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DORA. T ;£ 0 -.?T^D tDAUatnr rt¬ f'# -Vrl I jfA By J. W H., of Toccoa, Ga. Chapter XXII. A REVELATION. Mr. Bergan resumes his old routine of business. Paul s father has never said one word to him as regards his staying in W ■. Paul is expecting it every moment. Paul receives a message from his father, asking him to come immediately to his private office. He is informed in a matter of fact, business way that he desire* Paul to become ‘ Teller of the bank, and that he must enter upon the duties of his office on the morrow.” Mr. Bergan does not fail to observe lib son s look of incredulity and thinks an explanation necessary; so he continues; “Paul, I have lately become pos¬ sessed of a secret with which I am afraid to trust even myself. Mr. Somers has always faithfully per- formed his duty, and it is to prevent his knowing this secret that I make you teller in his stead. Ten days ago I was in IPat- Mr. Wilton’s old place of business. One evening just before dusk, I was 8topped at the corner Hunter street, by the most sinister c; ' bolical speci- men of civilized humanity lexer saw. Small in stature, a hunchback, a Roman nose, bronze complexion his face covered with short stubby beard, small eyes, iu which there was the glitter of the serpent's, all combined to give him an extremely hideous appearance. “jtfr. Bergan,” said lie, without giviu^mc his name, and then rapidly continuing. “I desire yon to keep this package until Minnie Wilton becomes twenty-one years of age ; then, bo so kind as to give it to her.” ith tins, he turned to leave, but 1 hastily said ; “to my certain knowledge, Minnie Wilton is dead.” “Then keep it, ’ said he. “It is hers and I will never touch it again. He passed out of sight at once, carelessly placed the package in mv pocket and never opened it until this morning. # That package contained $650,000. 00 in U. S. Bonds 1 My first thought, was that the bonds were bogus, but on a close inspection, l was forced to acknowledge that they were genuine I Then I remembered that the unknown person had said, “‘It is liers,’ I remembered also, Mr. W iltou s last words, ‘“Gan Eugeue be guilty, or is Benton the rogue?’ I remember too that the firm was once Burton & Wilton. Then the only solution of the mystery is this; Eugene Belmont never took Mr. Wilton’s money. Burton, his former partner did, and now is seeking to repair this injury by returning it with interest. This mystery can never be ex¬ plained to the world, and should it become known, a most horrible sus¬ picion will rest upon me. Keep this as though it were the secret of the dead. But the trouble is Minnie is dead and the perplexing question is, Who is entitled to this money? This strange man charged me to keep it until she “becomes twenty-one years of age.” I suppose it is my duty to keep it until she would have been twenty-one, aud then endeavor to ascertain to whom it legally belongs.” Chapter XXITf. A MYSTERIOUS MYSTERY ! Wheu Paul had left his father’s office : his mind was puzzled as regards that singular package. Uc was ing leisurely down Laurel street, on his way home. The shrill voice of the newsboys, “Paper, sir ’ oartiallv broke his reverie. Carelessly handing the little fellow a dime, he received the paper and passed on. He read the locals, glanced over the political items, and directly be was astonished to see these words, in clear large type; “Paul Bergan will confer a favor i.pan Tom Turner by calling at 3*2 ^ street, this eve at five o'clock.” It was now four, and he could scarcely get to 332 —- street by five o’clock. Ho walked on until be found a street car which passed near his destination. He succeeded in TOCCOA NEWS By Edw SCHAEFER- 1 VOL. I. getting to 352 street at five min- utes five. He saw a neat, substantial cottage. He knocked and was ush¬ ered into a plainly furnished parlor. Every moment now he expected to see Tom enter, but not yet. Directly a pleasant faced, lady of about thirty five appeared and asked if this was Mr. Paul Bergan? Paul Vmwed and answered in thfi_affirma- tivc. The lady scrutinized him close¬ ly for several minutes, saying not one word. Paul resented such close inspection and was annoyed at the lady’s silence. “Madam,” said he, “I was under the thilt 1 * friend, Tom Turner, as you will see by reference to this paper, aud was not expecting the honor of forming a lady’s acquaintance.” The lady eyed him closely, and it was apparent to Paul that she was displeased. “And. Mr. Bergan, please be so kind as to tell me something about this Tom Turner.” Here was our friend in a predica¬ ment What did he know about Tom Turner himself? He had come for information and was now asked to give it. He hesitated, then blushed ; the lady’s keen eyes seemed bent on reading his inmost thoughts. “Corns, sir, give me some informa¬ tion as regards your friend Tom Turner whose conduct, to say the least, is somewhat singular.” “Madam, I have seen Mr. Turner only a few times, and can tell you nothing about him. I came here expecting to see him and will take my departure if he is not here. ’ “.Sir,” said she, in tones of determ¬ ination, “you will explain this mys¬ tery first.” "J decline to attempt to explain that of which lam totally ignorant.” “ IFhen you know the cUeum stances, perhaps yon can be induced vo explain, and in all probability, in public.” ‘•Please express your insinuations in words.” “I will, sir, at the proper time.” “Madam, this must be explained. Perhaps you can tell me, something of Tom Turner. ’ “I have never seen him.” ‘You have never seen Tom Turner?’ exclaimed Paul. ‘Never!’ emphatically. What was Paul to do? What could this mean? This lady had never seen Tom Turner. W hy had he asked Paul to call here? lie rose to depart, but the lady stepped to the door, and in tones bitterly sarcastic, said : “Not until you give me an explanation do you leave this room!” He saw that she was determined and thought the best plan would be to endeavor to satisfy her. W ith this thought he said, pleasantly ; “Really, there is nothing to explain. I saw this request in the paper, in which he asked me to call here at five 0 ‘clook* This I have done. He has not. That is all I know !“ “Indeed 1 Then you decline to explain the remainder, do you? Ton shall explain it!“ *• v ; ad Jim, what remaiuder?” good humoredly. He was satisfied there was a mistake. Then the lady looked at him sternly, and said in tones low and firm, “Then, sir, do you pretend 7 iot to know that Tom Turner sent to me a little girl accompanied by a note in which was money sufficient to pay her expenses for one month. Today I received another note from him in which he said that if Paul Bergan called, please to let him have the child. And you pretend to be ignorant of these facts ! “Madam, I am ignoraut! ‘bir, you shall explain, or else I will have it investigated! c hat plot is this, into which J have been unconsciously drawn? [To be Continuedj Devoted to News. Politic*. Agriculture and General progress. TOCCOA, GA., OCTOBER 1882. NAILED TO THE COUNTER. Hon. Hiram P. Bell Indites a Few Remakes Worthy of Consider¬ ation. Gainesville Eagle. Cvmming, Ga., Oct. 6,1882. H. 4 W. J. Ham, Editor Eagle : - My Dear,Sir: —Your favor of the 4th instant is this moment received. You say that ‘the Speer men here are openly charging that you (I) are SU pp 0r tj n g Mr. Speer in this cam¬ paign 1 ’ You add you ‘know it to be untrue, but that they arc making some people believe it, and you re¬ quest me to give you authority over my own signature to deny it.’ You are authorized to say that I am nbt supporting Mr. Speer in this cam¬ paign, and that I would not support Speer under any circumstances for an y position, for the reason that bas gfiown himself to be a dema- gogue without principle or patriotism, treacherous to all parties, and false to state and race. I therefore leave his support to his ‘Dear Mat’ and those radicals who favor negro supremacy and find congenial spirits in this noble pair of brothers. You are further authorized to say that I favored the nomination of Hon. A. D. Candler and most cheerfully support him because he is a man of honor and integrity, as true in counsel as he was brave in battle ; shown by tin rest, of trial, o be a capable legis- lator, a democrat from conviction and the able and fearless advocate of home rule by white men. Very respectfully, your obedi nt servant II. P. Bell. VALUABLES BY MAIL The sending of a registered pack¬ age containing bonds valued at$> »- 000,000 from Baltimore for transmis¬ sion to Europe, which has been a subject of comment in the Baltimore newspapers, is not regarded by the postal authorities here as a transac¬ tion of unusual magnitude. The post-office officials are inclined to be reticent as to the value of the money packages received and delivered through the registry department, and, i n f ac t, the amounts are only known when the packages become broken and have to be rebacked and scaled. Bonds sent between this country and Europe are now transmitted almost entirely by mail because that method is the cheapest and quickest. There is no delay of packages for examina¬ tion at the custom house, and the cost is only 10 cents on each package, besides the postage. The bonds are insured by the marine insurance companies in the same way as other merchandise, and the Government is not legally responsible for their safe delivery. If the value of the package is declared, the post-office authorities may refuse to take the risk of deliv¬ ery. The transmission of property worth several hundred thousand dollars is thus secured at the cost of a few dollars. The sending of gold hy mail is also very common, especi¬ ally between ‘'an Francisco and this eity. The gold sent by the Govern¬ ment from California is packed in heavy iron safes and is delivered under the usual Government frank. The safes are taken from the post- office to the Sub-Treasury, and the contcnte carefully counted, the seals not being touched from the time of ( j e p arture to that of arrival. Gold sen t by private persons is packed for maibDg lQ bagS , $1,000 being sent in eacb ba2 The Nevada Bank receives the larg (ilifbinia. * s t part of the gold thus sent Tbe value of the g 0 ]cj aen t through the mails is often many millions of dollars in a year, and that of the bonds is larger. It j s sa td that when the bonds of the railway were being sent to this country for a special purpose, there were securities valued at $80,000,00d within the walls of the post-office at one time. Great precautions are taken by the post-office authorities to