The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1907-12-03
ROMANCE OF A
COUNTERFEIT BILL.
IOriginai

from Us the importance OF rInIng
events that ara destined TO influence
our future. If this were not So. per
baps at times We might defeat fate.
For instance. suppose in walking out
hesitate which OF two streets 10 take.
If ] take the left hand one it doesn't
matter: if take the other I Will meet
. person who VIII influence my life
for evil Knowing this. take the
left hand street aud defeat fate. Queer.
isn't it:
| married the woman destined II be
my wife. am the father OF my chill
dren and pass through daily scenes all .
predestined by hunt for the original .
shower OF 4 counterfeit bill. To find .
this shower was obliged 10 trace the
bin from one person TO another till !
got back 10 my starting point. | never
could understand why fate could not
have been satisfied with connecting
the life live today with the bill with
out bringing in a circumstance re
markable in itself
When I was a very young man !
went into the government secret serv-
ice. One day bank teller in Pitts
burg detected q counterfeit ten dollar
bill il the deposit OF Il retail merchant
who was considered above suspicion.
/ was sent there 10 learn from whom
it had emauated The merchant told
he that he remembered the bill very
well. for he had needed change and
had nothing in his pocket but the bill.
He had such bad luck with il in this
respect that he had put fl in his de-
post with checks I'm order TO get rid
Of it. 1t had been paid him as re
turned borrowed money. The borrow
er had received it from Il Greengrocer.
who got il from a paperhanger. TO
whom it was paid 10y a Wholesale pa
per house
At the paper house the bin was iden-
tilted by the cashier. who had suspect
ed it Of being spurious. Ii had been
paid by a man from Chicago for paper
sent to him there. went TO Chicago
and found my man. He was bad
one and had bought the paper to put
on the walls of a dive. | was sure he
was the original shower. but he proved
10 me that he was making lots of mon
ey in his dive and had no knowledge
of counterfeiting Besides, he turned
me over to a leather man, who exam
ined the bin and admitted he had pass
ed it to the man I suspected. The
= her man sent me TO Detroit on a
wild goose chase after shoemaker,
who in turn sent me back To PittSburg.
Getting back Ia Pittsburg looked as
if | was close on the trail, because
Pittsburg was the place where the bill
was first discovered. The PittsburG
supposed counterfeiter was a dentist
was young then and prided myself
on going TO work on Il case the right
WAY. so instead of asking the dentist
where he got the biz ! vent into his
Office professionally. He found sew
eral cavities in my teeth 10 he plugged
and was enabled 10 pass two hours
in his dental chair. OF course talked
that is, whenever he took his rubber
dam out Of my mouth: | thought tht
two words of the name should b.
tranSpoSed-and as u man who pump:
usually interprets the Information h
gets TO suit himself / was sure TIT
dentist was the culprit.
When he finished the Job and | wen
out young lady entered the operating
room. She smiled at the doctor. dis
playing such a beautiful set of teetl
that wondered what use he could b
10 her.
/ spent n good deal OF time working
up n case on the dentist. but conldn'
be certain and finally decided TO fright
en- him into admitting his guilt. wen
TO his office after be had finished hi
work, produced the bill and accuses
him of having made it. He didn'
brighten at all He took the bill liz hi
hands. put magnifying glass on i
handed il back TO me and said
THAT bill was handed me by Jane
Il Sterling 4 merchant of this city. fo
a piece of bridge work. suspected il
looked at ii with glass. as have jus
done. and noticed certain features in
that have Just seen again. ] WAS III
certain about il. but did not care
turn it back on Mr. Sterling Soon af'
Ell I visited Detroit. took the bill wit
me and gave it out for Il pair Of shoes
I sat listening TO him till he ha
finished. then got UP and left his ofiiC
in hurry. James Il. Sterling was III
merchant who had originally deposite
the bill
can't explain why felt sure tha
Sterling was tie guilty man. hut die
went TO his store AID 81 soon as
saw the outside OF il nUj only kne'
that lie was the man had been afte
so long but that he had drpa tied. I'll
store was shut NJ. and half a doze
TO Rent" notices Of different real @
tate agents were tackled on the doc
The man WAS no merchant At all II
had filled a small store with a stock {
cheap goods and had run ii as