®E6.  30 
GOOD-BY,  OLD  YEAR,  GOOD-BY. 
BY  GERALDINE  GERMANE. 
The  bolls  rinj?  slow,  in  miilTled  tone, 
The  chillinff  wind  tnalios  sadder  moan ; 
The  flowers  sro  dead  and  all  must  die. 
Good-by.  Old  Year,  good-by. 
The  laughiUK  streams  run  coldly  now. 
Stern  Winter  reigns,  with  Ico-crowned  brow, 
Fair  Summer  Is  dead  and  you  must  die. 
Good*by,  Old  Year,  good-by. 
Once  you  were  young  but  now  you’re  oft, 
Our  youth  ran  ne’er  bo  bought  with  gold ; 
Your  youth  is  long  ilead,  all  youth  must  die. 
Good-by,  Old  Year,  good-by. 
Your  glory  came,  your  glory’s  gone, 
All  glory  fades.  Time  breathes  upon. 
All  grandeur  and  pride  shall  surely  die. 
Good-by,  Old  Year,  good-by. 
You  brought  as  many  glit'ring  Joj's 
That  cloyed  and  broke  like  children’s  toys. 
Our  Joys  you  have  killed,  now  you  must  die. 
Good-by,  Old  Year,  good-by. 
You  brought  us  mucli  of  galling  grief. 
But,  like  our  Joys,  its  smart  was  brief. 
If  Joy  must  aye  tlio,  then  Grief  must  die. 
Oood-hy,  Old  Yearjgood-by. 
Thou  wast  a  year  of  hundred  years. 
Of  glorious  triumph  that  endears. 
But,  ah !  as  the  others,  thou  must  die. 
Good-by,  Old  Year,  good-by. 
Though  husk  must  file  the  kernel  lives, 
8o  doth  the  truth  each  year  e’er  gives ; 
Thou  brought’st  us  much  that  will  not  die. 
Good-by,  OlclTYoar,  good-by. 
®|c  ^too-®fllfr. 
THE  MAIL-GUARD’S  STORY, 
Keadek,  have  you  ever  been  obliged  to  wait  at  a 
small  country  railway  station  tor  an  earl.v  train  7 
It  you  have  not,  you  hn  ve  not  experlenoed  the  nc 
pliiH  ultra  of  human  rul.sory.  But  when,  as  was 
my  ca.se  la.st  year,  you  have  lell  a  Jolly  party, 
driven  live  miles  to  catch  the  mall  at  2  A.  M.,  and 
found,  on  your  arrival  at  tJie  stauon.  not  that  the 
train  had  gone,  for  that  would  be  a  relief,  hut  tlial 
you  had  mistaken  the  time,  and  had  got  three- 
quarters  of  an  hour  to  wait,  your  lot  Is  not  an  on- 
Ylablc  one.  So  1  thought  a.s  I  stamped  up  and 
down  the  Ill-lit  platform,  and  gazed  Into  the  dark¬ 
ness  beyond,  which  wn.s  only  broken  by  tho  dim 
jind  misty  light  of  the  "distance”  signal,  some 
hundred  yarfl.s  down  the  line.  Tho  occaslon.al 
harking  of  a  house-dog  alone  broke  the  still  ness, 
except  when  now  and  then  the  uutumn  breeze 
played  In  a  walling  tone  on  the  folegraphlo  wires 
over  my  he.ad.  An  I  paced  up  and  down  to  warm 
my  feet,  I  felt  regnlarly  "  savage  "  tliat  Die  well- 
meant  solicitations  of  the  company  assembled  at 
Ihe  Beeches  luul  Induced  me  to  forego  that  last 
waltz  with  Alin n  10  t'ameron,  and  hurry  to  the 
station. 
1  hail  been  staying  for  ihe  past  fortnight  at  the 
house  of  a  relallve,  and  what  with  shooting,  nsh- 
ing,  and  (must  1  coufeas  It?)  occasionally  Ulrtlng 
with  the  blue-eyed  Mlunle,  the  days  had  passed 
rapidly:  and  when  recalled  fo  London  by  my 
father's  buslness-lLko  letter,  which  hinted  at  some 
Impending  calamity  connected  with  our  tlrm,  1 
could  not  hellevo  that  my  leave  had  so  nearly  ex¬ 
pired.  There  wo-s  no  help  for  it,  and  go  I  must. 