guard against loss of the valuable matter committed to their charge. In the Registry Department, as far as possible, every transaction is witnessed by two clerks, and no article is at any time out of ihe charge of some person responsible for its safety. Receipts are given for the delivery of each package by one clerk to another. If any package falls open, the fact has to be at once reported to the superintendent, who sees that its contents arc safe, and that it is securely refastened. When the registered letters and packages are distributed for mailing they are put into canvas bags, which are different from those used for common mails, and are fastened with padlocks of peculiar construction. The pad¬ locks are numbered on one side, and have an opening through which can be seen a rotating number which changes every time the lock is opened The number of the padlock and rotary number are registered at eacli place, and the lock can not be disturbed between the stations without the fact appearing in a change of the number. Beside valuable articles there are also sent by registered mail some that are remarkable in other ways. A firm in one of the Northwestern Territories has a habit of sending registered otter skins to the city, and their odor is a fruitful source of complaint among the clerks. The same fault is found with packages of compressed mushrooms that are sent to this country from Italy, Two trade dollars were sent the other day by an economical person, who did not seal them in envelopes, but tied around them a piece of paper con¬ taining the address, so that the coins might go as fourth class matter Occasionally a bag of mail matter on being opened will display loose coins and paper money from packages carelessly fastened. The letters that are sent with the packages usually contain enough particulars to enahL the clerks to replace the right amounts —N. Y. Tribune. A BUFFALO ROBE WILH A HISTORY. ‘Y r es,’ said a well-to-do business gentleman of Atlanta, Ga., to a Con- stitution representative, ‘that buffalo robe is old, worn, faded, ugly and worm-eaten, but I wouldn t take $5,000 for it.’ •Then you are not as sensible as / thought you were,’ 'replied the re porter, as he eyed the buffalo robe spread upon the floor. ‘Sensible or not, I mean it. 1 have been offered $100 and $2i0 for it re¬ peatedly, and once had an offer of $500.-See,’ continued the speaker, pointing to the faded hieroglyphics on the inside of the robe, ‘that was painted by a Sioux Indian artist seventy years ago, and for many winters kept warm the body of one of the greatest chiefs that tribe ever produced. That robe was his treas¬ ure, and for it he fought and many ot his best braves died.’ ‘That’s a good speech and well de¬ livered, but it sounds like a snake story,’remarked the csdar shover, as the gentleman paused, out of breath, ‘No, it is no snake story, and /will show you why I value that robe so much. My father was a Georgian, and when Georgia sent her soldiers to the Mexican war he shouldered his gun and went along. From the time he left home till the treaty peace was signed he staid with his regiment, and when at last became home that robe was all he brought with him. He put great store by it and always kept it in his room. To his family he told how he got it. One dav during the war he was scouting { TERMS-$1 50 A YEAR. NO. 15. with a detachment of his regiment and came upon a band of Indians. A tight was the result, und after a few volleys the Indians retreated, or rather those who could do so. Among the wounded was an old chief, and when the soldiers came up to where he lay on the battle-field there was some talk of killing him, for he was recognized as the most heartless, cruel and fearless Indian on the plains, but my father inter- fered and from his own canteen put water between the wounded chief’s parched lips. But his wounds were mortal and soon all knew' that the cruel, heartless chief was dying. Just before death he beckoned my father to his side and by signs gave him that robe. That is how ii came into ihe family.’ ‘And that is why you wouldn t take $>500 for it? ‘No, not exactly. When the late war came on I enlisted, and when uiy Old father sent my tricks to the camp he sent that robe. I did not want to take it, because it was so cumber¬ some, but when he insisted 1 yielded. Well, I went to Virginia, and while trotting around after Stonewall Jack- son, I lost the robe. I was greatly worried over my loss, and used every exertion to recover the old robe, Everybody in my regiment knew of the robe, its history and its. loss, and i.very one kept an eye open for it Veil, about the time of Cross Keys and Port Republic fights, I learned one day that my robe was in Stone wall Jackson’s tent, I went to see, and sure enough it was there. W hen I entered the tent, or rather looked into the tent, old Stonewall was lying upon the robe. Finally, I mustered courage to tell him of my loss. He heard mv story with patience, and then said that the robe had been brought him about a week before by an Alabama soldier. He offered to surrender it, but I couldn’t take it and told him to keep it—at the same time giving him its history—and I would get it after the war if he did nG t lose it. Well, he kept it. At the battle of Chancellorsvilie he received his