Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1909-11-16
Gbe
BLACK
BAG
[coNTINUED.1
By Louis Joseph Vance
copyrish. 1908. BY the Bobss-hsnilI Co.

1 r.
| 800 -
[coNTINuED.1
Distracted, be searched pocket after
pocket, locating his watch, cigar case
| and cigarette case, matchbox, pen
knife, all the minutiae Of pocket hard
ware affected by civilized man, with
old letters. a cardcase, a square en-
velope containing his steamer ticket,
but no sovereign purse. His small
change pocket held less than 8
shillings-two and eight. to be exact
and a brass key. which he failed to
recognize as one Of his belongings.
And that was all. At some time dur
.ag the night he had lost Tor been cum
ningly bereft on that little purse OF
chamois skin containing the three gold
EN- sovereigns which he had been hus
banding to pay his steamer expenses
and which. If only he had them now.
would stand between him and starva-
ton and a night in the streets. II
Brentwick were only In town! But he
wasn't and wouldn't be within the
week.
mo good waiting here" he conclud-
ed. Composing his face. he re-entered
the station. There were his trunks, Of
course. He couldn't leave them stand
Ing on the station platform forever.
He found the luggage room and in
terviewed Il mechanically courteous at
tendant, who. as the result Of profound
deliberation, advised him to try his
luck at the lost luggage room across
the station. He accepted the advice
1t was foregone conclusion that his
effects had not been conveyed to the
Tilbury dock. They could not have
been loaded into the luggage van with
out his personal supervision. Still. any
thing was liable to happen when his
unlucky star was In the ascendant.
He found them In the lost luggage
room.
A clerk helped him identify the arti-
cles and ultimately clucked with per
functory note. "Sixpence each. please
'I-ah-pardon?"
"Sixpence each, the fixed charge sir.
For every twenty-four hours or frac-
tion thereof, sixpence per parcel"
"Oh, thank you so much," said Kirk
wood sweetly II will call tomorrow.
VERY good, sir. Thank you, sir"
give times sixpence is two and six.
Kirkwood computed, making his way
hastily out Of the station lest worse
thing befall him mo. bless your
heart-not while two and eight repre-
sents the sum total Of my fortune"
He wandered out into the night. He
could not linger round the station till
dawn. and what profit to him If he
did, Even were be to ransom his
trunks one can scarcely change ones
clothing in II public waiting room.
Somewhere in the distance Il great
clock chimed single stroke freighted
sore with melancholy. 1t knelled the
passing of the half hour after mid
night, witching hour when ever!
public shuts up tight and gentlemen
In top hats and evening dress are
doomed to pace the pave till da.
(barring they have homes or visible
means of support)-till day, when
pawnshops open and such personal IF
fects as watches and hammered silver
cigar cases may be hypothecated What
was he to do? An hour passed.
Through this long hour kirkwood
walked without pause.
Another clock somewhere changed
resonantly twice. The world was very
still. And SO. wandering foot loose In
a wilderness Of ways. turning aimless
ly, now right, now left. he found him
self in Frognall street
Kirkwood Identified 1t with start
and u guilty tremor. He stopped stock
still in an unreasoning state of semi
panic. arrested by silly impulse to
turn and Hy. as If the bobby whom he
deserted approaching him with meas
ured stride. pausing now and again to
try door or fash his bullseye down
an area. were to be expected to iden
tify the man responsible for that
racket raised ere midnight In vacant
No. 8.
At the corner he swerved and cross
ed. still possessed Of his devil Of In
spiration. 1t would be unfair to him
to say that he did not struggle to re-
sist it. for he did, because It was fair.
ly and egregiously asinine; yet, strug-
Cling. his feet trod the path to which
1t tempted him.
Why" he expostulated feebly, 81
might as well turn back and beat that
bobby over the head with my cane"
But at the moment his hand was In
his change pocket, feeling over that
same brass door key which earlier he
had been unable to account for. and
he was informing himself how very
easy 1t would have been for the sov.
ereign purse to have dropped from his
waistcoat pocket while he was sliding
on his ear down the dark staircase.
To recover It meant, at the least, shel.
ter for the night. followed by a decent.
comfortable and sustaining morning
meal. Fortified by both he could re-
deem his luggage. change to clothing
more suitable for daylight travelling.
pawn his valuables and enter into nego-
tiations with the steamship company
for permission to exchange his pas
sage. with a sum to boot, for trans
portation on another llner-a most
feasible project, temptation all but
irresistible!
But then-the risk. Supposing. for
the sake Of argument, the customary
night watchman to have taken up
transient residence in No. 8. sup
posing the police to have entered with
him and found the stunned man on
the second floor. would the watchman
not be vigilant for another nocturnal
kha