The National tribune., 1901-06-20

the joyful thought that he had found a
| treasure that would make his loved ones
| happy, and place them above want. He
| had not gone more than three or four
| blocks, and was out of sight and sound of
| the crowd which he knew to be gather
ing about the express wagon, when he met
| 4 man coming down the street. Henry
! passed him as quickly as he could, avert
| ,ng his face so he would not be recognized,
| and at the next corner turned in another
| direction and wandered into distant part
of the city.
After strOlling about for two hours in
various directions, so as to destroy all pos
! sible trail from the scene of the wreck, he
| went home by a circuitous route. His first
! impulse was to go direct to his wife and
tell her of the good fortune that had be
fallen them, then on a second thought he
| decided to enter the house stealthily and
alone examine the package himself. 1t
might not posses any value at all, though
| from the brief glance he had had of the
dark-red seals he knew it was very much
| like bundles in which he had seen money
sent by the express companies.
| Il will first see what it is, and how
much" he declared; then l will tell
Mary and make her happy"
By this time it was 50 late that the
family had retired, and it was an easy
matter to slip into the house unObserved.
He entered by the rear door so no one
could see him, then stole up to his dingy
study, and after pulling down every blind
locked and bolted the door and lighted
the gas. He looked behind the book
cases, center-table and desk, to assure
himself no one was in the apartment, af-
ter which he took the package from his
breast.
Once more he swept the apartment with
| his feverish glance, and sat down by the
1 u g.EI- ,snh -. IotI he. ,Iyn0 10
was trembling with excitement, as with
his pocket-knife he cut the thread which
had been run through the package, then
tore open the end of the envelope at the
place marked.
oh, what a large package it was, and
when he emptied its contents on the table
wild delirium Of joy possessed him,
of greenbacks and National bank notes
rolled out upon the desk, until he was in
a frenzy of delight. After several mo-
ments he was sufficiently calm to ask
himself:
rs this real, or only a dream, from
which | shall awake, more miserable than
before"
There were 80 packages Of bills, each
marked $1,000. Fifty thousand dollars
was before him, and all his own. Oh,
how happy he would make Mary and the
children. One OF those packages would
pay the mortgage, and they would then
have $4,000 left. He would invest the
remainder so he would not have to work
so hard, for he was reaching an age
where one longs for rest.
He removed the paper band from
around one Of the packages, and counted
the contents, which was $1,000. He care
fully returned it, pinned it up again, and
counted another, and another, and an
other, until he had counted all, and found
that each contained 81, 900.
Fifty thousad dollars! Ha, ha! l am
rich! We are all rich! No longer the
poor and despised family. Never again
will my wife's dress be sneered at De
cause it is cheap. She shall wear silk
and satin, and my little Lulu shall 81
, educated and great lady. Ha, ha, ha
| | will run and tell Mary! No; had bet
! ter not"' he thought, growing more sober
Il expect l ought to keep this to myself
for awhile, for there will be a stir about
! this package, and my secret would be
: better kept for the present. The com
pany would take it from me, and / might
! be sent to prison for stealing it, though
) and say nothing about it, and begin US
, ing it a little at a time"
With these thoughts came an aWfu
r fear of it being found on his person ol
about the house. But he knew that was
| all folly. No one had seen him enter the
/: house, and if they had, it was his owr
house. The detectives could have no pos
sible clew on him. Locking the money il
j his desk, he went upstairs and to bed
5 His wife was only partially awakened b,
2 his entrance, and went to sleep again
without asking any troublesome questions
r Henry's mind was SO full Of his new