The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1916-05-30
A Wild Goose
Chase
Pv f \. Mitchell

SPs.H-,yr. Who died leaving a daughter .
who was engaged la Thomas Orm>by. +
4 young man OF whom the tsstator APP F
proved Mr.. SpnnGler was considered 4
very singular parsonage. ana his will
bears out the opinion.
Relieving that between husband 4
and wife the one showing the greater /
thought, resource, ingenuity ~ indeed. |
those faculties which go to make up
smartneSs should rule, | bequcath my
fortune either to my beloved daugh-
ter. lmogene Spangler or to the man
she shall marry. the inheritance TO lie
decided in the following manner:
'Aly property, consisting of twenty
bonds of 5000 each, Is buried in the
state of Florida. They will be found
either on the right bank of the st.
Johns river. at its junction with the
ocean, or at Glencove Springs, TWEEN,
ty miles northeast of St Augustine
The finder of the bonds-either my
daughter, lmogene Spangler. or her
husband-shall be their posSessor."
surely, Tom" said lmogene otter
reading the will, father must have
been delirious when he signed his will
You'd better go to Florida and visit
the two places named in the will
Quite likely you'll find pointer in the
one where the bonds are buried"
II think you had better go with me
We can make It bridal trip"
Very good. Name the day"
lmogene and Tom We're duly mar
ried and preparations made for the
wedding journey. The evening before
their start Imogene went into her late
fathers library, where the old gentle
man had kept many atlases-for he
| was much interested in geography
with view To locating the points
where they were TO hunt for the bonds
Mr., Spangcr had set great store by a
| revolving plaster globe four feet in
diameter. lmogene found st. Angus
| tine on this globe, but not Glencoye
! Springs, so she got down an atlas con
tanning Il sufficiently detailed map and
located the points exactly
The couple left the next morning for
the Flowcry State, passing gradually
from winter into summer. When they
reached st. Augustine Tom proposed
that they put up at a third rate hotel
or Il cheap boarding house. lie did not
approve Of spending money freely until
they had found the money to spend.
But ImOgene said that, being on her
wedding journey, she proposed to live
like bride. Tom was ovcrrued, and
| they went to the most expensive hotel.
After few days rest from their
journey Tom proposed that they should
proceed to look up their fortune. limo
gene seemed To be in no hurry.
I'm comfortable here" she said
Suppose you 20 to both points"
but in ease | find the bonds shall
be the owner of them"
Suppose you are? That won't make
any difference to me. | think the hus'
band should have the money anyway
Papa was like most men; he thought
that power in the family IL lodged In
the one possessing the funds. He
should have known that women don't
work that way. Their power lies be
yond dollars and cents. You go ahead
and find the bonds"
Tom was puzzled. For him to go of
to hunt for Il fortune on such mcageI
information aS he possessed seemed
ridiculous. He showed n disposition tC
give up the matter
"Oh go on" said his wife. You'll
get mighty tired sitting around with
me long before the honeymoon Is over
Quite likely you'll find clcw. Father
wasn't such fool as to hide q fortune
where no one could find It,"
She kissed him and patted him on
the back and sent him away. He went
first to the Springs, where he spent q
day looking for u sign. Finding none
he proceeded to Jacksonville and
thence to the coast. But never sign
did he see AS for digging anywhere
without sign, he was not so stupid
|, as that SO after three or four days
absence he returned to st. Augustine
/ lie expected to find his wife disap
| pointed ut his failure, but she met hin
with smile.
"You don't seem to be much de
pressed at the loss of fortune" he
remarked.
isn't 1t wife's duty to cheer heI
husband in times of adversityW she
replied.
81 hope you'll be able to keep 1t VI
when the bills begin to come In"
Brush your hair and get that disap
pointed look off your face. Things are
not SO bad as they appear. | have
something to tell you. The night be
fore we left for this place | went Into
fathers library to look upon his globes
and maps where these places you have
been are. Something In the words
Glencove Springs sounded suggestive
Springs, springs | kept saying. Why
| did 1t | don't know, but | pressed
my thumb on the globe at the point
where Glencove Is and broke through
the surface. Taking a knife, | began
to dig and found the bonds. Here
they are"
Going to her trunk, she unlocked II
and took out twenty per cent gilt
edge bonds.
Tom kissed her enthusiastically
Then suddenly the smile left his face
and he said:
"This makes you governor OF the
household"
mot at all | expect to defer t.
you IN everything" was the comfort
ing reply.
But she never assigned the bonds tc
him, and he learned in time that heI
father was not 80 crackbrained as was