My  relatives  appeared  as  30rr>'  as  1  ivaa  when  I 
announced  my  Intended  dopaiturc,  and  I  fancy  I 
could  discern  traces  of  tears  In  Minnie’s  sunny 
eyes  as  1  bade  ber  farewell  In  the  ball  riiat  even¬ 
ing,  bearing  with  me  a  shl  utng  tress  of  her  flaxen 
hair,  and  a  hasty  kiss,  ns  murniira  of  my  visit. 
Oh,  Minnie,  Minnie!  what  would  that  excellent 
man,  the  Incumbent,  think,  could  he  have  seen 
the  shining  token  of  what  I  fancied  was  your 
airectlon  for  me,  lying  oji  my  table  prior  to  its 
being  committed  to  the  flames,  with  a  bundle  of 
old  letters,  when  last  month  I  heard  you  were 
"engaged?" 
Under  such  clrciimstanees  as  I  liavo  de.scrlbed 
the  reader  ivlll  easily  Imagine  I  was  not  In  a  par¬ 
ticularly  cheerful  frame  of  mind  on  tlie  night,  or 
rather  morning,  in  question.  1  sauntered  Into 
the  dreary  waltlng-roora,  and,  lighting  a  cigar, 
seated  myself  in  front  of  the  expiring  Arc,  wlileh 
I  was  even  denied  the  amusement  of  stirring,  the 
authorities  having  caiTled  away  the  flrc-lrons. 
Placing  my  feet  upon  the  fender,  I  lay  back  In 
my  chair,  and,  as  most  men  would  have  done,  I 
began  to  ruminate  upon  the  events  of  the  past 
fortnight,  and— Minnie  1  .After  a  time  1  roused 
myself,  and  attempted  the  reperusal  oi  my  fath¬ 
er’s  letter,  and  tbon— I  fell  fast  a&leej).  How  long 
I  slept  I  cannot  say,  probably  about  live,  minutes, 
but  It  seemed  an  age,  when  1  was  aroused  by  the 
creaking  of  the  ‘‘breaks’*  of  a  train.  I  started 
up,  and  rushed  blindly  to  tho  door,  f,yieylng  that 
the  mall  had  come  up,  when  I  came  in  violent 
contact  with  a  guard,  who  was  entering  at  the 
same  moment  as  1  was  making  a  hurried  exit. 
“  Beg  your  pardon,  sir,"  said  the  polite  official ; 
"  what  Is  the  matter  7” 
"  My  train  Is  golng.;i  think,”  said  I,  "  Let  me 
see.” 
“  It’s  only  a  down  good-s  and  cattle,  sir,"  replied 
my  companion,  "  which  shunts  here.  The  up- 
mall  ain’t  due  for  nearly  twenty  minutes  yet.” 
•‘  Confouml  It !”  I  muttered ;  “  why  did  It  wake 
me,  then  ?”  and  I  returned  to  the  fireplace. 
"Cold  night,  sir,"  remarkea  the  guard  as  he 
came  towards  me. 
"  Yes,”  said  1,  "  and  a  wretched  tire,  too." 
THE  RDRAL  HEW-YOIHER. 
"  I  think  we  can  mend  that,  at  any  rate,”  ho 
replied ;  and,  leaving  the  room,  he  returned  In 
a  tew  minutes,  accompanied  by  an  Individual 
whom  I  rightly  conjectured  to  be  the  stoker  of 
the  '•  goods  ”  train,  i-ari^lng  a  largo  shovelful  of 
live  ooals,  which,  placed  upon  tho  cinders,  soon 
Improved  our  flro,  and  gave  quite  a  cheerful  aspect 
to  the  dingy  apartment. 
“  Thank  ye,  Jim,”  said  the  guard  as  the  st  oker 
departed,  "Now,  sir,  that's  an  Improvement, 
ain’t  It?"  ho  added,  cheertully. 
