The Houma courier. (Houma, La.) 1878-1939, 1903-04-11

with the place Then as 9 mattel
q good faith, be led me into his
locked rooms They looked like !
machine or jewelry shop, all Uttered
with tools, cigar boxes, jugs, bottles
and barrels. He had converted the
gas range into a kind of blacksmith'r
furnace, and I noticed that the win,
dows were boarded up on the inside.
He gave me a bunch of keys, showed
me q pile of magazines in the front
room and a case full of books, all
novels, and told me to go ahead and
try It for a week.
cit went all right for the first two
or three days, and then I began to
get lonesome. I found I-couldn't
open the door at the end Of the han
which led into his laboratory, and
the empty house, with no company,
began to get on my nerves. I didn't
know anybody in town, but Mr.. Brod-
erick had expressly forbidden me to
have company. Sometimes in the
night when I couldn't sleep I could
hear vague sounds of tinkering from
his quarters, but I didn't see him
for nearly two weeks. On Saturday
morning I found my wages in a small
yellow envelope on the hall seat. and
that night about nine O'Clock Mrs.
Broderick-the wife-came to the
door. l knew her at once, because
she called me by name, said that her
husband had gone out Of town for a
few days and that she had no key to
the rear entrance. / told her that
/ had none either, but she insisted
that I try my best to. let her into her
husbands laboratory. 1 did try, but
failed, and she went away very much
annoyed, l thought, after asking me
il any visitors had called and if any
letters had come for him. Nobody
ever called and no letters e came.
Even Broderick let himself in and out
by the back door of the fat, v
came into the forward rooms, and,
so far as I could discover, never came
to the building at all in the day
time.
After I'd been there about a
month he came in one night by the
front door, looked cautiously and, it
seemed to me, su~spiciously about and
said: Well, are you tired of your
job" I had to admit that it was
getting a bit tedious, but he laughed
and said that if I'd stick it out the
three months he'd raise my wages
to $40 a week right off. And he did.
But at last, one night about mid
night, as I lay tossing-I never could
sleep more than six or seven hours
in PA suddenly heard his voice
at my elbow. He asked if I
was asleep, and when 1 said no, he
told me he'd like me to step into mis-
laboratory. I'll give you another
he said, 'if you'll do something
for me in the daytime He had a
.ot of plaster of paris and showed
ne how to make it into a kind Of
paste, like clay, and he gave me a
Jug Of acid and a lot of old pewter
and showed me how to polish
II the metal. The next morning ]
that his door was open and
judged that his intention was for
ne to get busy. That day was Satur-
lay, but I didn't find my ~enveIore
its usual place. But 1 had some
saved and wasn't worried, now that /
had something to occupy my mind.
"Broderick didn't show up for an
ither week, and then, finding his
ioors locked, I concluded he had re-
,urned. My hands were all stained
Up with the acid and my finger nails
we're chalky with che plaster, but
found my envelope that morning
With two weeks pay-S3O-and all
gold. I was surprised and de-
you can bet, and that dav
t dinner time. I walked over to the
venue and bought myself a new
rvercoat. I got back to the fat, my
.at.' I had commenced to call it., but
wasn't there ten minutes before
here was a ring at the bell. I went
0 the door and saw two men, one
be clerk, who had sold me the over
oat, and the other a strapping, big
rishman, with a fur cap and his coat
ollar turned up. I asked them
that they wanted, and for answer
he big man put his foot in the slight
z opened door and pushed in. Tho
lothing clerk looked pretty scared,
I guess I did too, but the Irish
ian sat down and explained the
hole trouble.
Yer amt so bad lookin',' he said,
tut yer goold'd a dead giveaway.
Where's yer layout?' I didn't under.
tand fully till he began to search
be house. Broderick's back rooms
ere a well-equipped counterfeiter's
en-, and on my hands were the acids
plaster of his trade. I never
aw either my employer or his wife
fterward, but when it comes to be-
an easy scapegoat, I think I've
OF the world beat."-Chicago Rec.
rd-Herald.