Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1912-04-15

volume called Christian Advice TO
Young Men" When 1 told her that it
had been sold a scared look, or disap-
pointed look. could not tell which,
passed over her face. But when I IN
formed her who had bought it, though
she endeavored to concesl look Of re-
lief or pleasure, she did not succeed.
Then knew that the book was con-
nected in some way with the mystery
which interested me. She was leaving
my store when caught at method OF
finding out more about her. l asked
her for her name and address, telling
her that wished it that might mail
her my book circulars. She hesitated,
as though she did not wish TO give
them, but finally did so. I lost no time
in walking past the number she gave
and found the space occupied by liv-
cry stable. She had given me wrong
address.
1t Is needless to say that this deep
ened my interest in her.
Some time passed before I saw any
thing more Of my mystery" as I now
began to call her. ThCn one day she
came in, and the moment saw her
knew that there had been a great
change in her. The sad expression
had left her face and had been replac-
ed by one that l could only interpret
as a newly acquired hope. She pre-
tended that she came in to look Tor
more books, but could see by the way
she picked them up and Immediately
laid them down that she was not in
terested in them. l determined on q
bold stroke
You don't wish to buy any books
today" l said. You have come in
here with an entirely different object
You have been using my stock for
some especial purpose. That purpose
has been either successful or partially
so. You have known from the first
that you have had my sympathy. AS
sured OF this, 1t has been hard for you
not to trust me. Something has oc-
Cured that you wish to tell me, but
you have not quite made up your mind
to give me your confidence. Do so,
and promise you that you will not
repent the act"
How in the world did you ever dt-
vine that?" she asked, with mingled
surprise and pleasure in her express
sion.
"a little bird told me-"
There is no reason why I should
not now explain everything. I would
have been q fool before this to trust
any one This is the story: Ny father
has suffered great wrong. He was a
bookkeeper and cashier for q mercan-
IL lie arYohaz-
zled by q member of the firm who con-
trived to cover up his tracks by man
ufacturing certain evidence against
my father, who was arrested, tried,
convicted and sentenced to state prison
| for twenty years.
"Our only hope was to enable him
/ to escape, and I took that work upon
myself. l was permitted to visit him
| in prison. and he told me that he had
: laid out a plan by which he might re-
! gain his liberty, but it required a saw
with which to remove steel bars. 1 at
tempted to smuggle one in to him, but
WAS detected. Since then have never
been permitted to visit him without
some one watching me while near
him. But l communicated with him
| through others. When 1 carried the
books away with me from your store
l took one, Christian Advice to Young
Men with very thick covers. Then L
removed enough of the interior of the
covers to enable me to insert several
| thin steel saws"
"Ah," l exclaimed, "I see it ALL But
go on with your story
To-, 1.
the book to my father, so l learned Of
a society organized to furnish reading
matter TO prisoners and got a friend
to recommend it and tell where copy
could be bought. Before returning the
volume to you | placed In it mark
on the one hundredth page which my
father had been instructed to look for
to designate a book with saws in the
cover"
again l see!' l remarked.
well, to shorten a long story, my
father obtained the saws, cut the bars
Of his cell and escaped. He has gone
where he is not likely to be found. One
thing his jailers found to let them
know how he got his tools-'Christian
Advice TO Young Men from the COW
ers Of which the saws had been taken"
Thus ends the first and by far the
most important chapter Of my story.
The second has TO do with something
different from the subject matter of
the first. I helped the book buyer to
gain evidence that finally convicted the
man Of the crime for which her father
was sent to prison, and the latter re-
turned from hiding TO appear again in
his accustomed haunts. His daughter
has long been my wife and says that
from the first she felt that If discov-
cred anything wrong in the book she
contrived to send from my store to the
prison | would never give her away
In this she was right, but 1t is to be
remarked that I did not have an op-
portunity 10 expose her The volume
with the saws concealed IL it's cover
was on my shelf for a number of days.
but l knew nothing of their presence
there.
|