“It  Is,  Indeed,"  1  replied:  "and  I  am  much 
obliged  to  you  for  procuring  the  coals." 
“Don’t  name  ll,  sir,”  was  tho  reply.  “Ono 
must  do  something  when  ono  has  to  wait,  you 
know.” 
“  How  long  do  you  remain  here,  then?”  I  asked. 
"TUI  3:10,  sir,  I  take  up  tho  mull,”  was  ihc 
reply. 
“Oh,  Indeed,”  said  I. 
"Yes,  sir.  I’m  on  this  job  all  this  month,” 
And  as  he  spoke  the  guard  drew  a  pipe  from  hls 
pocket,  and  having  tilled  and  lit  It,  he  began  to 
smoke  In  silence. 
"Have  you  been  long  on  this  line?”  I  asked, 
after  a  pau.so. 
“  Well,  sir,  about  three  years,  and  on  the  mall 
duty,  on  and  off,  about  one.  I’m  a  reg’lar  man  or 
letters,"  he  added,  with  a  grin. 
I  laughe/L  and  he  continued, 
“  I  was  nearly  choked  with  acapltal  loi  ter  when 
I  was  a  baby.  I  bad  lettei’s  on  my  enUar  when  1 
was  In  the  police.  I  was  made  a  guard  all  along 
of  a  hit  of  a  Iftter.  .And  now  I  am  a  guard,  T 
looks  after  the  letters.”  Having  made  thoso  re¬ 
marks  In  a  Jocular  tone,  my  companion  gave  me 
a  knowing  nod,  and  pulTed  away  at  hls  pipe  with 
greater  vigor  thanlbefore.  I  was  much  amused 
at  hls  rejoinder,  and  asked  him  what  he  meant 
by  having  been  made  a  guard  "  all  along  of  a  bit 
of  a  lotlcr.” 
"I  wasn't  always  a  guard,  sir,"  he  said.  “I 
was  once  In  the  police,  and  it  was  through  being 
a  detective  as  I  got  to  be  employed  on  this  line.” 
“1  suppose  you  didn't  like  the  police,  then?” 
said  I. 
“  Well,  sir,  not  much,  though  at  times  It  was 
pretty  good,  aud  we  had  some  Jolly  imsiness. 
Ay,”  ho  continued,  “with  a  good  scent  it's  al- 
mast  as  excitin'  as  fox-huntin’,  Is  ihlcf-catchln': 
for  some  of  those  fellows  is  ascunnlu'as  foxes, 
every  bit. 
"It  was  through  a  robbery  and  a  bit  of  paper 
that  I  was  made  a  guard,  as  1  said  just  now." 
"How  WiUH  that?"  .said  I,  caU’hlug  .at  the  Idea 
of  a  story  to  beguile  the  time,  ‘‘  1  should  like  to 
hear  a  hit  of  your  experience  as  a  dcteclJvo." 
‘•■It  ain’t  much  of  a  story,  sir,  hut  I'll  tell  It  to 
you  with  pleasure,"  anti  taking  a  few  rapid  pulls 
at  hls  pipe,  the  gtianl  eoramenf  ed. 
"  It  wa.s  about  two  years  ago,  and  there  had 
been  a  great  plate  robbery  In  tho  city,  and  tho 
thieves  had  got  clear  away,  so  we  was  all  obliged 
to  keep  onr  eyes  open  and  our  wlUs  about  us,  for, 
though  we  had  some  suspicious,  there  was  no  real 
clues  to  go  upon ;  U.  was  mostly  guess-work.  Two 
or  three  men  was  arrested,  hut  nothing  was  over 
proved  against  them,  so  they  was  let  go,  In  tAurse. 
