Aberdeen herald. [volume] (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.) 1886-1917, 1905-10-26

hand opened the paneling at the side
Il small but apparently deep and SILL
premely strong safe. inserting couple
of keys. he manipulated them until
the locks yielded and the stout door
swung open. The safe was packed
with little bags of gold, parcels OF
notes and bundles of negotiable securl-
ties. The latter papers represented
John Breen's capitalists fathers leg
acy to hlm-the notes and gold the in
terest. less his trifiing expenses. OF
nearly thirty years. The investments
were as safe as the nations credit, and
the owner had never sought to alter
them for others bringing larger re-
turn. The stream of gold from theEl
may not have satisfied him with Its
bulk, but at least it was steady, and
he loved to mark on a calendar the
days on which he would present his
coupons with the certainty Of receiv-
ing the value printed thereon.
This very day he had collected the
interest represented by certain cou
rons, and now he brought from his
breast dark soft leather bag and
poured the tinklng contents on the
table-t125
He began to count the sOvereignS
but somehow when he came to twenty
seven he could not proceed.
He tried again, with the same result
His head ached more than ever, but
he made another attempt-and failed
81 wish the kettle would boil" he
sighed, laying back YEARLY. "a. cur
of tea will put me right"
But when the kettle boiled at last lii
paid no attention. The throbbing
which for some minutes had been al
most unbearable, had abruptly ceased
and sense of peace had descended
upon John Breen.
His eyes closed, lie lay unconscious
his hard fea lures wonderfully soften
cd Strangely enough he dressed well
and as he lay there In the poor light
OF the candle and the increasing glow
Of the fire, which failed to make c!eaI
surroundings, he might have beer
taken fer a well-to-d do and rather hand
some elderly gentleman enjoying q
nap.
The kettle was dry and ruined, tho
fire was almost out. and the candle
was within an inch of It's socket wher
john Breen came back to life again
He sat up feebly and looked curiousl,
about him.
He felt no pain. but he was greatly
puzzled. An expression of DISCUS
dawned upon his face when his eye,
caught sight Of the bread and cheese
but being desperately hungry he cut 6
piece of the former and ate portion
He was chilly. too, and felt craving
for hot food.
Then he beheld his wealth. He begar
to tremble violently and tears rollet
down his cheeks.
Awe stricken, he whispered to him
self. And l might have died tonight
might have died. and no one, no
even myself, have been tho better FOL
my having lived"
He took the notes. the bags of goly
and the documents from the safe, lait
them in n heap at his feet, and begal
to reckon his future. 1t was easil,
done. for each bag was stamped will
1900" while each bundle Of securltie'
had a slip of paper attached bearing
its approximate value. Besides. be
found no difficulty in counting now.
The grand total came to few hun
dreds and odd over eighty Thousand
pounds
II must leave this accused house a
once" he said suddenly II must lost
TO time. or ! may be too late"
Within an hour he left the house II
cab with couple OF ancient port
manteaus In his pocket he carried $
! letter addressed to his charwoman ant
| containing instructions for her no: t,
| call until notified to do so. which h,
intended to post at the first opportu
| nifty The letter also contained ten {.
notes
1t was past midnight when he reach
| ed the large hotel In northumberland
avenue-the name of which had some
how occurred to him as he steppet
into the cab--but he managed TO &c
fairly good supper before retiring
He slept little. for he had many plan!
| to make for the morrow. Still, h,
arose in the morning with nothing
worse than feeling of tiredncss
which. however, seemed to affect hi
memory rather strangely For IN
| stance. he could not remember wher,
| he had come from the previous night
and as the day wore on he was occa
sionally perplexed regarding othe
matters of the past. The bunch o
complicated keys In his pocket puzzled
him. and when he happened upon thu
doctors prescription in another pocket
| he could not recollect the visit to tn,
| physician. Most of all. the revolVe
In his hip pocket troubled him. FL
did not know what To do with 1t, ant
he was afraid to unload It lest 1t dis
| charge. For the time he decided t.
| lock it in a drawer In his bedroom.
He spent the forenoon in studyin.
the newspapers. and in the afternoon
he paid a visit TO the poorest quarter
Of the East End returning. with
white and troubled face, to play witt
| his dinner and TO spend the evening