Year: 1879

AHNA
Mr.. B. that ! was sure the girl coulS
not bes the ktHefS for had heard hel
praying SO earnestly for the finding OF the
lost money, but he was sure that she hao


stolen it. He went into the lager beer sa


lopnshe <said, andBat 1oxn and ordered


some be(r, and when che vent to pay fol
"a his pockcf-bodk was missing. No one


had been near him in the saloon except


this waiter-girl, and he was very deter.


mined i'll branding her as the guilty per-


son, and insisted upon appearing against


Her. Mr.. B: had only Arrived from Con
necticut that same afternoon, and I was


so sure of the girls innocence that in
terested myself in her behalf, and ques.


toned the gentleman closely as to where


he had been since he had reached New


York. He said thai he went-straight to


the Metropolitan shotel in the afternoon
FRant tp Niblo'sss Garden It6eatte id The
evening, and from there vent to the beer


saloon in a Broadway basement, and there


discovered his loss.


Then come along with me to the
hotel, said to him, Mr. Leland, con-


tinued, "and we will 60 down TO the
theater, and see Whether we can find any


trace OF your pocket-book there The


Metropqlitan' hotel office, YOU remember,


has Il door opening directly into tile thea


ter. took him through the office into


the lobby, and we woke up the. night


watchman, who had gone TO sleep, for it


was getting late. l told the watchmvn


that were looking for something that had


been lost, and he unlocked the door and


lit the gas. The lower seats in Niblo's
n'those days were -uphol olsteefed: and sepa-


rated from the seats by space about


half an inch wide. Mr.. B. remembered
the seat he had occupied, and said that
1t was at the extreme end of one of the
sofas near the middle Of tile abuse. We
went down there and looked over the seat
and the floor, bnt there was nosign of the
pocket-book. We had more of the
gas jets lighted and ran my hand around
the crevice between the back of the sofa
and the seat and the arm. There. in the
space between the upholstered arm and
the velvet seat, was Mr.. BIS. pocket book.
He had icarrieditin his plstolpocket,s and
when he sat down it worked its way out;
and, being thin and fiat, although it con-
tanned good deal Of money, it slipped
into the crevice, and there it stuck, Just
about half an inch of the end sticking up
above the seat. Nobody would have
noticed it without looking particularly
for it. The money was all safe and
sound.


fs'B. was the gladdest man you ever
saw, ready to jump for ~joy, and half
ashamed Of himself, too, for accusing the
waiter girl. told him he ought to make
her present of $50 or so for having her
locked up, but he protested that he
couldn' afford it, saying that he had
brought the money on to buy goods, and
could not spare it. At last, though after
some talking he agreed to give the girl
$25.s ~ was glad, on BIS. account, that
the money was found, bur a. good deal
more glad, on account Of the girl, who
would have stood a good chance of con-
viction if the pocket book had not turned
up. | knew that she would be to hear
that her innocence was established, and
half expected she would drop down on
her knees and make another prayer for
B. and l returned to the
station house and told Captain William
son or the finding of the money, and ask
ed him to let the girl go, as we had proof
positive of her innocence. He said that
the law would not allow him to do that,
We woukl take her out of the
cell and let her spend the remainder of
the night in the public room up stairs
The pleasant task Of telling the poor girl
that we were assured of her innocence
was left to me. The Captain went down
stairs and brought her up She was a


"My gIl,' I said 10 hct, when she
came up, ethe money you We're accused of
stealing has been found, and we all know
you are innocent. You will be dis
charged in the morning as, soon as the
court is opened s$I r.


"The honest girl didn't get down on
her knees and offer up any prayers of
Assured in her mind that
she was we'll out out of the scrapc, she
changed her tactics wonderfully. After
looking scornfully for minute at, the


man who had caused her arrest, she broke
string Of oaths half yard long,
and tor fully ten minutes cursed Mr. B. i
and all his friends in style not to be ex-
celled by an expert bootblack She was
able at prayer, but her praying capacity
was nothing to her talent for swearing.
There was not an oath or, vile name ever
heard by mortal ears that she did not ap-
ply to poor B., and it was all done so
quickly that there was nothing left for
him but to stand and take it like lamb.
After she got through he calmed her ex-
cited mind very much by putting $25 in
her hand. She was discharged in the
morning; Nj. B, returned to Connecticut,
md JudgeO. sailed fbr California. lcurs-
ing the circumstances that would not lot \
hin stay in the CITY long enough to pros
ecYte lthe polieceman who locked dsss him