death-wound, an l when he died he died on the robe, and I believe some of that red which looks like paint is some of the hero's blood. After his death I claimed _ . _ the . rone, , then doubly dear to me. and sent it home. Now would you take $5,000 for it? I can prove every word of my story true. THE A. E. <fc C. RAILROAD. [New South ] . No railroad project wa3 ever started under more favorable auspices than the one recently brought to the notice of the people—to extend from Augusta to Elberton. When the matter was brought to the attention ofthe people of Wilkes, Lincoln and Columbia they seized upon it at once; and libsral subscriptions to the enterprise were poured in, the greatest enthusiasm manifested all along the line of the projected road. Our Augusta contemporaries in- form U 3 that the charter for the road has been granted, an offer has been made to grade tbe road from fiber- ton to Broad river for the sum of ten thousand dollars—about one-third of the line_the crops on the whole line were never better, and altogether it would appear that the time for prompt, mature and defin ; te action had come ; yet our Augusta friends, who origin¬ ated the project, anl who—not un- wisely, we frankly admit—appropri¬ ated the larger portion of the incor¬ porators, are strangely still in regard to the matter. If a single attempt has been made to secure subscriptions in that city we have failed to properly inform ourself. Whether this course has been wise plc’of . e ^ we firm a iy believe that tbe p eo Lincoln inteud to have &ra u r0 ad. and if they can t have it i n both directions they will build the cheapest end. ACCIDENTAL SHOOIING. Mb. Richard Davis is Shot and Mortally woi"nded by iits friewd. Macon Telegraph, information was brought into the city yesterday morning of a terrible accidental killing at the toll gate, about six miles from Jtfacon. it seems that Mr. James Darden and Mr. Charlie Tankersley are interested in a sugar cane patch a short distance from the toll gate. For some time past, in fact ever since the cane has ripened, quantities of the cane have been stolen, the thieves making almost nightly raids. On Thursday night • Mr. Durden made an arrangement with a neigh- bor, Mr. Richard Davis, to help him watch the patch. Both armed themselves with double barreled shot guns, and for some cause or other the friends separated, to meet at the patch. Mr- Durden was the first to reach the patch, and he supposed that his friend was already there, but on the opposite side, as agreed upon. He had not been there long before he heard a rustling in the cane, and, supposing the intruder to be a thief, let loose both barrels. To his horror he found that he had shot his friend, one load taking effect in the stomach and the other shattering his left arm. Mr. Durden went at once for help, and Mr. Davis was taken to Mr, Tankerley’s house and a physician sent for. As soon as the physician saw the wound he pronounced it a fatal one, though Mr. Davis was alive yesterday. It is thought that there is no chance for him to live. The affair i9 deeply deplored by all in the settlement. Both Durden and Davis are well known in il/acon. - — > m ---— THE FISH AND THE HOOK. A fat Bass was swimming around with her plump young daughter when a hook, temptingly baited, was dropped before their noses. ‘There s a good dinner for us.* whispered Miss Bass, as she started for the bait. ‘Hold on, my ohild.’ cautioned the mother, ‘The bait is tempting, but beware ofthe hook which it conceals. ‘Oh, I’ll risk that.’ ‘It will be death to you. Take a mother's advice and hunt for frogs.’ But the giddy young thing could not be convinced, and taking advaa* tage of the first opportunity ihe rushed forward and grabbed the bait and — moral: You may think the fisherman caught her, but he didn’t. He fished all that afternoon and didn t even get another bite.—Detroit Free Press. - ■!> - Washington. Gazette: . ‘Judge TwJ independent candidate for Congress, did not fill his appointment to speak here last Saturday, on account of ‘pressing business engagements, we understand We believe this was the reason he gave some gentleman from this place, who saw him last wee Had the Judge been able to get off from his ‘pressing engagements’ and pome here, the people would have been very courte¬ ous to him as a private citizen, but they would not have encouraged hia effort to stir up the Radical element in this District, even to the extent of going to hear him speak.* ^ • Carters ville Free Press: ‘The vote of Bartow county was 1,753 for Billie Wright for Comptroller-General, instead of 1,155 aa pubhs e ^ 00 paper last week. The into igen compositor ‘fixed’ that mistake. e never let Billie Wright, Dan Speer or Uncle Nathan Barnett run that way in Bartow county. We would steep with these men even though W* bad a ‘pooket full of rocks.' In a cave in the mountains of Virginia resides a hermit of immense size, with long white hair and beard. He is over eighty years of age. and for forty years has not spoken, When he wants anything of civilization he indicates it by signs, but for months at a time he secretes himself and communicates with no oue. It is said that he has lost the power of ‘Not honor, but money ii needed,’ is the motto of the byoru P*J‘ J ‘ Greenbackers, Kepumic a. a depen en s.