Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1906-12-15

he simply did not show up at the
usual hour. This was week or two
ago. Jones, having liking for the
man, who was an excellent waiter,
sent messenger to his lodging house
to see if he were i'll. But he had left
his lodgings with as little ceremony
as he had left the caterer.
"This, under ordinary circum-
stances, would have ended the bust.
ness, but there being some great func-
ton in prospect, Jones did not feel
| like losing so good man without
making an effort to recover him, so
he looked up his references in the
| hope of obtaining some clue to his
present whereabouts.
"He kept all such matters In a spe.
cial book and expected to have no
trouble in finding the mans name.
James Wellgood, or that of his former
employer. But when he came to con-
suit this book, he was astonished to
| find that nothing was recorded against
| this mans name but the date of his
first employment-Mar Is.
"Had he hired him without a recon-
mendation? He would not be likely
to, yet the page was clear of all ref
erence; only the name and the date.
But the date! You have already not
ed it's significance, and later he did,
too The day of the Ramsdell ball!
The day of the great murder! AS he
recalled the incidents of that day he
understood why the record of Well
goods name was unaccompanied by
the usual reference. 1t had been a
difficult day all round. The function
was an important one, and the wealth
er bad. There was, BESIDES an I'M
usual shortage in his number of assist
ants. Two men had that very morn
ing beeen laid up with sickness, and
when this able-lookinlg, self-confident
Wellgood presented himslf for i'm
mediate employment, he took him out
Of hand with the merest glance at
what looked like very satisfactory
look up this reference, which he had
been careful to preserve by sticking
it, along with other papers, on his
spike-file. But in the distractions fol
lowing the untoward events Of the
evening, he had neglected to do so
feeling perfectly satisfied with the
mans work and general behavior,
Now it was different thing. The
man had left him summarily, and he
felt impelled to hunt up the person
who had recommended him and see
whether this was the first time that
Well,good had repaid good treatment
with bad. Running through the pa
pers with which his file was now full
he found that the one he sought was
not there. This reused him in good
earnest, for he was certain that he
had not removed it himself and there
was no one else who had the right to
do so. He suspected the culprit,-a
young lad who occasionally had access
to his desk. But this boy was no long
er in the Office. He had dismissed
him for some petty fault the previous
week, and it took him several days to
find him again. Meantime his anger
grew and when he finally came face
to face with the lad, he accused him
of the suspected trick with so much
vehemence that the inevitable hap
pened, and the boy confessed. This is
what he acknowledged. He had taken
the reference off the file, but only to
give 1t to Wellgood himself, who had
offered him money for it. When asked
how much money, the boy admitted
that the sum was ten dollars,-an ex.
traordinary amount from a poor man
for so simple a service, II the man
merely wished to secure his reference
for future use; so extraordinary that
Mr.. Jones grew more and more per.
tinent In his inquiries, eliciting finally
what he surely could not have hoped
for in the beginning,-the exact ad-
dress of the party referred to in the
paper he had stolen, and which, for
some reason, the boy remembered. 1t
was an uptown address, and, as soon
as the caterer could leave his bust.
ness, he took the elevated and pro.
ceeded to the specified street and mum.
Der.
Miss Van Arsdale, surprise await
ed him, and awaited us when he told
the result of his search. The name
attached to the recommendation had
been Hiram Sears, Steward He
did not know of any such man-per-
haps you debut when he reached
the house from which the recommen.
dation was dataed, he saw that it was
one or the great houses OF New York,
though he could not at the instant re-
member who lived there But he soon
found out. The first passer-by told
him. Miss Van Arsdale, perhaps you
can do the same. The number was
- Eighty-sixth Street."
y" 1 repeated, quite aghast.
why, Mr.. Fairbrother himself! The
husband Of"
"Exastly so, and Hiram Sears,
whose name you may have heard
mentioned at the inquest, though for
a very good reason he was not there
in person, is his steward and general
factotum."
ooh! and 1t was he who recon-
mended Wellgood?"
Eyes"
"And did Mr.. Jones see him
mo. The house, you remember is
closed. Mr.. Fairbrother, on leaving
town, gave his servants a vacation.
His steward he took with him,-that
is, they started together. But we hear
no mention made of him in our tele-