Nothing  ever  transpired  respecting  the  robbery, 
and  It  WHS  almost  forgotten,  except  by  some  of 
us  detectives,  for  a  reward  of  |5«0  ha<l  been  ofler- 
ed,  and  wo  wu,s,  In  course,  anxious  to  catch  the 
men,  aa  well  for  the  credit  of  the  force  as  for  the 
money,  whh.h,  sir,  was  not  by  no  means  L4)  bo 
despised.  Well,  sir,  i  wa.sn’t  half  satisfied  about 
one  of  the  men  who  h-ad  been  an’cstod,  and  whose 
name  w,a.s  Dover.  lie  and  and  another  was  al¬ 
ways  tegether,  and  we  In  the  force  nicknamed 
them  '  Chatham  and  iJOver,’  In  con.scquence.  We 
had  ‘Chath.am  '  (who.se  real  name  was  Byles)  np 
too,  but  nothing  turned  up.  However,  one  night 
after  the  buslufiss  had  blown  over  a  bit,  1  thougnt 
I’d  have  a  look  after  Dover:  so  I  goes  to  where  l 
was  sure  to  UntI  him  or  hls  ‘pal,’  In  an  out-of-the- 
way  place  near  Field  Lano.  When  the  door  was 
opened,  1  saw  as  the  woman  was  a  new  hand,  and 
didn’t  know  me.  So  I  asked  if  Dover  wfis  In, 
‘No,’  says  she,  ‘he’s  gone  out  of  town.’  ‘In 
which  direction?’  says  I.  She  pointed  upwards, 
which  meant  north.  ‘Indeed,’  saj’s  I,  "Well, 
tell  him  as  -Mr.  Mos-s  wants  to  see  him  as  soon  as 
he  returns'— rnakln’ a  shot,  sir.  1  was  at  a  man 
as  I  suspected  was  a  ‘fence,’  and  who  1  had  my 
eye  on.  *  All  right,*  says  she,  and  shuts  the  door. 
"Thinks  I,  I’ve  not  done  a  bad  stroke  of  busi¬ 
ness  this  evening.  Mr.  Moss  and  I  will  settle  our 
little  account  now ;  so  I  went  qulelly  home.  Next 
afternoon.  Just  after  dinner,  a  message  comes 
from  the - Bank  for  Mr.  T — ,  our  inapcctor. 
Telling  me  to  be  ready  in  case  ofhclri’  wanted,  Oil 
he  goes,  arel  In  about  an  lioiir  he  came  hack  and 
said,  ‘  We've  got  a  job  to-night,’  he  says,  ‘  for  a 
party  baa  wrote  another  gentleman’s  name  by 
mistake,  and  bolted  with  a  large  sum  of  money 
and  hls  young  woman,  us  Ls  supposed,  to  Amer¬ 
ica.’  AVe  had  to  start  that  evenmg  by  the  nine 
o’clock  train  for  Uverpool.  which  we  did,  and  ar¬ 
rived  there  about  lour  the  next  morning.  M'  e  Im¬ 
mediately  put  ourselves  in  ctimmunicatlon  wltn 
the  local  authorities,  and  searched  several  out¬ 
going  ships,  hut  without  any  success.  Jtist  as  we 
were  leaving  one  of  the  vessels,  the  captain  said 
to  me,  *  It's  a  pity  you  didn’t  know  a  little  sooner, 
for  an  American  barque  sailed  yesterday’s  tide 
for  New  York.' 
" '  The  deuce  Id  did,'  says  Mr,  T — . 
"‘A'cs,’  says  the  captain;  ‘and  you  may  de¬ 
pend  ujjon  It  your  man  was  off  in  that  vessel.' 
"  ‘We’re  done,  then,  .says  .Mr.  T - ,  'and  wUl 
have  to  go  back  with  our  labor  for  our  pains.' 
“  *  Well,’  Siiys  1,  *  1  don’t  see  tliat,  by  no  means. 
'  When  does  the  mall  go  ?’  I  asked  the  captain. 
“  ‘  It’s  gone,'  says  he ;  •  w  ent  lust  uIgUl.’ 
"  '  That’s  no  good,  then,'  says  Mr.  T — .  And 
he  was  very  angry  at  bein'  done, 
‘“I  think,  Mr.  T — 1  says,  as  wo  walked 
away,  ‘  I  think  we  can  catch  him  yet.’ 
"  ‘  How  ?'  Siiys  Mr.  T - . 
“  ‘  Why,'  said  I,  ‘  let  us  teke  the  mall  steamer 
to  Dublin  this  afternoon,  and  go  by  the  mall  train 
to  (iueenstowii  j  wo  can  catch  the  si, earner  there, 
and  pin  your  man  In  New  Aterk.’ 
