The Union times. [volume] (Union, S.C.) 1894-1918, 1904-01-22

S"h oF THE INFECTED ROBBER
(CoNTINuED).
| "a BOUT o'clock in the follow
"a Ing afternoon Donald came to
4 u me as l sat alone in nv work.
| room at the Office.
| uncle John," said, he, .I have do.
clded to make startling and terrible
looi OF myself once and for all and
ha"eit over with. II do, you'll for.
give me, won't you? wish you'd give
me permission to do any Idiotic thing
| that comes into my mind. It's better
than getting drunk, rs some fellows at
college do, and running around with
all kinds Of people, but their parents
forgive them"
told him thet it would indeed be a
startling and terrible thing which could
make him any less my boy than he had
always been
"Then it's all settled" said he, "and
here goesm
lie strobe up to safe that was in
the room, small safe compared to
those in the outer office, yet Of a new
style and very strong.
I'm that SAFE" said he "here are
two packages Of money. They are in
brown paper, with rubber band, around
them. One Of them is not iuite so
thick as pack Of cards. and tie other
is thicker than two packs. Tie larger
one is on top"
The larger one is on top?" repeat
ed. "how do you know that?'
II know 1t, uncle" he replied. '"That's
all can say"
1T is important in such .natters as
this,' said l. Ito distinguish between
the knowledge that can come from
Of nature. 1t Is the latter class which
Is deepest down in this realm Of mys-
terry. Now. l know that there are two
such packages as you describe in that
safe, but II you know which Of them is
on top you must have got your infor,
nation direct, without the interposi-
tion Of another mind, for only one hui
man being besides yourself ever knew,
and lie has forgotten. In fact. I'm not
sure that l could have told you the
next instant after had put them there
l don't believe that my mind took any
cognizance of the relative position"
Lets have look at them," said he
eagerly. IF should be wrong
He did not finish the sentence, but
could See that he felt the invariable Joy
Of the true psychic In any suggestion or
prospect Of failure. Meanwhile l was
opening the safe. 1t contained moth
ing except a few documents of mine
and the money. We had intended to
use it for some books of the Tunbridge
branch. little Independent railroad
which connects our town with the
trunk line, but an unexpected and
somewhat mysterious opposition had
arisen among the executive officers of
this insignificant corporation, and SO
the headquarters remained at the juno.
ton. In the forthcoming annual meet
ing this would all be rectified, as we
controlled q majority Of the stock.
I swung open the outer doors and
then unlocked the inner ones and my
private drawer, in which lay the pack
! ages, the larger Of them on top. l rails
| ed them with my finger sufficiently fol
Donald to see and then dropped then
slow and rather solemn fashion.
Does anybody else know they're
there" he asked.
"Your father" said l, adding, with 8
smile: But he didn't know how they
lay or even that they were in my pri
vate drawer. He had the combination
of the safe, but have oil the keys o,
the drawers and of the inner doors.".
"The larger package" said Donal(
In a monotonous tone, as If he were re
peating q lesson. contains $50, 900; tn,
smaller contains $4,000. The bills ar,
Of many denominations. 1 don't know
why"
"The money came from severa
sources" said I. ut Is to be used II
payment for part Of what is known a
the Hackett interest. Mr.. Hackett wa
my partner. who died many years ago
He left considerable part of his inter
est to an aunt, whose children hav
since inherited II. 1t Is her oldest sol
whom we are going to buy out. o
course. we can pay him by check, bu
for certain reasons we wanted to hav
good supply Of legal tender on hand
That's Mr.. William Hackett, ism
itT asked Donald. II remember Gee
ing him here last winter when was a
home. He's the man with the red face
red whiskers, red hair-everything red