Evening journal., 1912-08-03
A $4,000
TEMPTATION
BY NJ QUAD
Copyright. 1912, by Associated Lit
erary Press.
By NJ QUAD

Vile that it contained moro honest, /
truthful men than any other town Of
its size IN the state. Among other In
cidents related to prove the claim It
was told that q merchant who had been
paid 3 cents too much by a customer
living twenty-five miles away hired a
man to drive the distance and back to
hand over the pennies.
Again, a grocer who had warranted
a pound OF coffee to be Mocha found
out that Il was only Rio and salved his
conscience by returning the money and
a pound Of tea besides.
The stranger who dropped quietly
into TompkinsviIle one day and regis
tered nt the tavern as Henry Beach
was about forty years old He had a
pleasant way with him. but a physiog
nomist would have said that be was a
cynic The day after his arrival he
called at the office Of the Weekly Re
corder and took the breath away from
the editor by making his cash down
price for full page advertisement.
The thing was unprecedented. II was
too tremendous 70 be swallowed under
i've minutes
There wasn't a great deal to that ad.
when It appeared. II wns heade Two
Thousand Dollars For Some one" and
Il asked people to call on Mr.. Beach and
give up certain information and bear
away the money. You can wnger that
they began calling without delay. To
all. and It took days to get TO the last
one, the advertiser explained
'Seven years ago had TO puss
through this town on my way 10 Hills
boro was driving horse and bug
gy, and Just I'm front Of your town ball
one Of the hind wheels OF the vehicle
begnn to wabble. The nut had worked
or the axle, and the wheel was about
to roll away and cause an accident. In
which l might have lost my life. At
the critical moment a man stopped me
and pointed TO the wheel
II was I'm dire haste TO reach the bed
side Of my dying mother. and don't
remember that l even thanked thG
good man. | ran back. found the nut
in the dust and. clapping It on the axle.
/ sped away. ! was In time 10 see my
dear mother breathe her last Then /
had to go to South Africa and Austria
liza on business and have been back only
a few days. have felt all along that
the man who notified me OF my wab-
bling wheel ought TO be rewarded. and
/ am here TO do lt. I want to find him
and hand him $1,000"
The first man to hear the story was
that same grocer who had acted 50
square about the coffee. He was fat
and excltable, and when the story had
been told he was breathing like a wind
broken horse.
"seven years ago, was ~" he asked
Seven 20 a day"
"Lcts seel Let's see? An. yes,
remember. Seven years ago today al
q ! was passing the town hall mar
d came along h buggy. Whatevel
; made mo look at the hind wheels
can't say, but noticed that
.sWhat time In the day was this ?
interrupted Mr.. Beach.
''Nyhnt timeg Um Let's see. My
watch had run down the night before
but think It was about 10 o'clock"
"Then IL was some other man.
passed through here at O'Clock in the
afternoon
Mr.. Kennedy. the undertaken came
next. He listened with bated breatl
to the story as told the grocer and ther
replied:
1T is curious how few words vii
recall forgotten incident 20 You. Sew
en- years ago today ] was standing ir
front OF the town hall when a Mr.
Johnson asked me il ! had heard thai
old Mrs. Harvey was sick and like e
die. That makes me sure Of the date
"Of course"
"Mr. Johnson had passed on whom
! saw a man I'm buggy coming at fas
clip. As he was about 10 pass me
saw that one OF the hind wheels wal
wabbing"
"And you held up your hand au'
called outY' said MIR Beach.
~ must have done So
i ''It looks as n the $1,000 was Yours
but question or two. At what hou
In the day was thatf
q 'Iemme think a minute. What hour
q What hour? Well. sir, as near as
can put II. 81 was about half past Z
the afternoon Yes. am sure II was.
l.. "But was driving through you
town at o'clock IN the morning, g
k II couldn't have been you. There mus
d have been two Of us with wabbly hin
y wheels"
The undertaken meekly retired. br
IL WAS afterward said that he wer
Is home and kicked his dog and jawed h
wife.
That investigation lasted about tvy
weeks, and Il used up almost ever
man in the town. Even a minister an
I, elders and deacons called. None ,
them came right out and affirmed thu
" he saw the wabbiy wheel, but all CO
to tended that it was very likely the
we're passing the town hall at the ho'
named. II they were passing and
q they saw the wheel. why, Of cours
rs they called the drivers attention TO
" Among the applicants for the rewai
were ten women. Each one Of the
>. was sure Of the wheel and the wabh
Z, until Mr. Beach gave the hour as
y O'Clock at night. When he had clos'
~ up his case he went back to the editC
- who had not been on the spot witt
" the wheel wabbled. and paid him s
~ for a full page ad. This time It read
"Tompinksville has a population
"a 1.4s0 There are b32 liars and disho
est men and women among them"
" And then he paid his bill and mo
- ID on