"  •  I  declare,  we  will,'  says  Air.  T - ;  ‘  that’s  a 
gocxl  Idea;  only  I’m  afraid  l  shall  have  to  go 
alone,  for  you  will  ho  wanted  In  London,  you 
know,  next  week.’ 
"  I  had  forgotten  that,  and  was  very  much  dis¬ 
appointed  at  not  being  able  to  accompany  Mr. 
T - to  Now  York. 
"  ‘  However,’  says  he,  ‘  I’ll  not  forget  you  when 
I  come  hack.’ 
"And  In  order  to  arrange  our  plans  and  have 
some  breakfast  we  returned  to  the  railway  sta¬ 
tion.  Well,  1  saw  Mr.  T - oH  for  Itolyhoad  and 
felt  very  much  annoyed  at  not  being  ablo  to  go 
with  him,  though,  had  I  known  It  was  the  beat 
tiling  that  ever  happened  to  mo,  l  shouldn’t  have 
felt  so  sulky,  you  may  depend.  As  the  boat  left 
the  laiRllng-stago,  I  turned  Into  —  street  and 
walked  about  a  bit  until  I  saw  a  great  crowd  op¬ 
posite  a  Jeweler’s  shop.  •  What's  up?’  thinks  I ; 
•anything  In  my  way?'  So  I  asks  a  bystander, 
and  he  told  me  that,  an  Immense  amoimt  of  Jew¬ 
elry  had  been  stolen  tUe  previoas  night  aud  there 
was  no  trace  of  tho  robber.  ‘  Ho,  ho  1’  I  thought. 
And  1  asked  to  sec  the  owner  of  the  shop,  and 
telling  him  who  I  was,  I  requested  to  see  some 
teaces  of  the  tlilef’s  work— for,  sir,  some  men 
work  In  exactly  the  same  way  at  all  their  ‘cracks’ 
and  you  can  tell  their ‘handwi  lUng’ after  a  bit 
of  practice,  l  therefore  examined  the  place  aud, 
a.s  1  suspected,  round  that  this  robbery  had  been 
done  In  a  similar  way  to  Hit;  one  In  l/ondon.  For 
it  had  occuvred  to  me  that  Mr.  Dover  had  not  left 
London  tor  nothing,  aud  now  1  was  pretty  sure 
that  ho  and  hls  ‘  pals’  had  done  this  Job  as  well. 
Alter  making  my  Inspection  aud  asking  tho  pro¬ 
prietor  to  .say  nothing  about  my  visit,  I  returned 
to  Lime  Htrcet  station.  I  then  found  l.h.at  1  could 
return  to  London  by  a  alow  train  at  l  o’clock, 
which,  ns  1  had  nothing  to  do  In  Liverpool,  1  pre¬ 
ferred  to  take  rather  than  to  vvalt  tor  the  a.J,?  ex¬ 
press.  I  w.isln  much  better  spirits  now  than  I 
had  been,  and  as  1  entered  the  train  I  made  up 
my  mind  to  look  after  Dover  In  Loudon,  whither 
I  never  doubted  he  bad  returned,  rorntall  bldlng- 
places,  sir,  London  Is  tbo  best.  So  1  made  myself 
as  comfortable  as  possible.  Nothing  liappcned 
till,  as  we  wore  ueaiTug  StalTord,  a  bit  of  itapcr 
was  blown  Into  my  face;  and  .as  l,  out  of  more 
curiosity,  steoped  to  pick  it  up  from  the  seat 
where  It  had  lallen,  two  other  and  larger  pieces 
camt;  In  and  fell  on  the  floor. 
“  There  wias  no  one  else  In  tho  compartment,  so 
I  put  tho  scraps  togoUicr,  just  to  see  what  I  could 
make  out  of  them,  and  to  my  astonishment  I  read; 
"  ‘  I  will  he  at  2  o’clock;you  do  It. 
“  1.  Dover- 
-Good  lime.’ 
