The morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1899-1930, 1908-01-21
The Suave Mr.. Perkins.


and chattels at q private house, A
sandalwood box was put up which
caught his fancy, lIc bid tlrst against
ferret faced man aud determined TO
have t. The people around him got
on to the fact that he was n Yankee
and made comments that further deter
mined him, 10 the auctlonccr's sur
prise. the bids went up to fi0, Mr..
Troadwcll would have carried them TO
double that sum. but the other bidder
rushed away to look for some ono In
the crowd, and. being afraid OF miss
Ing good thing. the auetloncer knock
ed the trinc down 10 the last bidder,
and It was handed to him and paid for
amid giggles ana open laughter He
had not gone two blocks from the
house when young woman overlook
him, She explained that shc had been
lady's maid In the house for number
Of years and coveted the box as a SOU
venir or her dear dead mistress, The
ferret faced man had been bidding for
her, Would Mr.. Trcadwell respect tho
sentiment that actuatcd her and let
her have the box for what no paldg
Mr.. Treadwoll declined 10 sell.
The hotel had scarcely been reached
when n Charles Perkins desired an In.
terylew. Mr.. Perkins was suayc--ex.
cccdlngly suave. He had been In Amor
ica. He had seen Boston Common.
Although ho was one OF the most pa.
triotlc Of his majesty's subjects. he had
gaxed upon Bunker I'm monument and
found his heart swelling with pride at
the thought OF how bravely II had
been held against the rcdcoats,
When Mr.. Perkins had got through
praislng Uncle Sans country and
children he turned to the subject In
hand. II was his wife that had died.
and his furniture that had been sold
at auction. He was an architect and
had met his downfall BY trying to In
troduce American ideas into England,
such rs dark bedrooms. parlors In
which two people had 10 slt with their
knees touching and hot air furnaces
that only produced hot mir from the
mouth of the manufacturer That san
dalwood box had been presented to
his wife By Queen Victoria In person
for making the best pumpkin Piles In
all England. There were other assocla.
tions connected with II, and he had
called IN hopes that Mr., Treadwell
could see his way clear 10 taklng the
sum of els for the sad relic.
Mr.. Treadwell felt for the suaye Mr.
Perkins. but he couldn't part with the
box. He was still mad Mt the people
who had called him Yankee and gig
gled over his bargain. and he had be.
gun to smell rat. No sixpenny san
dalwood box was worth Els unless
there was some secret connected with
it-somethlng by which he might profit
and get even. He therefore turned MIR.
Perkins down and took the box to his
room aud examined II. II seemed
nothing more thnn plain hnndker-
chief box, There were no traces Of
the tears shed by the dead and gone.
IL the late Mrs. Perkins had ever bro.
ken II by throwing 1t at the head OF her
husband, II had been repaired again.
Mr.. Treadwell peeked and peered and
found nothing. 1t was only when he
came to measure that he suspected q
secret drawer and at length found one,
The contents consisted Of a birth and
a marriage. certificate OF the same per.
son, and the death Of that person had
taken place fifteen years previously
As near as could be figured out, the
papers were valuable 10 complete a
record and establish claim. The fer.
ret faced man knew II, the young wo.
man knew it. and the suaye Mr.. Per
kins knew 1t. They were In cahoots to
get possession, and not for one moment
did Mr.. Treadwell believe that any Of
them had a legal right to the docu
ments.
He had read them over and over
and he sat ponderlng on the matter
when his bedroom door opened softly
He sat with bis back TO II, and the
hour was almost evening. He heard
nothing and had no premonition. The
first he knew two hands gripped his
throat and pulled him over backward
ON the floor. Then he looked up tC
find Mr.. Perkins sitting on his chest
and another man In the room.
"Don't kill the bloke" whispered
the other man. "The documents are
right here under our noses, and We
ought to he obliged to him.
Mr.. Treadwell was not throttled tc
| death. Mr.. Perkins had evidently
come prepared for such an event, but
gave over grudgingly and slipped 0
gag into the mouth Of his victim. Then
he produced cords and trussed him VI
so speedily and securely as to almost
excite admiration. When he had fin
ished his work he showed the body
| aside, took a glance at the papers anG
shook hands with his coadjutor. Thu
| latter NAV have been I'm the samt