The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1910-10-10

My wife considers me careless. alb
sentminded and generally untrust-
worthy. She never gives me letter
to post without insisting upon tying
q string around my finger and a knot
In my handkerchief just as If were "A
little boy. She objects to my having
more than fifty cents in my pocket at
one time because she declares 1 never
stop after buying q cigar to receive my
change. and half the time car con
ductOrs return me ten or fifteen cents
short change.
My wife recently went to the coun-
try, leaving cards stuck up all over the
house bearing such miserable injunc-
tons as this: Take the silver up
stairs at night" Lock the front
door," Count your change" Of
course l tore them down as soon as
she had left. When parted from her
at the station she told me that she had
left her jewel case in her bureau
drawer and made me promise that
would go straight home and put it in
the safe. Instead I went to my office
intending to go home at noon and at
tend to the matter.
1t was three days before l removed
that jewel case. Before doing so
examined the contents to make sure
the articles were all present. and
found that a valuable diamond ring
always kept there was missing 1t be-
ho0ved me 70 recover that ring before
my wife's return or take the conse-
Quences. the nature of which l was
quite aware. Fortunately the owner
was to remain away several weeks.
advertised large reward for the
ring and no questions asked. A couple
of weeks passed and nothing was heard
of the ring.
meditated having a duplicate made
with paste diamonds. But I had no
pattern for a workman to copy and
had little hope of deceiving my wife
II had. She wrote me frequently
asking IL did this and did that and
II everything was safe. l replied that
l did everything she commanded and
q great deal more. When she asked
II had put her jewel case in the safe
I said l had-but not when. Lastly
when she asked If all the jewels were
there, l wrote, ''Your jewels are safe,"
meaning that they we're In the safe.
It was q miserable subtel fuge, and l
was ashamed Of it.
A week before my wife returned l
absented myself from my Office. giving
my time entirely to hunting the pawn
shops to which everybody knows stol-
en- articles usually find their way.
Near the end of that period l found
the ring. l proved my ownership. or.
rather. my wife's ownership. and Sc
cured the property. Then asked the
told me that it had been brought to
him by q woman who acted as a 60
between for persons who wished to
pawn articles. but were too respectable
to be seen entering a pawnshop. He
gave me the address of this broker. and
I went to see her.
''That ring was stolen" said to her.
'but I don't suppose you knew this
when you pawned 1t. If you will tell
me who brought it to you I'll make no
trouble about your receiving stolen
She said that she couldn't leave her
shop at the time. there being no one to
take her place. but If would call the
next afternoon she would take me to
the thief.
took the ring home and put it in its
place. glad enough to escape the OBJ
loQuy that would have been heaped
upon me for my forgetfulness. That
night my wife returned and found the
house in good condition and nothing
l felt very fine over this. as
some superiority by telling her
that for her to leave out the jewel
case just before going away was SIM
ply shocking. If hadn't hurried home
to take care of it something might
have been lost. She made no reply.
and l was glad she didn't, for it would
have been q catalogue Of my own past
offenses.
The next afternoon ! left the Office
early and called on the woman broker
who was to show me the thief She
together. The route we took led my
way, which was, to say the least, con-
venient. She finally turned into the
street In which I lived. moving In the
direction Of my home. What was my
establishment when she stopped at my
own door?
"All right" said, trying to conceal
my feelings. Now describe the thief"
She described my own wife.
1t was now clear case that the
Jewel was not in the case at the time
of my wife's departure. Being curious
to know why she had pawned it,
wished to speak to her about the mat
ter, but If I did so l world eliminate
myself In the matter OF neglect.
waited till we were together one even
ing in her room before dinner and the
jewel case was on her dresser look
ed over the contents and asked:
my dear. | don't see your double
diamond ring here"
Then she confessed that she had
pawned it to get a scapegrace brother