“  That  was  all.  Tho  last  words, on  tho  smallest 
bit  of  paper,  I  didn’t  care  for ;  but  tho  other  parts 
madf)  my  heart  jump  when  1  road  them,  for  l 
made  sure  l.liai.  1  shoull  now  catch  Mr.  Dover  for 
the  robbery  at  Liverpool.  The  Instant  tho  train 
stepped  out  1  Jumped,  aud  begun  looking  Into  tlio 
earrlagt.'s  ns  I  jnissed,  pretending  1  liatl  lost  some¬ 
thing. 
“  .At  la.Ht  1  came  to  a  carriage  near  the  eiiglue 
(a  second-class),  on  the  flooring  or  which  I  could 
see  several  bits  of  paper,  and  upon  going  on  I 
found  (for  tbe  carriage  was  empty)  an  envelope, 
addressed  to  some  place  In  Camden  Town,  In  the 
same  handwriting  as  was  on  the  bUa  I  had. 
"  While  I  was  examining  the  tnvelope,  I  saw 
three  men  coming  from  tho  lefreshmcnt^room  In 
the  direction  of  the  carriage,  so  1  sealed  myself 
In  a  corner  next  tho  door  aud  shut  my  eyes.  1 
was  more  than  ever  convinced  that  I  had  now  got 
a  clue  to  the  Liverpool  Job,  and  f  determined  to 
keep  my  eye  on  i  be  former  oceupante  of  tho  car¬ 
riage,  wlio  niiw  returned  to  their  seats. 
"  Tho  smell  of  rum  which  pervaded  the  com¬ 
partment,  convinced  me  that  they  had  been  In¬ 
dulging  pretty  freely,  and  while,  they  were  In 
earnest  conversation  i  opened  ray  eyes,  and  sit¬ 
ting  nearly  opposite  to  me  was  Dover  himself ; 
the  other  men  1  did  not  know.  Before  tho  train 
got  to  Kugby  they  were  all  fast  asleep;  and  as 
stXtn  as  we  stopped  out  l  jumped,  and  left  them 
still  snoring.” 
“  You  wont  for  assistance,  I  suppose,"  said  1. 
“No,  sir,"  replied  tho  guard,  with  a  knowing 
wink,  "  I  wanted  them  In  I,oiidou,  not  Kugby ; 
for,  ye  see,  by  keeplog  the  tram  i  might  have  ex¬ 
cited  suspicion,  and  niy  birds  might  have  flown. 
No,  sir ;  London  was  their  destination  and  I  could 
catch  them  on  their  arrival.’' 
•*  Well,"  said  I,  "  but  you  left  tho  train,  you  say." 
"1  did,  sir;  for  it  occurred  to  mo  that  the  S.45 
up  e.xpre8S  from  Liverpool  was  due,  and  1  knew 
that  u  left  Kugby  a  few  minutes  before  the  train 
In  which  Dover  and  hls  friends  were.  Just  as  I 
got  out  and  had  shut  the  door,  I  had  tho  satisfac¬ 
tion  of  seeing  the  train  shunted,  to  make  room 
for  the  express,  which  came  up  a  few  minutes 
after.  1  was  soon  on  my  road  to  Loudon,  where 
I  arrived  about  9  o’clock. 
"  I  had  just  an  hour  and  a  half  to  make  my  ar¬ 
rangements,  and  while  ray  men  were  quietly 
‘Jogging  along’ near  Trtng  In  the  alow  trtiln,  I 
was  soon  In  possession  of  the  necessary  authorliy 
and  taking  two  of  our  men  with  me,  1  returned  to 
Kuston  Square. 
We  had  to  wait  some  Utile  time,  but  the  train 
at  Iasi,  arrived,  and  I  led  the  way  to  the  Cf  i  rlage 
In  which  I  had  left  Dover  and  lilsassociates.  They 
'  were  Ju.st  getting  out  as  we  reached  them,  and  a 
gentle  grasp  on  tho  collar,  and  a  worn  lu  ihe  ear 
soon  reduced  them  to  a  terrified  '•  iieuce.  Their 
baggage  was  also  seized,  and  in  a  poiiUiAuteau 
was  found  a  quantity  of  the  Jewelry  which  hnd 
been  stolon  In  Liverpool. 
