The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1914-09-14

The second November twenty-third
brought him no more lucg in lis choice
OF records.
Never kick a man when he seems
,, to be down Perhaps you'll get it
next year." croaked the deep voice
from the monograph.
But the third and fourth trials were
fruitless-save for the posthumous
jeers and jibes with which the eager
ears Of the expectant heir were annu-
ally assailed.
Horace briggs began to fret impa-
tently. hundred and fifty thousand
dollars, his by right. yet tied up in
this unearthly fashion! Surely he
must select the right record soon.
There were but three left.
He began to spend money more
freely. He felt he could afford more
of the Injuries of life with one hun
dred and fifty thousand dollars all but
in his grasp. When he went to Wads-
worth & Barstow's for the fifth con-
secutive November twenty-third, his
little store of savings had melted quite
away.
Again he made an infelicitous
choice. The record gave no clue to
the trunks location
The sensuing year he launched out
boldly. He mortgaged his house. He
| ran in debt. But what man would wor-
ry over such trifles with one hundred
and fifty thousand dollars worth of
negotiable bonds looming on the hori-
zon?
He purchased a thoroughbred trot-
ter and an automobile. His wife was
, the bestdressed woman in town. On
the next November twenty-third, from
/ but two records, he managed to choose
the wrong one.
All the following year he comforted
himself with the assurance that the
strain was over. There was but one
record left, and that record gave the
location of the bonds. He had but to
wait patiently until November twenty
third to be Independent for the rest
of his life.
He sold his grocery business-its
routine had become irksome to him
for several thousand dollars, and, with
his wife, spent delightful spring and
summer touring England and the con-
tinent.
Upon his return he joined the Coun-
try club and gave Ave hundred dollars
to the town library fund. In burst
Of enthusiasm over the approach OF
his good fortune, he even erected q
costly granite sarcophagus over old
Bill briggs neglected grave.
The autumn waned. November drew
to a close and on the afternoon Of the
twenty-third Horace briggs wendell
his leisurely way to the office Of Wads-
worth & Barstow to secure the last re-
naming record
AS he made his way homeward with
the little parcel In his pocket. he was
aware Of a pleasant sense of relief.
The long. trying waiting was over.
Tomorrow the bonds would be his.
According to the standards Of the
town, he would be rich man.
He lighted the lamp on the library
table and set the photograph beside it.
Very carefully he adjusted the last
record, and started tho machine. In
stantly the deep voice from the horn
filled the room.
AT last you have chosen the right
one. Listen to me a moment before I
tell you where the trunk Ia hidden"
Certainly; with all my heart" said
briggs under his breath, bowling to-
] wards the machine with exaggerated
politeness.
you made my life a burden while
l lived under your roof. You thought
me helpless pauper You begrudged
me the very food I ate"
Horace briggs WINGED. He might
have treated the old chap with more
decency, that was fact!
YES now you listen eagerly. You
are all impotence for me to tell you
where the trunk lies"
"Egad, that's true enough" NUT
tered Horace.
"By strange chance the Psalmist has
described the location Of that trunk.
Turn to the one hundred and fifty-first
Psalm-the last verse. And may you
enjoy the bonds as much as hate tell
ing you where they are. Psalm one
hundred and flfty-one!"
There was something like a grim
chuckle. The record was finished.
Horace briggs caught up q Bible
and, with trembling, impatient fin
gers, turned the pages. What he found
there any one may readily learn who
will simply take the trouble to look