The Wisconsin tobacco reporter. (Edgerton, Wis.) 1877-1950, 1905-02-10
THE OBLONG BOX
lOriginal.1

leaving he drew $4,000 from bank and
at the paying teller's window noticed
man with squint in his eye standing
near. apparently with nothing to occu-
Ply him. Bugbee left the bank, stepped
into carriage and was driven TO the
station Walking back and forth on the
platform, he noticed the man he had
seen at the bank pass by with rail-
way employee who was wheeling an
oblOng box on a truck. The box was
placed in the baggage car, and the con-
ductOr came running forward. waving
his hands in signal for the engineer to
ing out a newspaper. began to scan its
contents. The man with the squint eye
and his box had made no especial i'm
preston ON him
Drayton Station was a low building.
one, end being used for passenger serv-
ice, the balance for freight, partition
with door dividing the two sections.
Bugbee arrived at O'clock in the even
ing and, after depositing his funds in
the safe in the station office, went to a
hotel near by for supper. There was
nothing attractive about either the
town or the hotel, and when paying the
hands 1t was his invariable custom to
| occupy the office at the station for q
| counting room.
It was II o'clock at night. The sta
| ton agent had gone home and Bugbee,
after making sure that the window
shutters were closed and the doors
locked, took the cash out of the safe
| and began to prepare it for the pay
! ment, which was to take place the next
| day He sat on high stool before the
desk in the office, which was partly
inclosed by glass windows, and he could
| look directly through the door in the
partition into the freight house. There
| was only a dim light thrown in there
| from the large kerosene lamp on the
| desk before Bugbee, though enough for
him to see among barrels, packages
! and other articles an oblong box stand
| ing on end. His eyes rested on it for
| moment, while he thought, What is
| it In my mind connected with an OBJ
] long box" He tried to remember but
! the incident at the station in the city
had slipped his memory. He turned
| his attention to the piles of bills before
him.
Half an hour later, looking up from
his work, he noticed that the Oblong
box was not in it's former position. He
blinked his eyes and looked again. Then
he rubbed them and looked once more.
Neither the blinking nor the rubbing
| revealed the box Bugbee leaned aside
and could barely distinguish it, stand
| ing in shadow about two feet from
where it had stood before. Bugbee was
| frightened, not at any threatening dan
| ger, but at himself. He was absolutely
alone In the station. The doors were
| locked and no one could get in. There
| fore the box could not have been moved
by any human hand. Either there had
come q "crick" in his brain or there
were ghosts about. He carried a pair
| of pistols at his belt and took them out
| Of their holsters and laid them on the
| desk before him.
Bugbee strained his eyes and listened,
but all was as silent and immovable as
a tomb. Then he began to doubt If he
really had seen the oblong box standing
where the light could strike it. Per.
| haps that was the cause Of the dis
| crepancy. Some mental freak. common
| enough with all persons, had caused
| him to think the box in one place when
1t was in another. He poohpoohed at his
! fears and bent again to his work
| Suddenly his heart seemed to stop
| beating. From the freight department
| had come a sound as If one of the
boxes had toppled over and fallen on
| the floor. Bugbee instinctively seized
pistol in each hand and looked to-
ward the oblong box. 1t had disap-
peared. Though he strained his eyes,
he could not discover any trace Of it.
| He listened, but there was deathlike
| stiffness.
Bugbee was not afraid of the natu-
| raj, but feared that this self move
ment of inanimate things was super
| natural. He was several minutes
| screwing up his courage to go into the
| freight department to look for the
cause. At last, taking the lamp in one
| hand and cooked revolver in the 9TH
er, he made the entry. The oblong
box was lying on the floor on its side
| behind other merchandise. Bugbee cast
frightened look around for ghosts,
then went to the box and inspected II
| closely The cover seemed TO have
| been loosely put on, for it was slightly
ajar. Bugbee, surprised. put his finger
into the crack, pulled it as far open az
| the box before it would admit and,
| holding his light near, discovered that
the oblong box contained a man.
Bugbee got the man out at the point
OF his pistol, and he confessed that he
was there to rob. The box had been
| so constructed that he could open the
: lid and step out. But, having been
placed in the light where Bugbee could
hoI Of