternoon, but it was 10 o'clock
D. m. before 1 heard the welcome click of
his latchkey. As we crossed the hall he
stopped and took down his overcoat from
the peg, at the same time taking his
umbrella in his other hand and saying:
'Rhoda, my dear, you may as well put
this in the lumber room; it is smashed en-
tirely now" And he laughingly opened
his old "gamp,' which was indeed a COM
plete wreck. / took it from him when he
had closed it, and while he went to kiss
our little ones 1 flung the umbrella into
q distant corner of Il dark closet under
the attic stairs.
Next morning Edward kissed us as
usual and set off, looking bright, strong
and happy. About IL o'clock 1 was busy
making a pudding for an early dinner,
when an unusually peremptory knock at
the hall door startled me.
/ FASTENED to open it, and was sur
prised to confront two strangers, my
misunderstanding pale and troubled-and
MIR. Smell. the director of the company
by which my husband was employed.
They walked in, and Mr.. Smell at once
addressed me.
Mrs Falkner, forgive this intrusion,
but your husband has lost his pocket
booker at least he says so-containing
hills N the value n s.. 900
Lost Oh, Edward, how could it
happen?" l cried.
81 don't know" he said mournfully. 81
had it in my overcoat pocket last night
after 1 came home, and you know, [
took my coat into our bedroom, and it
was there (the coat this morning, for
nobody went into our room except our
selves
Are you sure you brought it home?"
1 asked.
''Surel Yes, of course, I'm surer" he
said impatiently.
''Then in that case we must search
the house." said one of the strangers.
''Oh, do; oh, do 1 said eagerly. at
must be somewhere about.
'In the meantime 1 must ask you to
stay in this room,'' he responded and
they went out of the room, leaving us
alone with Mr.. Smell.
The book could not be found in the
house, and though all was done that
could be in the way of advertising and
offering rewards, all our efforts were I'M
availing.
Edward was discharged from his situa-
ton, and many of the people of the town
did not scruple to say he had appropriate
ed the money to his own use. However.
the directors were not among these, and
as they quite believed them lost, prose
cution was of no avail; still, they could
not keep in their employ a man guilty of
such culpable carelessness.
The house we lived in was our own,
having been presented to me a wed
ding gift, SO we decided to stay in it. but
to sell the better part of the furniture.
This we did, and Edward went to Ameri-
ca, where he succeeded in obtaining a
post as clerk in New York
Time went on, and more than two
years had passed since our trouble. /
had let my unfinished rooms to a nice
quiet family and undertook to attend to
them, which enabled me to keep the wolf
from the door.
My two little girls were now growing
up and would soon require to go to school,
an expense which / was not as yet pre-
pared to meet. For two years 1 had not
seen my husband and L felt the separa-
ton keenly. and ! could not help the
of my heart creeping into my
letters. Edward noticed this, and in
March, 1880, he wrote, telling me to pre-
pare and come out to him next month.
He would forward me the requisite funds.
We were greatly excited and began
packing at once. L sold the house for
81 600 and paid the money to Mr.. Smell
as part payment of the missing $500.
and also sold the larger articles of furni-
ture. The latter sum helped me to pro
vide Il few necessaries for our wardrobes.
The money came from Edward. and
all was now prepared when L remember
ed the lumber in the stairs closet and told
the charwoman to bring it out. She did
so, my little girls helping her.
/ had gone down stairs for something
when l heard cry of surprise, and Mrs.
Egan, the charwoman- came running
Town stairs, bearing in one hand a dusty
Did umbrella of my husbands and in the
other the long lost pockeroook. She had
found it in the umbrella, she explained
Instantly it was clear to my mind. AS
my husband closed the old ''gamp'' that
night, now three years ago. and flung his
coat over his arm the pocketboo must
nave slipped down into the umbrella In
ess than an hour / had handed it to Mr. |
Smell and wired my husband the joyful
news.
Instead of us going to America, my
husband came back to England, and on |
he 24th of May, 1SS-, resumed his du |
les as head collector of the Safety Insur-
ince company, and I'm proud to say he |
IT'LL holds that post.
We kept the CAMP as curiosity and |
shall hand it down to posterity as the in |
'trument which nearly gave my husband |
PENAL Servitude.-LOndon News
Historic FictiODs.