The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1905-07-29

All IlShi- Sdil lbtlt i4iSkGn ~
for five minutes, and then it 5 your deal
| IL make it short and fast [ was born in
| New York, and in the maternity ward of
the hospital and was raised in an orphan
asylum Ny father was a machinist. He
was burned to death the day before | was
born, and my birth robbed me of my
mother When | was ten | ran away
from tile asylum and was Knocked about
the streets of the great city till | was 10.
Then | found myself messenger boy for
telegraph office, and put in three years at
a night school. One thing and another
followed When was twenty entered
a boxing contest in 4 preliminary bout to
great fight | was paid ten dollars for
the performance. My opponent made a
chopping block of me for one round Then
| became angry forgot the crowd,
forgot myself, everything except my appo-
| nent. In two more rounds | had beaten
him into insensibility. left the ring in
/ hub bub of cheering, and awoke the next
morning to find myself hungry for more.
\ man was ready 10 back me in the busi
ness. For three years followed the prize
I ring under an assumed name was very
/ successful and | made seventy thousand
/ dollars. Finally was teaten. Then |
+ tassed the misery Of defeat and was ready
for suicide \ short rest was followed by
au attack Of fever When | got out Of
T tina, took pencil aud paper aud figured.
/ found that ,,ill had fifty thousand in
I cash and fair chance of making more in
/ the riug
I But the fever had turned the edge Of
T nv fighting appetite, and | looked Al the
I facts clearly wa first class baker
I aud had won my contests by quickne~s lud
I Judgment had not the strength oi the
. genuine pu.iiist aud | now rralIEei that
. hated the calling - | invested my
money ia su-1d securities sn ,ny osn name
and Ben Budd ia private lite ha, rwoyei
hi, muls7l income ever since
( Ii you will consider ny proposal q mar
risse viii make any settlement ou my
. vile tha, your prudence 5, business man
may di,taie
Mr. Blake was ,ileu' tuT a moment He
. almost said Yes to Baid frank statement
. bus 10 hls heart there VA jealousy 1t
. tbi> bright, iudePsnlrn, youugs,rr. and be
( shui hi, teeth IA = decided ~.
. Very wcn. .AiI Ben apparently PER
ie,tly >slrshcd
Il will come to yna one year from to-
day. aud be walked uul Of Mr. Blake :
Z prr~cuo..
For three mouth, he wa- M; -ern or
heard 0f ia Sehou,e. He disappeared a.
= complclcl, a. Il he had jumped into the
has through Biakcs trap door The
T~rlyc dad it. t-,ss - o'uylasc Madeline
that h., woald rrtaru. and al Sehou4e hes
,,ais-l net nsamrut To shas Mr Blake
. a. dissatisfaction with The situation The
,ilyrr-mi,h told hs, daughter aniy thai be
bad refused B-u PRAYER Tor heV haul IN
aarriasr aud that Bea would return lu
wear Madeleine wsls,,u..-i thi- last
,iIsn2 Il iuy aud shut her heart 10 the
woglj leklnc il wth a tIur lJck ,et 70
shc iass DAY oi Beu >elt imposed year ot
-ilcByys
Budi left Sehulue wilh oaly regrets bs-
hind him lie boarded San Francesca
Steamer late at n3.ht, whrn the Sshame
du1k was deserted and the purseT was
u.,tse the wiser that he wvut 10 San Fran
cls,so under the uamc u Andsew Smith.
Bra spent month At hard thinking IN
San Franetssas. then a month learning to
ulAkc silver dollar, Al the mint At tAr~on
Gay. and then a month With camp Of
smuggicr, IN SmuSslyrs Cove miles acFusSs
Bellagham Bay from Sehomr Tweaty out
oi the thIrty nights ot has sgAy With she
,lnusglrrs he ruwcd seEOSs the has IN
( lishl buat, after dark aal alone. made ias,
. 10 the piing under Blake sgurr and lay
+ down in the bo;lom Of the boa, wrapped
+ In a tarpaulin Ou the iwcniirth nlgAt he
vas rewarded by -sciug that which be had
suspected, bat hal NOT darsl to believe.
Ga the next night Blake store was
entered by burglar, who stole nothing,
but who left plain tracks behind him, The
I following day Ben Buid stepped OF the
\ Idaho At the Sehonc dock, aud all Sehome
threw it. cap into the sir aud yelled
Ben Buid has come home
Ben resumed his old place in the life
I Of Sehome, and the town waited confident
that surprise WI, in store to reward their
patience.
Meantime Mr.. Blake took extraordinary
protective measures against burglars. He
placed 4 gong in box under his sign,
high over the door. and attached an elab-
orately wired burglar alarm thereto. The
night policeman who patrollcl the main
street Of Sehome WAS warned 70 be p'ady
to answer any summons Of the gong.
4 few weeks later Ben entered Mr.
Blake store late on an evening when the
proprietor had been working in secrecy
Ben asked tor change in silver for ten
dollar banknOte Mr. Blake opened his
small safe and handed Budd ten bright
clean silver dollars. While Mr. Blake
was locking the safe Budd cut a wire with
a pair of pincers aud Mr. Blake burglar
alarm was useless.
The next morning, when Mr. Blake
f. opened his store, there were unmlStakable
signs of another burglary \ test showed
that the alarm was in perfect condition.
Mr. Blake was puzzled and angry. As
before, the burglar had apparently taken
nothing.
Iu his apartments that morning sat Ben
Budd, planning his wedding trip In his
eyes was the glow Of victory. Before
him ON his desk lay ten silver dollars,
clean bright perfect United States coins
of the mintage OF 1873. In the figure
eight of each one was tiny mark, visible
only to magnitying glass. 1t lacked a
week of the completion Of Ben ; year, and
he locked the dollars away ill then for to
him they were the price necessary TO Pur-
chase Mr.. Blake's consent
Mr.. Blake had suddenly become nervous.
He employed watchman, who remained
by the store all night When the town
began asking why Blake had so suddenly
become frightened of burglars the only
satisfactory reply was that as the silver
smith was getting along in years he could
i'll afford to lose any Of his stock, which,
though small, was his only dependence in
life Ben Budd had 70 theories to ex-
press concerning the latest move, although
Tho Twalya ioEinolv told him that his