News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1906-01-10
RAFFLES,
The Amateur
CraCkSman.


again by accident. Can't you see?
simply dare not show my nose out c
doors-by day. You have no idea @
the number of perfectly innocen
things a dead man daren't do. | can
even smoke Sullivans, because no on
man was ever so partial to them as
was in my lifetime, and you neve
know when you may start clew."
"What brought you to these man
slonS?"
81 fancied a flat, and a man recon
mended these on the boat. Such
good chap, Bunny! He was my refer
ence when it came to signing the lease
You see, l landed on a stretcher-mos
pathetic case; old Australian withou
a friend in old country; ordered Enga
dine as last chance; no go; not ar
earthly; sentimental wish to die in
London-that's the history of Mr.. Ma
turin. If it doesn't hit you hard, Bun,
ny, you're the first. But it hit friend
Iheobald hardest of all. I'm an in
come to him. believe he's going to
marry on me-"
docs he guess there's nothing
wrong"
KNOWS, bless you! But he doesn't
know l know he knows, and there
isn't disease in the dictionary that he
hasn't treated me for since he's had
me in hand. To do him justice, be-
lieve he thinks me a hypochondrac of
the first water, but that young man
will go far if he keeps Oh the wicket.
He has spent half his nights up here at
guineas apiece"
"Guineas must be plentiful, old
chap!'
"They have been, Bunny. l can't
say more. But l don't see why they
shouldn't be again"
l was not going to inquire where the
guineas came from. AS if l cared!
But did ask old Raffies how in the
world he had got upon my tracks, and
thereby drew the sort of smile with
which old gentlemen rub their hands
and old ladies nod their noses. Raj
fes merely produced a perfect oval Of
blue smoke before replying.
II was waiting for you to ask that
Bunny. It's long time since l did
anything upon which l plume myself
more. OF course in the first place l
spotted you at once by these prison
articles. They were not signed, but
the fist was the fist of my sitting rab-
bitr'
But who gave you my addressW
81 wheedled it out Of your excellent
editor. Called on him at dead of night,
when l occasionally go afield like 9th
err ghosts, and wept it out of him in
five minutes. l was your only relative.
Your name was not your own name.
If he Insisted | would give him mine.
He didn't insist Bunny, and l danced
down his stairs with your address in
my pocket"
Last night?"
NO. last week"
"And so the advertisement was yours
as well as the telegram"
l had Of course forgotten both in the
high excitement of the hour OF l should
scarcely have announced my belated
discovery with such an air. AS it was,
1 made Rallies look at me as | had
known him to look before, and the
droop of his eyelids began to sting.
"Why all this subtlety?" l petulantly |
exclaimed "Why couldn't you come |
straightaway to me in cab?''
He did not inform me that / was
hopeless as ever. He did not address
re as his good rabbit He was silent !
for time, and then spoke in a tone |
which made me ashamed of mine.
"You see, there are two or three of |
me now, Bunny. Ones at the bottom |
of the Mediterranean and ones an old |
Australian DESTROYS of dying in the |
old country, but in no immediate dan |
ger of dying anywhere. The old Aus |
tralian didn't know a soul in town. |
He's got to be consistent or he's done. |
This sitter Theobald is his only friend |
and has seen rather too much of him. |
Ordinary dust won't do for his eyes. |
Begin to see? To pick you out of
crowd, that was the game; to let old |
Theobald help to pick you, better still! |
To start with, he was dead against my |
having anybody at all; wanted me all |
to himself, naturally, but anything rath-
er than kill the goose! So he is to have
q flyer a week while he keeps me alive
and he's going to be married next |
month. That's a pity in some ways, |
but a good thing in others. He will !
want more money than he fore5ees,
and he may always be of use to us in
a pinch. Meanwhile he eats out of my |
hand"
! complimented Rallies on the mere
composition of his telegram, with half
the characteristics of my distinguished
kinsman squeezed into dozen odd
words, and let him know how the old
ruffian had really treated me. Raffies
was not surprised; we had dined to-
gether at my relatives in the old days
and filed for reference a professional
valuation of his household gods. / now
learned that the telegram had been
posted, with the hour marked for its
dispatch, at the pillar nearest We're
street, on the night before the adver-
tisement was due to appear in the
III L. IL 10 4