Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1906-10-17

you bread and water three times .
day. and at night you shall have a
mattress to rest on. Three days hence
l shall appear again. There is no hur-
ry about this thing. After my next
appearance the price of your liberty
will be added to at the rate OF f100 per
day. You can afford to pay. and can
AFFORD to wait"
1t was 2 o'clock In the afternoon
when the Hon. Charles Bingham was
left alone I'm the garnet room. He did
not waste his energies by crying out
or tramping round. He did not look up
at the skylight except at long intervals.
The American was no fool. He had
taken his precautions before bringing
a prisoner to the house. At o'clock
the man Thomas came in. One look
at him was sufficient to prove that he
was loyal to his master He had
frank and honest face, but he also had
a keen eye and was stoutly built. He
brought bread and water. He was re-
spectful in his demeanor.
"Sorry for your poor fare, your hon
or" he observed, but 1t only depends
on you TO get better. The evening pa
pers may help you on a bit I'll bring
In the mattress later Also candle"
"A faithful servant is a jewel of rare
value" replied the captive as he ate
and drank and seemed very much at
home.
Later on the mattress and n light
were brought in, but not another word
was spoken. The Hon. Charles was
not man who jumped at conclu-
sions. That $4,000 could be paid with
out feeling the loss, but he wanted TO
think things over a bit Was he worth
the ransom money to himself or the
public? Was the American prepared
to proceed to eXtremities in case he
did not get his money? The Hon.
Charles held that the London detective
was the sharpest man on earth. The
great man would be missed and Il hue
and cry raised, Would the sleuths
strike the trail and follow it up?
The room was rather warm that
night, it being summer, but the cap
tive managed TO put in a very comfort
able night He was up and ready To
bow TO Thomas when the bread and
water and morning papers We're
brought in, and he was in fairly good
spirits at the end of the third day,
when the explorer called for his an
swer 1t was not ready for him. on
the contrary, the captive pleasantly
observed:
you see, my dear sir this expert
ence is so unusual with me that must
have a little more time to think it over.
At the end of another three days /
shall doubtless be prepared to give you
definite answer"
He was told that the three days
would add 1900 to his ransom, but
there was no argument over that. His
captor retired, the same food and old
mattress were brought in, and as the
ed out for a rest He was falling
asleep when he heard the skylight soft
y raised Then he caught sight of
head and heard voice asking:
us there anybody down there?"
"Only me-" answered the honorable
as he realized that the voice belonged
to young girl.
"Are you rich or poor, old or young?"
81 am fairly rich, and | am man
seventy years old"
"That won't do" said the girl. 81
am an orphan, living with my aunt
in this row, ten doors below. If | am
to rescue anybody, he must be young
and rich and ready to marry me. the
same as il is i'm the books I'm sorry
for you. but must say good night"
"But hold on a minute" called the
captive Il can't turn myself into a
young man, but | can give some nice
young man money to marry you on.
That will amount to the same thing.
won't it,"
why, yes; suppose so. Will you
give f5?"
"Yes-a hundred"
The girl ran away without another
word but fifteen minutes later she
dropped a rope down the opening, with
one end made fast to a chimney, and
the captive soon stood beside her. He
found her girl of only thirteen. but
he lowered her literally. He did not
go to the police, but straight home
He did not seek the arrest of the eX-
plorer. but wrote him a polite note to
say that. owing TO unforeseen circum-
stances. it would be impossible to
make any further appointments with
him regarding the Nile relics.
Curious Customs.