"  We  had  them  np  next  day  and  they  (wero 
fully  committed.  At  the  trial,  one  of  them  turned 
evidence,  and  by  those  means  the  city  burglary 
was  proved  against  them.  Tho  rewards  were  paid 
over  to  mo  after  tho  trial,  and  1  was  very  mvich 
complimented  by  tbe  Judges  on  tbo  manner  in 
which  1  had  managed  the  capture.’’ 
“  1  think  you  quite  deservtal  the  rewards,”  said 
I ;  “but  what  became  of  the  Inspector?” 
“Oh,  Mr.  T  sir.  He  went  across,  as  I  had 
told  him,  by  the  mall  from  Queenstown,  and  got 
to  Amarlea  the  day  before  the  ship  In  whlcli  tho 
forger  was. 
"  Ho  boarded  every  ship,  and  from  Mio  descrip¬ 
tion  ho  had  received  ho  caught  lilm  uforo  ho  went 
on  shore.  There  was  no  doubt  about  lilin,  for 
some  of  the  Identical  notes  which  had  been  Is- 
su»:;d  In  I-ondou  were  found  upon  lilm. 
“  Mr.  T - didn’t  bring  him  back,  sir ;  ho  only 
IfKik  possession  of  the  inouey ;  for  he  thought  it 
would  cost  more  to  bring  him  homo  and  prose¬ 
cute  than  to  leave  him  where  he  won.  The  bank 
flpmtleman  said  bo  was  quite  right,  and  gave  him 
fa.K)  for  hls  trouble.  When  ht;  roturiii'd  to  Kn- 
gUnd,  one  of  tho  directors  of  tho  bank,  who  Is 
our  chairman,  sir,  was  compllincntlog  Mr.  T — 
upon  going  to  Ireland;  and  then  Mr.  T - spoke 
up  for  me ;  and  knowln'  as  I  didn’t  oarc  about  the 
force,  he  told  tho  gentleman  so,  and  ho,  after  a 
tUnc,  offered  mo  l.he  place  I  have  now,  with  a 
prospect  of  “a  rlso”  If  I  behave  myself.  So  you 
see,  sir,  it  was,  as  l  said,  all  through  a  bit  of  a 
letter  as  I  got  to  bo  a  mall  guanl." 
“  I  am  very  much  obliged  lo  you,”  said  I,  “  tor 
your  narrative;  it  has  amu-sed  me  very  muck 
Indeed." 
“lam  very  glad  to  hear  It,  sir,”  replied  tho  ex- 
'  detoc1,lve.  "  and  (you’ll  oxenso  mu,  sir)— but  1 
think  as  I’vo  seen  you  aforo.” 
‘‘ ■Very  likely,"  said  I,  laughing;  "your  experi¬ 
ence  has  doubtless  led  you  across  my  path.” 
"Ay,  l  thought  as  much,  sir,”  said  the  guard; 
"  I  see  you  when  Mr. - olTerod  mo  tho  post  f 
have,  f  remember  you  was  a  cornin’  in  as  I  left 
tho  bank.” 
‘‘ 1  dare  say  I  did,  for ’my  father.  ;h!cs  a  groat 
many  people  at  tho  bank,"  said  I. 
"  Is  your  father  Mr.  George  .Somerville,  as  lives 
near  H —  when  he’s  at  home,  sir?” 
“  A' os,”  said  I ;  “  I  have  just  been  at  my  uncle’s 
house  now,  and  am  on  my  way  to  London,  whore 
my  father  Is  at  present.” 
"  Well,  that  Is  curious,  sir,”  said  'the  guard, 
touching  hlH cai),  “as  I  sboulil  see  you  Jiero  this 
evening,  and  I’m  proud  to  have  met  you.  sir.” 
1  replied,  .and  the  guard  running  to  the  door, 
exclaimed,  "  Here’s  the  mall,  sir;  If  you’ll  show 
me  your  things  I’ll  see  that  they  are  all  right,” 
And  once  more  teuchlrtg  lits  cap,  howlLlulrow. 
