Year: 1878

The agent assured him that there would be
no delay, and he might depend on having the
bodies 60 through to G., with the greatest
possible expedition.


The man bowed again politely, and then
he said:


"Is the telegraph Office near' I must send
the sorrowful news to my poor sister, l sup
pose, though it is anything but a pleasant
duty"


I told him how to reach the place he sought,
and with polite "thank you" the sad man
with the red eye walked out of the office, and
in couple of minutes the sounds of his foot
steps died away in the distance.


"A queer sort of chap" said.


Suppose you 60 to the telegraph office and
see what kind of message he sends" sug-
gested the agent.


No sooner said than done. 1 fastened
around to the telegraph Office, and as l went
in the man came out. He didn't seem to re-
cognize meat least, he didn't look at me
and 1 thought it prudent not to notice him:


did that preacher-looking fellow send a
message to c. ?" asked of the operator,
when I had gone in and closed the door after
me.


"Yes. Why do you ask?"


"Oh only out of curiosity" | replied
"Was it anything of Importance The man
said that his brother and brother-in.law were
both killed this afternoon"


The operator took the copy of the message
from the file on the table, and laid it before
me. 1t was addressed to Mrs. G. 81. Griggs,
c., and signed Isaac G. Van Scooter. 1t
read:


"Henry and Charles are both dead. They
will be sent home Thursday"


Everything seemed consistent, and any
doubts l had entertained of the good inten-
tions of the stranger were speedily dissolved.
I didn't 90 back to the office, but turned my
steps toward my boarding place, thinking, as
1 walked along, that Thursday would be an
uncommon day with me, with two corpses and
$4,000 in specie in my car.


The money was safely deposited in the car
an hour before the time for the train to leave,
Thursday morning. 1t was securely locked
in two strong, iron. bound chests, and when
they were slowed away in the large safe, and
the heavy doors made fast; | thought every.
thing was pretty we'll fixed. A few minutes
before we pulled out, two wagons passed by
the car, one of them containing two cofins,
and the other, six men, who were evidently
acting as pall-bearers. looked around for
the bereaved brother with the peculiar eye,
but he was nowhere to be seen. l thought it
little strange that he should be absent at
such time, but l forgot all about it in
moment.


The coffins we're placed in one end of the
car, and after it had been arranged that one
of the men should come into the car and take
look at the bodies when we arrived at Red
wood, he shook hands with the others and eD.
tered one of the coaches. AS the door closed
on him, the bell rang aud we went steaming
away.


was pretty busy for an hour or more, and
we had passed three or four stations before l
had time to cast more than casual glance
toward the quiet passengers at the end of the
car. But after little, when had more leis.
ure, an uncomfortable wish took possession of
me to look at the faces of the two dead men.
1t wasn't mere morbid curiosity, and cant
describe it in any way better than to say it
was sort of vague desire which could not
quiet without satisfying it.


1 noticed that the lids were not fastened
down. Mynex discovery was that the screws
were gone This struck me as strange, for |
was sure had noticed them when the cofins
were lifted into the car. remembered that
l had given the attendants permission to ar.
range the caskets to their own satisfaction, and
that they had been long time doing it. If
they had removed the screws, unobserved, at
that time, what possible object could they
have had in doing so? With this question in
my mind, I raised the upper portion of the
lid of the coffin nearest me and took look
at the face of the occupant. He was young
man with a full face and square features.
His cheeks were not sunken, and he had
decidedly fresh appearance for young man
who had been dead for nearly two days, |
thought.


Replacing the lid, passed away to the
other coffin. Here a new and startling sur
prise met me. The man in the coffin was the
man l had seen at the express Office. Thao
red eye was staring straight at me and was
not mistaken. For moment my consterna-
tion was too great for words. could not
have uttered sound had my life depended
on it.


The man who was alive after the accident,
which the paper said caused the death of Van
Scooter and Griggs, and who had made arrange
ments for the transportation Of their remains,
was now here in this coffin, to all appearance
dead. Then remembered that the bereaVed
stranger had said that his dead brother re-
sembled him very closely. But two brothers
are not apt to have red glass-eyes. Such CO.
incidence as this was beyond the pale of reas-
enable probabilities.


While yet 1 gazed at the supposed corpse,
the other eye opened little, and | was sure
it was looking at me. / was convinced that
there was fraud here, but to show that | had
discovered it, might cost me my life. So l
very quietly replaced the lid of the coffin,
and took a moments time to think the matter
over.


1 remembered my conversation with the
express agent, which | feared had been over.
heard by the clerical looking stranger, and
could only come to the conclusion that the
whole thing was deliberate plan to murder
me and gain possession of the $4,000 in my
charge. There was no denying that the man
with the red eye was alive, and | had no
doubt that the other man was also. Kneeling
down, placed my ear close to the side of the
coffin, and could hear him breathe quite dis
tipctly. I remembered that the attendant
who had boarded the train intended to enter
the car at Redwood, ostensibly for the pur-
pose of seeing the bodies; and l could not
doubt that the three men intended to attack
me after the train pulled out from the station,
and rob the car before our arrival at the next
stopping place. There was but one station
between US and Redwood, and knew we
would be there in ten minutes more. [ had