Rensselaer Republican, Volume 19, Number 52, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 1 September 1887 — MR. BOSTWICK'S LUCK. [ARTICLE]

MR. BOSTWICK'S LUCK.

Poor Caleb was in despair. The most persistent ami relentless port of ill-luck had pursued this meek and exemplary little man fo’ so long that he had grow n quite accustomed to have things g<’ m 'ire or less awry with him, ami he ordinarily accepted Fate’s small spitefulness quite as a matter of course.. But this last misfortune seemed too 1 uanch foreven Caleb Bostwick’s admirable patience and forbearance. For a bnet space he wavered between tears and profanity over his crowning ill-fortune; then, at last, his manhood a-serted itself, and he mildly awore. He said: ‘‘Well, its too dern’d bail!” It really was too bad. For a score of long and weary years Caleb had risen early and wrought late for the very moderate stipend that he received weekly from the great commercial house which had just failed—failed so completly and thoroughly that there would not be enough left to pay 10 cents on each dollar of its obligations. It was a terribly severe blow to Caleb. He ha<l grown from boyhood into a man—now neither young nor old—in the uninterrupted enjoyment of bis one bit of unvarying good fortune, the little pay envelope every Saturday night with his week’s wages to take home to his patient little wife and his four chubby little boys. It bad often been hard work to ‘keep the wolf from breaking in at the door, and the five pairs of small shoes frpm breaking out at the toes. Yet Caleb, despite his trials, had been able to go whistling merrily to the “store” of mornings, and his wife would chirrup a cheery song asahe wiped, the breakfast dishes in the coxy kitchen that always looked as if its face was newly washed. There has been long weeks of whooping eeugh, mumps, and measles, that had kept the diminutive savings bank account from ever reaching three figures, however, and there was but little to stand between tbeir humble happiness and cruel want.

And now the snow was beginning to make its approach felt in the air, and only that very morning the cheery little woman had said, as she kissed him good by for the day: “You good little pappy, you must begin to get rich soon, or else you'll have to have some one die and leave yon a new overcoat, and you must bring home the money for the rent to night. —— The new overcoat was a thing that he also felt he ought to have, but the rent was an imperative demand that could not be out of. And now the coat was entirely out of the question, and the savings bank account must dwindle for the landlord’s potent sake. Yes, it was too had — too “dern’d” bad was not extravagantly strong, all things considered, and Caleb knew it. He felt that his vehemence of expression was fully justifiedby the circumstances. Because the failure of Bongs, Biggs A Buncombe, though an overwhelming calamity to him, was not his only pro vocation to this emphatic protest, for as he the closed doorsto which the sheriff's deputies held the keys, he discovered that the small roll of money remaining over from last week’s wages after the modest weekly bills had been paid, had in some mysterious manner escaped from the snug protection of his waistcoat pocket, Possibly the suave and polite stranger who apologized so gracefully for jostling him at the ferrylanding could.have told what’became of the money. But this was only surmise. The fact itself was beyond conjecture; the money was gone. True, i: was only a paltry one and two dollar bills—only “aces and duces,” as the defunct firm’s dashing traveler, Harry Slimton, would have said —but its loss was more crushing to poor Caleb, coming upon the heels of the other disaster, than the unsuccessful opening of the richest kind of a jackpot would have been to the gay and brilliant Harry, and Caleb remarked (this time privately and to his inner self): “Well, dash it all, anyway!” But whatever there was of comfort and relief in these ’scape valve emissions from an overcharged heart, they did not furnish the curative solace of resorce or expedient What to do was the immediate problem. A week before Caleb’s uncle had said to him that if he, Caleb, could lay his hand o 1 Ji ,200 or $t,500 there was a chance for him and his cash in the old gentleman’s factory, together ' with a sure income of more than double the wages the little man had been receiving. What good, however, wis such an offer to Caleb.’ He was as far from having $1,500 as he was from the moon. Moodily s he turned toward the bank —to draw the sum necessary to pay t-ltv rent passing in after a tedious wait for the doors to open, he saw the little savings that stood between hinrand dire

distress shrink into more alarming insignificance. He left the bank with a heavy heart, and, fearing lest he might again become the victim of cruel fort une, he kept the iimpsey little book, with its modest fringe <>f ends of bank notes, tightly clasped in his hand. Turning the corner of ne nearest “short-cut,”he found himself among a throng of men—some nterested, some idly curious, all attentive to the words of a dapper gentleman who was volubly soliciting bills on some thing which Caleb was too much occupied with other matters to notice, for back of the dapper and verbose gentleman stood the polite and suave stranger who had apologixed at the ferry-landing foi jostling Caleb, and who might have taken the roll of money. Hoping against despair, Caleb pressed forward throughithe crowd and bank book in blind, waved a frantic signal toward the “Aii, yes! Thank von, sir;” chattered on the dapper auctioneer. “Thirty-one did you say? Going at thirty-one, ’rtyone; will no one say thirtv-two? Last call, gentlemen? Going, going, gone! This gentleman gets it at $31,000, and mightv cheap, too. Name, please?” and he smiled blandly at Caleb. - The poor little man was utterly confounded. He saw that he had unwittingly bid off some valuable piece of property, and a feeling of horror came over him as he felt that he must publicly disavow his intention and explain that he had only wanted to arrest the attention of a well-dressed gentleman whom he suspected of being a thief. He stammered out: “My name is Bostwick!” and as the crowd parted to enable him to advance he felt that it would be a merciful dispensation to be permitted to sink’tbrough the earth to—even China. Clutching his bank book more firmly he sought to make a whispered explanation to the auctioneer, who stood in bland smiling expectation. At this critical moment a hand on his shoulder —the bank book shouldercaused him to turn and face the intruder who hindered the culmination of his day’s misery, “One moment, Mr. Bostwick,” said a voice in his ear, “don’t settle yet, if you please. Will you take 11,000 for your bargain?” “No, no;” stammered poor Caleb, anxious to explain.- “I don’t ” “Fifteen hundred, then; say fifteen hundred and I’ll give you a cliect- right herb.” “Ready ’’ gasped Caleb. “I’ll tell you what I’ll do,” persisted the stranger, “I’ll give you 12,000 to turn the bargain over to me. My old man wants the house, but I’m blessed if I’ll give a penny over J 53.000 for it. Will you take it? Yes or no. Quick!” * Caleb’s eyes began to bulge. He realized that he was being offered $2,000 to back out of his,blunder. With one supreme effort he refrained from falling dead atthe feetof the persistent stranger,and with a strange procrastination asked: ■> “But why didn’t you bid it ofl yourself?” L., “Didn't get here till after you’d got your work in; 1 thought the old duffer wouldn't begin the sale so early. Is it a trade?” “It is,” gasped Caleb, as he saw the stranger draw out from his wallet a handful-of certified checks and select two of SI,OOO each from the goodly fellowship of the greater ones. The stranger drew a fountain pen from its case and fitted it to the holder. “You see,” he remarked as he indorsed the checks. “I like to get things settled up tight and fast while I am about it, so there won’t be any backing out.” . And the cheeks were handed over to Caleb and the trader- consummated. Caleb had not recovered from his astonishment and amazement before the stranger had vanished. When he realized the full force of what had occurred became to a very sensible conclusion, like a sensible man. He started straight home to tell his wife of his wonderful luck.