The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1904-11-08
His Mysterious Friend
[original.l

t.H NaU.aEE .HN.-a .HaH l.
When Eliot Kirkland informed me Of
his engagement to Flora Stenhouse I
felt a great deal Of sympathy for him
that l did not express. Neither he nor
Flora had a penny in the world, and
l looked forward to a period in their
lives when, the romance having worn
away, they would find themselves in a
hard, unideal struggle. However, they
were typical lovers, sitting up till near
morning cooling and when parted spend
ing all their spare time writing letters
to each other. Eliot was u capable fell
low, but opportunity did not seem to
come to him, and he didn't possess the
faculty Of making opportunity.
For a few months the couple were
entirely taken up with the novelty Of
being engaged. Then the fact that
they We're lot and not likely to be in
a position to be married began to pail
on them-that is, Eliot became de-
spondent, while Flora fought her own
battle with the grim outlook in silence
besides bolstering her lover. Eliot was
at work on a salary of 500 a year,
without any prospect Of promotion.
Flora, realizing that her marriage was
far in the distance, secured a position
as teacher.
One day Eliot came to me in a wild
state Of excitement with q letter he
had just received. ''Lookn' he said, all
in a-quiver. I read the letter, type
written on IN engraved business letter
head of a railroad company:
Eliot Kirkland, Esq.
Dear Sir-You are appointed to the po-
sition of assistant auditor of this road
with a salary of 81, 800 a year. Please
state at your earliest convenience wheth-
er you accept. Yours truly,
F. B. B., Secretary.
"Well," l said, looking up amazed,
where does the appointment come
from? To whom are you indebted for
itY'
''That's the conundrum,'' he replied.
Its us much a surprise to me as to
you"
I questioned him with a view to help
ing him find a clew as to who had be-
friended him, but he. seemed to know
no one connected with the road, and I
advised him when he replied to- the let
ter to ask the question of his, CORE
spondent. He did so, but received no
reply to his question. The general Of
fee of the road was in the east, and he
babe me goodby to- go and enter upon
his duties, leaving the cause of his ap-
pointment still unexplained. On his ar
rival he wrote me that it had been
made during a meeting of thed directors
and that was all hat was known about
the matter.
Five years passed. Eliot Kirkland
and Flora Stenhouse had been married,
and 1, having occasion to make a trip
to the east, visited them at their home,
a beautiful place in the suburbs. They
had little children and were leading
very happy lives. Indeed, my forecast
of what they would experience had
been nullified in every respect. Eliot
had been promoted within six months
after his entry into the company's
service to a higher position, and later
the chief auditor was depcsed and
Eliot put in his place. I asked him IL
he considered that his ability to dis
charge his duties had anything to do
with his good fortune, and he said that
he did not. In the different positions he
had accepted he had always been fur
nished with a fright hand man. who
knew more about his duties than he
did himself.
At the time of my visit Eliot was re-
ceiving $4,000 a year. He was no
nearer to q knowledge Of the cause of
his good fortune than when he re-
ceived his first appointment. Indeed,
the mystery thickened, as did his adj
vantages, for one morning on going to
his Office he found on his desk a type
written, unsigned note advising him to
buy the stock Of the road at a given
figure and sell it at another given fig
ure. He did not take advantage of the
tip, but watched the sale of the stock,
which fulfilled the conditions, and
when more notes to the same purpose
were left with him he followed their
suggestions. In this way he became
Independently rich.
One day the managing director and
virtual owner of the road died. A few
months later, when his estate was be-
ing settled, a paragraph appeared in a
newspaper stating that his real estate
had all been decided in a different name
from the n by which he was known.
Then it leaked out that he had been
a large operator in his younger days,
had become involved and his methods
had landed him in prison. Eliot wrote
me of this, and l replied asking him
II he could not in some way connect
this singular development with his
good fortune, but before my letter
reached him 1 received from him a full
explanation.
In his youth Eliot had lived In the
country near a state prison. One day
a man cuddonlv oppoorod Of hio hopon