Ten Years Among the Mail Bags. James Holbrook
it justify his arrest.
It occurred to me, on failing to find the letters referred to, that the wrapper in which they had been enclosed, might have been used in sending off other letters that morning, it being the custom in most of the smaller offices, as a matter of economy, to use the same wrappers several times by turning or reversing them. A short search produced the paper in question, which I removed from the package it enclosed, and substituted another in its place.
Here was an additional proof that the decoy package had reached the office at H., and had been opened, as the new address upon the wrapper was in the post master's hand-writing. He could not therefore say that he had never received such a package at his office, or should he make such an assertion, as he would be very likely to do if he were guilty, the production of this envelope would shut his mouth, and go far to prove his evil intentions.
But the case, at this stage, was very far from being a clear one against him, and he yet had a chance, if he were an honest man, of coming out triumphant over the efforts of malice, and the wiles of his "persecutors."
The removal of the wrapper and its use in enclosing other packages was all natural enough, being, as I have said, agreeable to the frequent custom in such small offices, and even the non-appearance of the Rouse's Point letters might yet be accounted for on the supposition that he had laid them aside to be forwarded, and had forgotten them; or that not observing the name of the town to which they were addressed, he had placed them in the "general delivery," where they might at that moment be lying unmolested.
Desirous of affording the suspected man a fair chance to prove his innocence in this matter, if that were possible, and acting in accordance with the above-mentioned charitable suppositions. I allowed two other opportunities of remailing the letters to pass, but after searching in vain for them on both occasions, I resolved to wait upon the post master and talk over freely and frankly the subject of his enemies' attacks, believing that he would not for a moment dream that I had any connection with the missing package, even if he had purloined it—a calculation which afterwards proved to be perfectly correct.
Accordingly I proceeded to the hotel at an early hour in the morning, intending not to seek an interview with him till after breakfast, and while waiting in the bar-room I overheard the following conversation. For convenience' sake I will indicate the different speakers by letters of the alphabet.
Mr. A. (to C. just entering the room.)—"Good morning. Mr. C. Are you 'armed and equipped as the law directs' to go over to F?" (a neighboring town.)
C.—"You mean by that, I suppose, whether I have laid in enough cigars to last till I get there, and patience enough to hold out till I can get back."
A.—"It will be a tedious business, that's a fact. Here's nobody knows how many going over from this town; no end to the witnesses, and no end to the case, I don't believe; at least not this term of court."
"Yes," broke in a rough-looking bystander, "the court'll set and set, and never hatch out nothin' but a parcel of goslins for the lawyers to pluck."
A.—"We can't dispute you, L., for you've been one of those same 'goslins,' I believe."
L.—"No I haint, I've been a darned sight wuss—a great goose. I swow it makes me mad with myself whenever I think on't."
"Come, daddy L.," spoke up a free and easy specimen of Young America, "tell us about that great law-suit of yours. I never heard all the particulars."
"Wal, young man," returned L. solemnly, "I'll tell you all about it, hopin' it'll be a warnin' to you never to have nothin' to do with the law.
"About fifteen, mebbe sixteen year ago, afore you'd got through hollerin arter your mammy, I used to keep considerable of a lot of sheep, and one year I bought a ram that I'd taken a fancy to jest because he was sech an all-fired big feller, and had sech thunderin' curly horns. I got him pretty cheap, and arter I'd had him awhile, I found out the reason on't. He was the darndest buttin', jumpin' feller that ever I see. There couldn't a calf nor a colt nor nothin' about his size come into the pastur where he was, but what he'd be arter it and knock it into a cocked hat if he could git a lick at it. Fact, he pretty much killed two or three likely calves that I had, but the colts was mostly too lively for him. He couldn't often hit 'em.
"Wal, I kinder hated to kill the feller, he was such a buster, so I shet him up in a little three-cornered lot so's to have him out of the way till the calves was killed off or had got bigger. But what did the rascal du but go to buttin' agin the stone wall that kep him out of neighbor Bliss's patch o' rye; and afore he'd bin there tew days, he knocked a hole in't and got into the rye. It was a kinder out of the way place where the lot was, so he had a chance to stay there all night, and 'praps a little longer. Anyhow, when Bliss found it out, he was hoppin' mad.
"He's rether techy any time, but he'd bin a braggin' on this ere field o'rye, how he was goin' to beat the hull town on it, and to have that old ram a nibblin' and trottin' threw it, and a spilin on't, sot his dander up. I was willin' to a' paid him suthin' for damages, but his charges was tew hot for me. Told him I'd see him darned afore I'd be imposed upon in that shape. Wal, he said he'd sue me, and sure enuff he did.
"We kept a lawin' on it considerable of a spell. Fust the court gin him his damages; then I 'pealed, and the case kept a gettin' put over somehow or other, till the 'all wool suit,' as the lawyers got to callin' it, come to be a standin' joke, and I was heartily sick on't. Wal, finally we contrived to settle it, and arter payin' Bliss about what he fust asked, I had my costs to see tu, and I went to Squire Sharp, my lawyer, to see what he was a goin' to charge me for his sarvices, as he called it. He was jest as smilin' and clever as a baskit o' chips.
"'Take a seat, Mr. L.' says he, 'I'll find your little account in a minit. Pleasant mornin', sir, good growin' weather.'
"Wal, I set down and found out purty soon that I'd got 'bout fifty dollars to pay for his sarvices—blame 'em!
'Now,' says I, 'Squire, that air's a good deal o' money for a man like me tu pay, and I don't blieve I can raise it all tu wonst. P'raps you'd take part out in produce, jest ter 'commodate.'
"'Oh, yes,' says he, 'Mr. L., I'll take anything you've a mind to bring.'
"'So,' thinks I, 'I'll git red of one plague by the means;' and I went home and got the old ram and carried him up to the Squire's house.
"'Good mornin', Squire,' says I, 'I've brought the fust instalment on my little account.'
"'The deuce you have,' says he, 'what do you suppose I'm going to do with that old buck?'
"'Donno, Squire,' says I, 'all I know is that you said you'd take anything I was a mind ter bring, and this ere ram is legal tender, anyhow.'
"Wal, he saw he was kinder stuck, so he 'greed to take it, and 'low me five dollars.
"I heerd arterwards that the Squire put the ram into an empty hog-pen, to keep him until he could sell him, but the darned critter went over the top on't, and tackled Miss Sharp, the Squire's wife, that happened to be a stoopin' down, weedin' her posies in the gardin, upsot her, and then put arter little Jim, one of her boys, and floored him, and ended off with knockin' down a crazy old well-curb, pitchin' into the well, and breakin' his neck, or drowndin' himself, I donno which.
"That's the end of my experience in law. The old ram cost me, fust and last, about a hundred dollars."
After the conclusion of this instructive narration, the general conversation, which for the time had been suspended, was resumed, and I gathered from what was said that the post master was one of the principal witnesses in the trial above alluded to by Messrs A. & C.; that arrangements had been made for an early start, as the place where the court was to be held was some twelve or fifteen miles distant, and that the hotel where we were was the place of rendezvous.
I observed narrowly every new-comer, and soon a well-dressed, intelligent-looking man, apparently about thirty years old, entered, whom I took to be the very gentleman I wished to see. My conjecture respecting him proved to be correct,