Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1905-03-10
DAILY SHORT STORY
AN EXCHANGE OF BAGS.

! The exchange was made, however and
so exactly alike We're the bags that !
supposed I had my own until l foAnd
that my key would not open it. / ad-
vertised for the owner of the strange
bag and for the holder of my own, and
let six weeks elapse before taking the
bag TO a locksmith and having him lit a
key.
1 had met with no great loss in my
! bag, and ] gained nothing by the ex-
! change. Aside from a few articles OF
! wearing apparel the strange bag con-
! tanned only papers. 1 felt for a time
that L had no right to read these docu-
| ments, and they had been in my pos
session nearly six months before 1
brought them out one evening and
| spent two hours in their perusal.
was an old bachelor, and am to this
| day for that matter / was also a bar
| rister and am not so old but what
dabble in law a bit yet. The papers
were carefully prepared legal docu-
| ments bearing on the case Of Major
! Saunders an English army officer who
| had been cashiered in Egypt. They
| proved him great scoundrel, taken
| altogether, and my opinion was that
some one with a private grievance to
satisfy had employed n lawyer and a
detective 10 trace the majors record
back for many years and make him
out as guilty of almost everything but
murder. l could not recall that l had
ever read or heard of him and certain
~ had no idea of ever meeting him
face TO face Strange things happen in
| this world. however.
On the second afternoon after my
perusal of the papers l was invited by
a friend to dine with him at his club.
The Leisure Hour club was TeSpecta-
Die in q way, but had the reputation
of numbering Il good many high rollers
among its members There was al
ways play going on, and it was so high
that more than one man had come to
financial grief. After dinner | was
taken into the card room. and it was
there that l came face to face with Ma
jor Saunders. He had come home from
Egypt and changed his name and by
avoiding the military clubs had escap-
ed recognition. Indeed, he was posing
as a Frenchman and making no claim
to having been an officer.
You will wonder how l recognized
him. Sly profession has made me as
observing as n detective. The papers
contained a minute description of the
man-as minute as if he had been a
murderer fleeing from justice. One of
the points was particular scar on his
face another was the shape of his nose,
another was a slight limp i'll his gait,
still another was a finger missing from
1
let OF a derviSh.
Before making any move in the mat
ter l set myself to find out why the
major visited the club at all. 1 soon
discovered that the high play was the
magnet and the three of us who
watched him like so many hawks were
not long in making out that he was one
Of the cleverest card sharperS of the
day. He had been a winner from the
first. but was such n slick one that he
had not been detected in cheating. We
made no mistake on him. Not a wills
per was permitted to get around until
we had the most convincing proof that
he was a cheat and a swindler.
How he got OH to me and the fact
that l had papers in my possession in
eliminating him is n greater mystery
than the exchange of bags. l have
sometimes figured that he might have
been the owner of the bag l opened.
having perhaps stolen it from the right
ful owner. Something must have been
said i'm his hearing 10y some member of
the club, as he never asked me con-
corning the bags. Indeed. l had not
passed ten words of conversation with
him. In some way that will never be
clear to me he came TO know or to
suspect that l had the papers and had
or might recognize him, and he laid
his plans accordingly. l had my office
IT that time in Il street off the Strand.
1t was up four flights and in the rear
and quite cut off from any other build
ing.
l can't say that 1 expected a call
from the major. l cannot even say
that | was sure he knew what whip |
l held over him and was prepared for
any move on his part. If / had figured |
on his making any move at all it would |
have been to drop out of sight and be |
heard of in the club no more. Perhaps |
this would have been his course had |
not the pickings been so good and had |
he not been so sure that his rascalities |
were too deeply concealed to be ex- |
posed
1t was one dark and foggy February |
day that he appeared in my chambers /
with the excuse that he wished to con- |
suit NE on legal matter. He stated /
theoretical case with great fiuency and /
many details. and his friendly demean-
or in time threw me off my guard. At |
least had he come in any other manner
| should have been more or less pre-
pared for the move he finally made.
We were talking in a quiet, confiden-
tial way, as lawyer and client may.
and he sat facing me and not over four
feet away when he suddenly drew a
knife and sprang at me- What did in
defense was pure instinct 1 was a
pretty strong man then, paying consid-
cradle attention to athletics, and as
rose up caught him by the wrist OF