Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1915-03-26
THE MAN UP
A TREE
By Nj. QUAD
Copyright by Associated Literary
Press.

when | discovered the Iuan up a tree
l determined TO try my hand at ele-
waiting his moral standard.
had extended sympathy and more
or less financial aid to this M i. up a
tree. In a burst of confidence ne had
confessed to me that he had been a
swindler. a gambler. a confidence man
and a great deal more. He had come
10 me as a man who had at least seen
the error of his ways and sighed to
take another track and be counted
with the good and respectable. He
Jones. When he threw himself upon
my mercy. as it were-when he made
a clean breast OF his wicked career
and added that il any one would aid
him he would turn into honest paths
and travel on without a limp-I agreed
to take him in hand. l gave him mon
ey for a weeks vacation from crime
and when the vacation was over was
to see what further could be done. |
took my week of at the same time
and brought up amid the fresh butter
milk and dew kissed goldenrod of the
country.
On the second night of my stay. as
l sat by my open window at midnight
to finish the last of my cigar and won
der If my Jones-Jones had kept
straight during the last forty-eight
hours, | suddenly caught sight OF him
on the ground below. 1t was a farm
house hotel at which | was stopping.
| had a corner room. and at that cor
ner of the house stood a large apple
tree. | had observed that a big limb
branched out so close to my window
that | could have descended by 1t.
What you can descend by you can also
ascend by. | had no ooner caught
sight of Jones-Jones at the foot of the
tree at an hour when everybody was
supposed to be in bed than ! under
stood that he intended TO pay ms a
secret visit. Mr.. Jones-Jones had no
sooner begun to climb that apple tree
than | made ready to receive him
with all due hospitality. There was
no club in the room. but the water
pitcher had been filed for the night
and made a good weapon.
/ waited with patience until he had
reached a particular position and then
brought the pitcher down upon his
head. The idea was to administer an
anaesthetic. and it was a success. He
pitched forward into the room with a
long drawn sigh. Then l forced bran
dy between his teeth and bathed his
face with water. and in the course of a
quarter Of an hour my midnight visitor
had so far recovered his senses that |
ventured to remark:
"Well, Jones-Jones. why didn't you
tell me that you were coming. that 1
might be on the lookout for your
''Sir, my name is Brown-Brown. and
I don't exactly understand the situa-
ton. Am | in your room. or sre you
In mine?"
81 believe it's my room" l replied.
"Now, then. Mr.. Ashnlere. as to the
business in hand" said Brown-Brown
to me. IF you think you a advance
me $500 | am sure | can make a so
of it"
1t took me a little while to catch on,
but by and by ! discovered that Jones'
Jones had been knocked out and
Brown-Brown had taken his place.
Jones-Jones was a crook who wanted
to reform. Brown was a poor but hon
est man who wanted to so into the
making of shirts.
/ had turned Jones-Jones the crook
back into Brown-B Brown the honest
man by a knock on the head. When
my week was up we went back to
town together. and | gave Brown
Brown money enough to set up In shirt
making.
Ny man prospered wonderfully well.
People said be was a little eccentric,
but he was honest and a hard worker.
In one year be had paid me back half
my money and built up a good bust
ness. One day a detective entered the
store to make a purchase. He had
known J0nes-Jones as a crook. He
knew that Jones-Jones had a crooked
finger on his right hand and a mole
on his left cheek. When he discovered
that Brown Brown had these same
Identification marks be began TO look
at him more closely. and by and by
he made up his mind that the old crook
stood before him. He was SO sure Of
it that he set out to make an arrest.
Brown-Brown was an honest man. but
in his surprise be started to make a
bolt of it. AS he ran out of his shop
and down the street pursued by the de-
tective he encountered a policeman,
who tapped him on the head with his
club. Brown-Brown went down like
a log and was carted of to the station.
/ was present when his senses return
ed, and you a imagine my feelings
when he sat up and said: .
well. you've got me at last, but I
gave you a run for it. You fellers amt
half sharp!"
"YOu are Jones-Jones the crook" said