Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1906-10-11
DAILY STORY.
A DEADBEAT.

| slowly up Broadway, New York. Pass.
ing old Trinity church the chimes in
the tower above rang out, followed by
the stroke of ..
"Hellor' cried a voice.
The cabman. ever mindful of fare,
| reused himself and, turning, saw 4
| man standing in the iron gateway be-
| fore the church. There was little of his
| face or figure visible, for the former
| was shaded by the brim of 4 singular
/ three cornered hat. the latter wrapped
| in n long cloak. The cabman drew up
at the curb. The stranger opened the
| cab door and stepped hastily in. giving
| hurried order to drive northward
| along the river bank. On reaching
Il point opposite Weehawken the
| stranger called upon the cabman to
stop, alighted and walked toward the
| river.
1t was now early dawn. On com
| ing to the waters edge he looked
| about him as though expecting some
one then up and down the river,
| CHANGING impatiently ut his watch.
The cabman continued To eye him
wonderingly, though he was tired and
| sleepy. Was ii drowsiness that made
| the queer figure seem To fiutter in the
wind: a boat touched the shore pulled
| by two men in the same garb as the
stranger. He stepped i'll and was
| rowed away straight across the river
Then it seemed to the cabman that he
had lost consciousness for Il second and
the men pulling away in Il boat had
been dream. He looked about for
the stranger, but he had indeed disap-
peared.
SuSaenly the stiffness was broken by
Il distant crack. or. rather, it was two
cracks so near together as 10 be scarce
ly distinguished. Just then the leaves
of the trees We're stirred by light
breeze, and it seemed 10 the cabman
that something uncanny was i'll the
wind. Indeed. though IL was a warm
July morning. he shivered as if he had
been struck by cold draft from Il
tomb.
The next thing the cabman knew
the two men who had taken the Stran-
ger away were pulling rapidly down
the river. The stranger himself was
nowhere TO be seen. but the men seem
eel To he regarding anxiously something
in the bottom of the boat invisible from
the shore. The cabman, bent on hold
ing TO those mysteriously linked with
the man who owed him Il fare, whipped
up his horse and followed them down
along the shore. 1t was a hard chase.
but he managed to keep them in sight.
and finally they turned toward the
shore When they landed, cabby was
there to meet them. The stranger was
stretched in the bottom of the boat.
Taking him up, his companions carried
him ashore and placed him inside the
cab. The cabman, all in a futter,
mounted the box and was about to
drive away when he remembered that
in his excitement he had not asked
for instructions. Looking back to do
so, not a ghost of a man who had been
there was to be seen. AS soon as he
could sufficiently recover from his as
constituent he bent over TO ask the
question of the man inside. The face
was ashen and had taken on Il CHASTITY
glare.
Drive" moaned the sufferer.
"Where?"
ITO the churchyard."
The cabman dashed his horse. his cab |
swaying from curb to curb. its driver |
swayiDg as well on the box, the people |
rushing to get out of the way. Now |
and again 4 policeman dashed into the |
street TO stop him, but he was driving |
too fast for them and left them all be- |
hind
Faster" called the passenger in Il |
6VInO 10 n no
maelstrom.''
The cab at last drew up at the gate |
way of old Trinity The cabman was |
about 10 get down and help the man |
ont when he saw him fit rather than |
walk or run in through the gateway, |
pass right through an iron fence and |
into the churchyard. Down jumped |
the cabman and dashed after him, call
ing for his fare. Passing around an
end of the fence. making his way |
the headstones. he managed to
keep the man, or. rather, ghoSt-for by |
this time it resembled disSolving buff |
cloud-in sight.
There is monument on the southern
side of the churchyard partaking nei-
Their of the style of the seventeenth nor
of the nineteenth century, but pc
riod betwixt the two. To this monu
ment the fading object fioated, and
thither the cabman staggered. But on
reaching it not sign OF IL living being |
was. to be seen. Dazed, he tried TO
steady himself against the tomb. but
the gravestones, the high buildings |
the churchyard. the spire,
all began to rock as if they were tow
an6--wAn l.
that's all the cabman knew. Indeed,
he sank down on the grave with his
head resting against the monument.
There he was seen by policeman L
standing on the narrow street border
ing the churchyard.
The next sign Of consciousness that
came to the cabman was feeling grip II
on his arm Opening his eyes, he saw