The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1907-04-05
HIS ONE BAD MINUTE.
By "a United States
Secret Service Man.

NOC many years ago, IN q little
town near Chicago, an aged bum who
had drifted TO the place few weeks
before and had been anneXing his
whisky money by doing old chores
around. came TO the end OF his haw-
ser. He was pretty sick old man
when he applied at the town hospital
for bunk and treatment. He was
taken In, but IL was quickly seen
there was nothing left of him but the
ngsk, and so they made him comfort
able 20 pipe out easy like. Just be-
fore he took the ferry over the dark
river he whispered to the nurse that
bed like to have a word with the
hospital superintendent The hos
pital superintendent showed up at
the old mans cot.
The old wayfarer pulled from
around his neck piece of string to
which key was fastened. He hand
ed the key to the superintendent,
gasped the name OF Chicago safe
deposit company, gave the passing
out tremor--and was gone.
The hospital superintendent was a
strong man. He was about forty,
and had got his education by work
ing for it with his hands. He had
worked at nearly everything i'm order
10 push himself through college, and
ne had taken care Of big batch Of
brothers and sisters besides. He
wasn't any goody-goody, but just n
In hnI
worked for every shave, shine and
smoke that he'd every had. He was
getting ahead and gaining a reputa-
ffon, but most of his income was
going for the education OF his young
er brothers, and he'd never know the
feeling OF possessing $50 real velvet
since he'd been hustlinG.
Well. about two weeks after the
old buns death, the hospital super
,ntendent was in Chicago, and he
happened to pass by the safe deposit
establishment that the old man had
mentioned before dying. The super
fntendent still had in his pocket the
key. attached to the string, that the
dead wanderer had given him. He
was OF opinion that the old man. s
mind had been wandering when he
had named the safe deposit company.
but anyhow. out of curiosity, he de-
cided to ask the safe deposit people
AZ they had the name OF the deceased
wanderer on their books. They did
have it on their books. The dead man
had rented safe deposit box from
the company six years before, and
the box rental had been regularly
paid by mail.
The hospital superintendent, after
some formalities, was permitted to
open the box with the key in his
possession. According to custom,
one of the compahy's employees, this
one young fellow. entered the vault
with the superintendent, in which
the box was located. The superin-
tendent opened the box with his key.
and then he had to fan himself with
his hat for a minute.
The box contained two tightly
wrapped, rubber-banded rolls of yell
low bank notes. each roll about the
size of twenty-five bundle of cigars.
The superintendent of the hospital
removed the rubber bands from one
of the bundles, and he saw that il
was made up Of bills of all denomina-
tions, from ones to five hundreds. II
was plain that the two rolls contained
a whole lot of money.
Now. that was the hospital super
intendent's critical minute. He told
me about it afterward. without
waiting TO count the money, he said
an a low tone TO the young safe de.
posit chap who was with him in the
vault and who was gazing with ar
expression of amazement at the two
huge bundles OF bills:
You and / are the only two peo
pie I'm the world who know about this
money. Is IL to be cut? What dc
you say TO a third for yours?"
'That'll suit me-" replied tn,
young clerk, out of hand.
The superintendent told me that IL
ten minutes before, anybody haC
suggested the remotest likelihood O
his ever trying to snag out one cen
that didn't belong TO him he'd fel
Bke killing that suggester.
But" he added. in telling m
about It, "the desire to get hold o
that money, for myself, seized IN
like fash, and l could no more hav
resisted 1t than a man in the electri
chair could resist the current sent I
kill him."
The superintendent stuffed tn
two rolls Of money into satche
turned In the key to the safe deposI
people, with the statement that b