THE EARLIER BIRD.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XX, Issue 27, 22 April 1892, Page 25

THE EARLIER BIRD.

(Concluded.) Vamoto oJreqmslaaoM which I need not detail lengtheaed my stay •* Denver from a week to nearly a month, and in course of thu time I forgot ab>ut the letters of introiucUon. When I was ready depart, however, I thought of them with a sadden and intense p»na of aiscomfort. " F B I telegraphed to Yelverton and proceeded to paok my trnnk Just as I wm about to turn the key it raddesly acoarred to me that 1 had not notioed the bundle of letters in its onstomary corner of the «1L I opened the trnnk and investigated. The letters were not to be found, either in the till or elsewhere. Then I remembered that shortly after my arival at the hotel I had taken them out to show to Telwton, and had put them on tbe table. However, they were oot there now. I made a thorough search of the room ; the letters had plainly disappeared. I went Immediately to the clerk and told my story. He sent for the head ohambermaid. " Who takes oare of Mr Bon worthy's room ? " be asked. II ¥•*#•»" answered the head chambermaid ; • but Clara had that raom when be first came." " I have lost a package of letters," said L The two exchanged significant glances. " Do yon think they were stolen T " I asked ; •• no one coald have any possible object " "Oh no," said the clerk. Then he asked me if the letters were valuable. " N-no," I said ; " not exactly." "Well m tell you," said the clerk, evidently much relieved ; we let that girl Clara go, because sbe had a reckless way of burning up things that she found lying around in the roomß. If you have made a thorough search and you are sure the letters are not there, tbe ohanoea are that they are destroyed." I found it difficult to repress my joy at this intelligence. It is to be doubted if the clerk and head chambermaid ever succeeded in explaining my strange conduct, io actually refusing to make a row when one was quite justifiable. I hastened back to the room and executed a fresh search, so as to satisfy the last kick of my conscience. When I was absolutely convinced that the letters were'gone, I danced about tbe room in a transport of glee. The awful incubus which had been weighing down my spirits was suddenly removed, and I breathed again. " What a blockhead lam," I said to, myself : •• why did it never occur to me to destroy the letters, and claim, on my return, that they had been lost." Chance bad supplied the excuse which imagination had been unable to conjure up. I continued my journey, light-hearted as a prisoner who bas just secured his freedom— md to ally unsuspicious of the fate that was about to overtake me. Yelverton had advised me to stop over at Sacramento— one of the historic cities of the State— and visit the capitol and other places of interest. I adopted tbe suggestion. The tram got into Sacramento in the morning, and I was driven right to a hotel. I wrote my name on the register, and asked for a room for one day. The clerk whirled the book around, glanced at the n&me and said.: « All right, Mr Bon .why, are you Mr Bonwortby J EU'ot Bonworthy— of Cleveland 1 II Well," I said wi'.h some dignity, •• what did you imagine I wrote that name for— amusement 1 " His tone and manner surprised and annoyed me. It was evident, however, that my cool answer had disconcerted him, for his band shook as he pencilled the number of a room after my name, and hie voice trembled when be called up the belNboy. Ten minutes later, just as I was completing a hasty toilet, there was a knock at my door and, in answer to a " Come in," the clerk entered, followed by a tall, military looking man. When the door was closed, tbe clerk motioned his h»nd toward me, and nodded 11 What is it ?" I asked. " Do you understand," said the military man, « that you acknowledge your name to be Elliot Bonwortby ? " "Of course I do," I answered, somewhat angrily. H Well, I like his nerve," said the military man to the clerk, and the cleik grinned at me. " Say," continued the military man, " have you any frier, ds in this town ? " No," I said ;" I had some letters of introduction to several " The clerk gave a loud, derisive laugh. ."That settles it, BUI," he said to hi* companion: "You bad better run him in. You can take him down to tbe city on the afternoon train." •' What does all this mean f " I exe'aimed. Bill produced a paper from bis pocket. •' II means that you are under arrest," said he, "on charge of obtaining money nnder false

