Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1910-10-10

RawiinS, reaching for his own infe-
rior timepiece. found in its place an
expensive watch with three d!a monds
set in the rear case and the initials
w. A. w. engraved thereon.
Naturally Rawlins was surprised.
He returned the watch to his pocket,
carefully, folded his paper and glanced
about in search OF the philanthrOpic
person who had effected the exchange.
The vinegarys faced female wedged
in the seat to the right of him stared
back suspiciously.
A Wheeling fat man. uncomfortably
crowded. sat at his left and grinned
heavily as be noted the observant eye
Of his fellow passenger.
These street cars are crowded sun
thin awful. hain't they?"
Rawlins agreed. He couldn't accus-
tom himself to the thought of this
mans pudgy fingers deity inserting
themselves in his waistcoat pocket on
delicate mission of substitution.
He stared about him searchingly.
but the enigma was unsolved when
the conductor called Twenty-third
street.
In the sacred precincts Of his own
little used law offices Rawlins gave
keener inspection to this gift the gods
had thrust upon him.
Heavy lines corrugated the brow or
the young attorney. and he pushed his
thick black hair back into an i'm
promptu pompadouT as his mind Crap
pied with the problem. The slim fin
gers of the youth touched the stem,
and the case snapped suddenly open,
disclosing the pictured face of ra-
diant girl.
Rawlins-John 2. Rawlirs, Esq.-was
young-young enough, in fact. to be-
lieve in the ideal woman. and tina
likeness correspondent exactly with the
dream in his heart The great blue
eyes, the fIawlesS contour OF the face.
with it's piquant, retrousse nose and
determined little chin; the wave in
the heavy hair. the peerless neck and
Misunderstanding about the maid
summed up soul dear to the youth.
The sudden advent of that rara avis,
client, compelled him TO forego the
pleasure of lingering longer in admir-
ing contemplation Of the picture. Be
able owner-Rawlins had an active
mind-the man who had come into
such peculiar possession OF the watch
had decided to turn it over to the Po-
lice. but now
Now the united efforts Of the entire
constabulary Of the town could not
have dragged it from him
And yet-paradoX-the youth wished
to find the owner, if possible. more
than ever. The riddle of how the lit
tie timepiece happened to be in his
pocket had gripped him with an In
satiable curiosity at first: now. strange
ly enough, his sole thoughts were or
the maid in the case. He longed to
| meet her. He wanted to become ac-
quainted with her.
The attorney was bothered with no
clients that day. and in the afternoon,
with the fair pictured face of the mys-
terious damsel propped before him, he
compiled an advertisement for the
morning papers:
Found. under peculiar circumstances.
valuable watch Owner can have same
| by calling at - Broadway and proving
property. Rawlins. fourth floor.
Rawlins was a wealthy youth of
good city connections. He had grad
uated from Harvard the year before
| and was now awakened to the fact
that New York is overcrowded with
attorneys. Clients. from a pecuniary
standpoint, he didn't need. but the
ennui of listless life was boring him,
EtillinG his ambition. This little ad-
venture, with the favor of romance
so strong upon 1t, babe fair to give
life back its relish.
! The advertisement brought results.
Every faker in the city seemed to have
bought paper and picked the Raw
| Inns found as the easy money of the
morning
| The lawyer entertained the sly ad-
venturers with tentative questions on
their lips. keen searchers after infor-
nation that, in turn, was to be given
over to shrewd confederates, who
would follow up with better chances
Of landing the prize, and coarse wo-
men who attempted to wheedle the adj
vertised article away from its holder,
and, failing in this, fell into a vocabu-
larry of vehement and impolite protest
The attorneys faith in human ma
ture was sadly Jared.
The keen youth gave absolutely no
| information to the cleaners along the
| paths of chance. and thus it came