19° Reminiscences of 



and that probably it would be as well to let him think 

 so, as most likely he was accompanied by his body- 

 guard of Danites, likewise disguised, and being now so 

 far out on the plains one could not tell what might 

 happen. In further conversation I intimated that it 

 was possible that Mr. Young had been East to get a 

 new stock of wives, as probably with his lively disposi- 

 tion he might have accounted the old stock as stale 

 and antiquated, in view of the improved order ex- 

 pected now to be inaugurated by the passage of a trans- 

 continental railroad. But who knew ? No one. Per- 

 haps it would be as well, however, in view of there 

 being on our train a good many young settlers going 

 on with their not bad-looking yoimg wives — it would 

 be as well to keep an eye to windward and prevent, as 

 far as possible, any unrighteous sealing on the part of 

 the vigilant Mr. Young. 



Deeming this sufficient, with renewed suggestions of 

 prudence in giving out any information of his detec- 

 tive sagacity, excepting to those whom he could de- 

 pend upon, I left the future-to-be-chief of a detective 

 department, and at convenient opportunity acquainted 

 Colonel Heine with the role he had been assigned, 

 which he was much amused with, and, being a great 

 joker, proceeded at the next eating station to stroll 

 along the platform with a box of seals he happened to 

 have in his portmanteau, ready for action. It was 

 quite evident that the detective had judiciously 

 imparted information by the divergence of the 

 settlers as they passed along the platform by the 

 Colonel, who, holding an open box of red seals in his 

 left hand, held one affixed to the index finger of his 

 right hand ready for action. The young women gave 



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