The  mall  scam  drew  up  ..nd  having  bfcn  coniloiL- 
ably  bestowed  by  Urn  guard,  as  wo  “  spun”  over 
tlie  distance  that  lay  bet.wocn  s. —  and  the  me¬ 
tropolis,  r  pondered  on  the  singular  story  I  had 
heard  until  I  fell  Into  a  do'zc,  from  which  I  was 
not  thoroughly  awakened  uiUH  the  trulu  stopped 
"  to  take  lUikctH.” 
We  wore  soon  afl^^rwanls  run  Into  the  station  ; 
and  ;i.8  I  Stepped  out  of  the  carriagi;,  I  touad  tho 
guard  ready  to  as-slst  me.  He  soon  extricated  my 
Iiortmanteau  from  tbe  heap  at  the  end  of  the 
platform,  and  Insisted  upon  earrylug  It  to  the 
entrance  of  the  statJon  for,  strange  u.s  It  may  ap- 
jiear,  there  wen;  no  cabs  in  at,i,endauce  that  morn¬ 
ing.  As  we  emerged  into  tho  street  a  Hansom 
drew  np  close  to  the  tlei'artnru  entrance,  and  tlio 
guard  hailing  Jehu,  wo  waited  until  tho  fare  Iiad 
alighted.  W  hat  was  ray  astenl.shmcut  lo  find  that 
tlio  genlleimuj  who  was  about  to  take  hls  de¬ 
parture  thus  early  from  London  was  no  other 
than  my  father’s  conndenilul  clerk,  respecting 
whom  my  faihur  had  already  communicated  hl.s 
suspicions  lu  tho  loiter  I  had  received  the  morn¬ 
ing  before.  I  started  involuntarily  at  Die  siiddeu 
appearance  of  the  very  person  whose  iirfal ns  1  had 
come  to  London  to  tnvesllgale,  and  followed  hls 
retreating  flguro  with  so  earnest  a  gic/.e  that  ilio 
guard,  who  had  boon  ooserving  me  closely,  said  : 
“Beg  pardon,  sir;  do  you  know  that  gentle¬ 
man?” 
"Certainly  I  do,”  I  replied;  “  I’vo  come  up  on 
hls  account ;  .Mr.  Barton  Is  rny  father’s  conllden- 
tlal  clerk ;  but  I’m  afraid  all  Is  not  quite  right,”  I 
added,  thougutrully,  and  In  an  undertone. 
"  I  suspect  there’s  a  little  game,”  salil  the  guard  ; 
"the  man  as  is  gone  In  there  was  called  Byles 
three  year  ago.” 
1  was  struck  with  aatonlslunent  at  this  remark, 
and  asked  my  companion  if  he  were  eerlaln  that 
the  .toi-rtfsnaf  Barton  was  In  reality  Bylos,  wGa.i 
Chatham. 
‘‘  As  certain  as  I  stand  here,”  replied  the  guard 
"and  take  my  word  for  ll,  sir,  he’s  after  no  good. 
If  you  don’t  think  me  presumin',  I  should  like  to 
hear  what’s  up.” 
“Well," said  I.  "tho  matter  Is  a  confidential 
one ;  but  I  may  tell  you  that  we  have  reason  to 
suspect  that  Mr.  Byles’  accounts  are  In  a  most 
unsatisfactory  state.  Can  we  not  Inteniept  him, 
for  I  think  he  Intends  to  bolt  7” 
"  AVe  shall  soon  see  that,  sir,”  replied  the  guard, 
hls  detective  nature  showing  for  a  moment ;  “  ho 
will  be  easily  caught,  I  reckon ;  ”  and  as  he  spoke 
the  ex-pollceman  led  the  way  lo  l-hc  departure 
platform. 
Hero,  amid  tlie  crowd  or  people  who  had  taken 
their  tickets  and  were  struggling  to  enler  the  dif¬ 
ferent  carnages,  ll  wa.s  no  easy  matter  to  recog¬ 
nize  Mr.  Barton,  who  had,  doiiblless,  hls  own  rea- 
[  sons  for  eluiUhg  observation  ;  and  It  was  not  until 
five  minutes  lulor  to  tlm  depariure  of  the  truiu 
that  I  observed  him  ejjzeonced  lu  a  corner  of  a 
third-class  carriage. 
