Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1906-01-04
DAILY SHORT STORY
A STRICTLY HONEST MAN.


Copyright 1905. by Mcclure. Phillips & Col
When Joseph Hike inherited the tai
dying injunction: BE honest. Hon
esty will always win in the end"
One day a stranger entered the place
to dispose of file overcoat Had he
said that he had stolen it from Il pub
lie reading room half an hour before
he could have made no sale of it. What
he said was that he was hard up and
wanted to get out of town, and Joseph
Hike offered him one-fifth the value OF
the garment to help him along. His
father had helped many a man in that
way. and he proposed to follow in the
same path. His offer was accepted
and the garment left. 1t needed a bit
of repairing. and Joseph sat down to the
work with his own needle. While do
ing his work he discovered a package
concealed in the lining. and on investi-
eating he hauled forth ten new 500
bills.
That seemed lucky find for Mr..
Hike Ii looked like bread on the wa
tiers. He had been honest, and here
was mis- reward. 1t was not all the re-
ward he expected before he got
through business, but it would do for
a starter. His first thought. as wonld
have been the case with any young man.
was to walk out and take tiier on the
races and end the day with cham
payne dinner. He had even put Oh his
coat to do so when he paused and said
to himself:
NO, / cannot do it. This money is
not mine. Very likely the man who
sold the coat was simply testing my
honesty. If he did not know the mon
ey was there some one else did. and it
would be like stealing to take it. i will
lay it aside and try to find the owner"
Mr. Hike advertised in daily paper
that ne had found a certain sum of
money which the owner could have by
proving property, and so forth, and he
thus cleared himself of the law. He
also wrote out a sign and hung it up
in his shop. No one appeared to claim
tire money. though on several occasions
during the next thirty days Mr.. Hike
took quick skip for the back room
under the impression that caller was
the man who sold him the coat.
He need not have been alarmed. The
seller of the coat had been sent 10
prison for year for felonious assault
and was therefore safely out of the
way.
AS to any other owners of the coat,
they did not seem IS have learned of
their loss. though the weather was I'M
usually cold that winter. True, a de-
tective came moseying around the shop
and described Il stolen coat and asked
Mr. Hike if il had been offered for sale.
"Sir, 1 am an honest man." was the
reply
But the coat might have been offer
ed here"
1T might have been. and. now l
think of it, believe it was. l think
redheaded man who wanted to raise So
to help bury his mother offered the
coat"
And you bought it?"
Bought Il stolen overcoat? How lit
tie you know Joseph Hike, merchant
tailor and honest man! | of course
questioned him sharply, and his sus-
piciouS answers caused me to threaten
his arrest
I'M said the detective as he saun-
tered out.
When the lawyer who bought his
clothes at the tailor shop and got a
slight discount for legal advice as need
ed told Joseph that he had complied
with the law and that the money was
now his there was no sudden ebullition
of spirits. MIR. Hike had been thinking
things over and had planned just how
to use the money. There were TO he
three or four sales of goods in his line
at Il certain date, and when that date
arrived he divided his money with
three men, and the sales were attended
and the money invested. AS an honest
man Joseph had laid that money out
to make it return three or four fold.
Two days had passed. and lie was
and arranging his pur-
chases when an officer entered and ar
rested him. The charge was passing
money. and the tailor was
informed that his, confederates were
already in quod and had squealed.
But my dear sir. there is some mis-
take about this-some dreadful mis-
take. l am Joseph Hike"
Right you are
II am a merchant tailor and an hon. |
est man. My father died only three |
months ago. and before he closed his |
eyes he told me never to forget that |
honesty was the best policy
1t was the United States which had |
Mr.. Hike and his agents in its claw.
and the United States wanted to know |
all about it. 1t wanted to know where
The plates and the plant We're. and it |
was not satisfied until its officers had
turned the merchant tailor shop wrong
side out in their search for the articles
1t was not satisfied even then. 1t
wanted some kind of a story, and Mr.