Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-09-16

that was the twenty-dollar bill I gave to
YOU
"A happy thought struck me. Then and
there. with both driver and woman as an
audience. / recited the case of the woman
in Philadelphia. who had made similar
complaint. And now, Mrs. Blank l said,
as l ended. 4 wonder If your case is going
to prove to be a startling coincidence?
with that she ran from my Office. say
ing that she would soon find out. In per-
haps an hour she was back again, redder of
face than before.
I'm so ashamed of myself don't know
what to say she burst out There was
only one bill In my pocketbook. but 1t was
a ten-dollar bill instead OF twenty-dollar
one. You see. my was In hurry for
some money. He couldn't find me to ask
me for It, so he took the bill. got it changed,
kept ten dollars. put the other ten back in
the book and forgot to tell me about 1t till
I began asking everybody about the. house
If any one had been at my money. Oh, I'll
never. never hand any one a bill after this
without first looking at 1t to see It's denom-
.ination.
II wish I could say that this second
woman Is the wife Of prominent lawyer:
OF the city's charitable institutions. But.
then, It was coincidence enough as II was"
A Man Who Was Honest.
Sometimes" continued the manager,
packages go astray. Perhaps the sales
Perhaps the purchaser has failed to state
that she is visiting. and to have the pack
age sent irf care of her hostess. Perhaps
the wrapper has inclosed the purchase with
another and II goes goodness knows where
About year ago certain women left
with our jewelry department., for resetting.
the solitaire diamond ring which her hus-
band had given her on the twenty-fifth an
niversary of their wedding-he had not been
able to give her such a ring when they be-
came engaged. She was told that the ring
would he delivered to her within a week;
but when eight days had passed and no
ring. she grew anxious and came in to in
Quire about II, making a special trip from
her country home. a hundred miles distant
Then the startling discovery was made that
the ring was nowhere to be found-an trace,
OF II was lost. after the wrapper. or in
spector
Il at once concluded that the wrapper had
inclosed the ring with some other purchase,
but which one of the several hundred made
on that day. l caused letters to be sent to
those persons who had purchased rings. but
their replies shed no light. l did not know
what to do except to offer to give the wom-
an the purchase price of the ring. but I
knew that such reimbursement would be
small. indeed. because of the sentimental
value of the stone. But the best way out
of very bad mess l had about decided to
send q check when an Unlocking fellow ap-
peared at the side OF my desk.
" Begging your pardon for the Interrupt
ton he said. but here's something | want
to give back to youse fellers
II took the little package and opened it
there. in its bed of plush, rested the missing
diamond!
MY business schools me to be calm, but !
sprang up to thank the man, when he burst
out ffercely:
~ tell youse. I'm honest! I've been tell
in everybody that since I got outer de
pen six months ago. but nobody'll believe
me. Amt 1 hOnest-ain't you got the d.
mond back?
! Il nodded. How'd you get ito 1 gasped.
" Me wife took bout the last dollar we
had to buy Mary our goil. piece of jew'lry
for her birthday and jest like woman. she
had 1t sent when she could have carried it
all right. all right. and when it came there
was the di' mond. And say. now, amt
honest? Amt those blokes liars? Amt
honest, even IL 1t did take two weeks to
hnd it out?' He fairly shouted the ques-
tons at me.
'Of course. the owner of the ring was
overjoyed to receive 1t intact. AS for the
man, he Is thoroughly honest-he's in my
office now. and in time will develop into an
expert tracer.
Il have a force Of ten tracers. The ease