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Page 1
"Pray keep your seat, madam, I will not disturb you. There--now it is
pretty well concealed; one would hardly know it was there. Can I see
your husband a moment, madam?"
No, he was gone to Brixton, and might not return before morning.
"Very well, madam, it is no matter. I merely wanted to leave that sack
in his care, to be delivered to the rightful owner when he shall be
found. I am a stranger; he does not know me; I am merely passing through
the town to-night to discharge a matter which has been long in my mind.
My errand is now completed, and I go pleased and a little proud, and you
will never see me again. There is a paper attached to the sack which
will explain everything. Good-night, madam."
The old lady was afraid of the mysterious big stranger, and was glad to
see him go. But her curiosity was roused, and she went straight to the
sack and brought away the paper. It began as follows:
"TO BE PUBLISHED, or, the right man sought out by private
inquiry--either will answer. This sack contains gold coin weighing a
hundred and sixty pounds four ounces--"
"Mercy on us, and the door not locked!"
Mrs. Richards flew to it all in a tremble and locked it, then pulled down
the window-shades and stood frightened, worried, and wondering if there
was anything else she could do toward making herself and the money more
safe. She listened awhile for burglars, then surrendered to curiosity,
and went back to the lamp and finished reading the paper:
"I am a foreigner, and am presently going back to my own country, to
remain there permanently. I am grateful to America for what I have
received at her hands during my long stay under her flag; and to one
of her citizens--a citizen of Hadleyburg--I am especially grateful for
a great kindness done me a year or two ago. Two great kindnesses in
fact. I will explain. I was a gambler. I say I WAS. I was a ruined
gambler. I arrived in this village at night, hungry and without a
penny. I asked for help--in the dark; I was ashamed to beg in the
light. I begged of the right man. He gave me twenty dollars--that is
to say, he gave me life, as I considered it. He also gave me fortune;
for out of that money I have made myself rich at the gaming-table. And
finally, a remark which he made to me has remained with me to this
day, and has at last conquered me; and in conquering has saved the
remnant of my morals: I shall gamble no more. Now I have no idea who
that man was, but I want him found, and I want him to have this money,
to give away, throw away, or keep, as he pleases. It is merely my way
of testifying my gratitude to him. If I could stay, I would find him
myself; but no matter, he will be found. This is an honest town, an
incorruptible town, and I know I can trust it without fear. This man
can be identified by the remark which he made to me; I feel persuaded
that he will remember it.
"And now my plan is this: If you prefer to conduct the inquiry
privately, do so. Tell the contents of this present writing to any
one who is likely to be the right man. If he shall answer, 'I am the
man; the remark I made was so-and-so,' apply the test--to wit: open
the sack, and in it you will find a sealed envelope containing that
remark. If the remark mentioned by the candidate tallies with it,
give him the money, and ask no further questions, for he is certainly
the right man.
"But if you shall prefer a public inquiry, then publish this present
writing in the local paper--with these instructions added, to wit:
Thirty days from now, let the candidate appear at the town-hall at
eight in the evening (Friday), and hand his remark, in a sealed
envelope, to the Rev. Mr. Burgess (if he will be kind enough to act);
and let Mr. Burgess there and then destroy the seals of the sack, open
it, and see if the remark is correct: if correct, let the money be
delivered, with my sincere gratitude, to my benefactor thus
identified."
Mrs. Richards sat down, gently quivering with excitement, and was soon
lost in thinkings--after this pattern: "What a strange thing it is! . . .
And what a fortune for that kind man who set his bread afloat upon the
waters! . . . If it had only been my husband that did it!--for we are so
poor, so old and poor! . . ." Then, with a sigh--"But it was not my
Edward; no, it was not he that gave a stranger twenty dollars. It is a
pity too; I see it now. . . " Then, with a shudder--"But it is
_gamblers_' money! the wages of sin; we couldn't take it; we couldn't
touch it. I don't like to be near it; it seems a defilement." She moved
to a farther chair. . . "I wish Edward would come, and take it to the
bank; a burglar might come at any moment; it is dreadful to be here all
alone with it."
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