The San Francisco call., 1905-08-20

and titles in the Office 1t must be the
newcomers intention to buy land. Anoth-
81 noticeable phase Of the strangers
stay was the fact that Briz shaved and
put on a clean shirt every morning.
Soon it was made known that the visitor,
Colonel Bloodgood Hickerson, was going
to give five hundred dollars toward the
building Of a new church. Then every
body was inclined TO bow down before
Briz. The postmaster said to him: You
have always been one Of our most pro-
gressive citizens"
Il know all that" Briz answered, but
] haven't always been appreciated. After
this I guess / will be. l am going to
build me new house and live like a
white man"
''Ah. congratulate you" said the post
master. But tell me how you managed
TO get that rich man interested in this
neighborhood."
why, he had heard Of. me-wrote to
me and I made an appointment to meet
him here and he came. Oh. you fellers
have always thought that nobody outside
the county ever heard of me- and
have had TO bear with it, but times have
changed.
Three days later Colonel Bloodgood
Hickerson took his leave, having set
tied upon the exact spot for the new
church Two more days passed and then,
one afternoon, Briz called on old Lmuel.
JuCklin was doing beneath a tree in the
yard. He got UP from his bench and in
Nited Brig TO sit down.
Il cughtn't TO sit but to lie down and
never git up said Briz.
why, what's the trouble?"
Lin, I'm ruined"
You don't tell me-"
Ruined, Linn
But how?''
I mortgaged everything 1 had for
$4,000 and gave the money to-to that
internal scoundrel. Hickerson." He
sat down with Il groan.
why did you Go it?" Linn inquired
Because he showed me how 1 could
be the richest man not only in the
county, but in the State. / am ashamed
TO tell you how it happened. 1 can't
understand how Il was that ] could
have been such fool. He told me he
had at one time brother in the money
printing department in Washington.
One night robbers broke in and stole
the plates they print the big money on
That is, such was the report. But the
fact is thLt Hickerson's brother got
the plates. He did 1t because the Gov
ernment owed his father for depreda-
lions committed by soldiers durin' the
war, and he was determined that the
oebL Siipuiu De palu- QOn know all
the persuasion this feller Hickerson
used on me. lie said that my home and
al my prospects had been injured by
the war and that IL was no more than
right that / should be rewarded He
needed $4,000 to buy a press-had
money enough of his own, but il was
invested II don't know how it was,
but he got my money"
BriZ, l know how il was He got
your money because you want honest.
You are 3ust much thief a. he is
You shan't talk TO me that wayr'
Sit down. said Linn. IF the worst
comes to the worst / can thrash you
You know that well enough. so you
ought TO find yourself in a position to
discuss the truth quietly. He touched
you up with 4 desire to get rich You
didn't take into account that you were
sittin' OLD and can't in nature live but
a few years longer. In your resent
mcnt against the fact that you had to
work you shut your eyes to one of the
worst forms of dishonesty. the name
bein' counterfeitin'. If there's a man
that can't afford to be dishonest II is
the old man. It's bad enough with
the youngster. but much worse i'm the
aged. OF course I am sorry you lost
your money. but somehow 1 can't wet
my eyes with sympathy
But the man that got it is a thiefr'
Briz declared.
"Yes, undoubtedly, and a better thief