pretences. We know all aboot joar letter of Introduction scheme : it may bave worked all right in B.a Frao«i*oq, bu* it Kent* go hen. Wow just come along quietly, ami there won't boi any trouble, otherI glsnoed at the warrant. There was my name. •• Billot Bonirorttay, as njatn as print. I d:>n r e need to remar£th*t I was astonished and frightened. I had heard of men being miatakea for criminals and put to the necessity of proving their own identity, bat -hen was I, arrested under my own name, in a place where I had Bnppoeed myself utterly unknown. Wnat could I do -or My f I asked a few questions, aud learned that the crim j that was oharged had beea committed io the city of San Pranciroo a week or two before. Of course I could prove an alibi at the trial— but, in the meantime, what tti to be done to keep out of jail ? v .I a T" ip * nied Bill— "quietly," v he had suggested-to the sheriffs office, and we waited there until the nest train left for San Francisco. Bill pro Ted to be rather an entertaining companion* The first half of the trip he did his best to con tinea me that I ought to make; a full confession to him of all my crimes. He promised to •• stand in " and get me off with a light sentence. When he found thia undertaking hopeless, he began to talk about the country, answering the questions which I, a stranger to the aoenei through which wo were passing, Tery naturally asked. At length, however, mwe were crossing the ferry from Oakland, when I expressed my satisfaction at beholdiog the Golden Gate for the first time he turned on me, with a shee pish grin, and said : "You'd better let up. It won't do no gooi Of oourse you know the place as well as I do, aod it'i no use your tryin' to fill me full of prunes." When we arrived in that city, we went directly to the sheriff's office. "We will take you to the gaol later on," said Bi'l, apologetlThe sheriff dispatched a messenger after bouw of the complaining witnesses, and then proceeded to interriew me. I told him my name and explained that I was a tourist from Cleveland. He nodded his head and announced that the jig was up, aod that I might as well confess, for they had a very good case against me. Presently, two well-dressed men were usherei into the room Bill accompanied them. " This is the man," said) the sheriff, " he acknowledges it— at least the name." "He is not the man," sad one of the new-comers, emphatically. "He isn't? " exclaimed the sheriff, and Bill made a hasty reference to tbe infernal regions. "No ! " cried the gentleman. " I told you the fellow had blond moustache, blue eyes, was thick sat, and wore hia hair parted nearly in the middle." J " Yel-verton 1 " I exclaimed, springing up. •' That's one of his names," said the sheriff ; " he went under the name of Elliot Bonworthy, and he had an armful of letters of introduction, with which he worked tin town. Wnat do you know about him 1 " " He stole those letters from me at Denver," I said. "Oh, then you are lha Simon Pare Elliott Bonworthy f " said one of the gentlemen . " I can prove it readily enough, if Jneceasary," I said. The sheriff and Bill began to make profosa apologies, to which I paid little attention, as I was anxious to learn of Yelverton and bis performances. "He arrived here nearly a month ago," said one of the gentlemen, " and began immediately to make acquaintance by means of these letters-your letters, it appears. They were to many of the fioeet people in the city. So we took the man right in, for he talked and acted like a perfect gectleman. Well, sir, I don't suppose any man that ever came to this city got more elegant treatment than that fellow. Do you ? " he asked, turning to his companion, who signified his entire agreement. " Go on," I said, with an inward groan. •• Tbe best private houses and the clubs were ail open to him and he received every possible attention. Several men I know gave* him wine suppers. There wasn't a eocial event of importance to which be failed to bave an invitation. He gave out that he was sizing things up for a syn Jicate of Cleveland capitalists that thought of investing largely in mines. Well, sir, I calculate that in the thiee weeks that he put in in this city, be bad probably one of the very largest times that any man ever enjoyed. And he wound tbe thing up by getting the names of three or four good business men on spurious draf s, and then suddenly disappeared from view." " That was when 1 telegraphed him that I was coming," I said. "Well," observed the speaker io conclusion, "if you have any more letters of introduction bearing that same name, I would not advise you to present them, for you are liable to get arrested every time you try one on." I explained that Yelverton had captured the entire pack The complaining witnesses then shook hands with me and departed, I

imagine their experience with Telrerton discouraged them from any rash tenders of hospitality, for they did not suggest any improvement of oar acquaintance. Indeed, it was a cool stand off on both sides, for 1 did not fancy the sarcastic flings on the subject of the letters.

The next day the newspapers contained the whole story—the theft of the letters, TelTerton's performances, and my arrest. Tbe aooount given of the brief bat glorious career of my proxy— tbe spurious Mr Elliott Bonwortby— convinced me that the gentleman I had met at the sheriffs office were qnite right in saying he had enjoyed a "large time." As I read of sappers, dinners, fetes, balls, excursions, honors, attentions, etc., my senses fairly reeled with anguish. All this good time really belonged to me ; I had been cheated out of it purely through my own stupid misgivings, and partly through the shrewdness and industry of this earlier bird. Now then, |gentlsmen (concluded tbe passenger who had been asked to tell what he knew of the hospitality of the Oalifornians), you understand what I mean by saying that I received my welcome on the Coast by proxy.