AN OWNERLESS MILLION.

Press, Volume LX, Issue 11501, 6 February 1903, Page 10

AN OWNERLESS MILLION.

Br Thomas Howhl Hjutv. I jumped on the Congressional Limited one winter afternoon as tie train was moving out of the Washington station. It was a hurried business trip to New York, of whidh I had only an hour's notice. I had the afternoon papers and a email hand-bag. When shown to my seat in the parlour car, I noticed that the chair next to mine was occupied by a woman, also that she was pretty, aristocratic-looking, and dressed fashionably. I am not yet too old to admire a handeome woman, and she was one of the sort that commands admiration from every man with good red blood. She was the picture of a thoroughbred as she sat there and stared out of the window, but it was plain to me that her thoughts were otherwhere than upon what could be Been of the landscape. So far as could be eeen, she had nothing in the shape of bundles or baggage with her, except what appeared to be a lot of •stationery, wrapped, in pink paper, and tied with a red cord, which, she kept on her lap and carelessly handled from time to time.

Just before the train reached Philadelphia «he got up, stood a moment apparently undecided, and then, turning to me and extending the box in pink, surprised and pleased me by asking with a smile: "May I trouble you to look alter this?" "Certainly, certainly, with pleasure," I replied as soon as I could get my wite together, but she had not waited to ihear. She had left the pink-covered box.in my hands and had gone, I supposed to the ■buffet car. After the train had left Broad street fetation, and the woman had not returned, I asked the porter what had become of her, and was astonished when he said that she had got off at Philadelphia. It was evident that the pink-covered box had been intentionally left with me, but why, and what did it contain? Great as my curiosity was to know the contents of the box, I would not unwrup and open it in the car, and when I did open it, in the privacy of my room in a New York Hotel, I was very glad that I had placed that restraint upon myself. What sort of stationery do you suppose was in that pink-covered box? Ten packages of crisp, new United States one thousand dollar gold certificates, with a band of paper round each package, as they ■use them in banks. Upon each band was written one hundred thousand dollars—a hundred notes- in each package—a grand total of one million dollars. The alarm at the opening of Pandora'e box was nothing compared with what I felt when my brain took in the stupendous fact that in that pink-covered box was a million dollar!—all in my possession. Up to this time I had believed myself a thoroughly honest man. Since—well, I'm not so cock sure. My first impulse was to take the million dollars and go to Europe on the first-avail-able steamer. Impulse, did I say? It was really a calm determination that, lasted through the greater part of tlhe night, and included the •election of a steamer sailing next day, and was not abandoned until my avarice was convinced that a large reward, at least ten per ©ejit. of the whole, perhaps double that, would bo offered by the owner of the money, who would be sure to advertise for its return.

The decision that it would be better to have one-tenth of a million as a reward for honesty than the entire million ns a weight upon my conscience was not easily arrived at, but once reached, it was clung to -with all my strength. I didn't know, of course, that any re•ward would be offered, but some sort of an argument had been necessary to prevent my taking the whole and starting for ; Europe at once. Sleep was entirely out of the question with one million dollars in cash in tiie room with me. I spent the night thinking, and such thoughts! In the morning I tore up the box, which had really originally contained-stationery, and carefully dropped the pieecs into a waste pipe. The money I wrapped in my night shirt, which I put in the hand-bag. This hand bag was near being the death of me that day. I did not dare leave it at the hotel, as I usually did. I wap afraid to let it get out of my sight for.even a second. While I had it, I was a millionaire, but if I lost sight of it some one else might be.

When I went to get sihaved I pjaoed the hand bag on the footregt, where I could see it all the time. I ate breakfast with the hand bag in my lap, and one hand always touching it, and attended to the business which, had carried me to New York without ever once letting it loose; and I am sure 1 never_took my eyes .entirely away from it once while on Che train returning to Washington. ■ '■ •

I bought all the New York, Philadelphia and Baltimore papers, but there was no

advertisement in any of them concerning

the loss of a large sum of money. Another sleepless night in the room with a million dollars followed my Teturn to Washington. The next morning I hired a box in a safe deposit vault and got rid of the awful and wearing responsibility. I waited a week, and still there was no advertisement of -title IoA fortune. My associates began to comment on my in-

creasing (restlessness and nervousness,

and to suggest that I would better take a rest. I intended to take a long rest, and a luxurious one, as soon as the ownership of the million dollars was settled. Perhaps the money was etolen property, and the thieves were afraid to advertise its loss. I concluded to advertise for the owner my*elf. After many advertisements ihad been written and torn up, I decided on this: — Large •am of money left on the Congressional Limited, between Washington and NewYork; will bo restored to owner upon proper identification. Address Caretaker, P.O. Box 1911. Washington, D.C. For a full week this was run in all the daily papers of Washington, Baltimore, Philadelphia, and New York at an expense to me of thirty-nine dollars and seventy cents—l took receipts from each paper, and preserved them as souvenirs of my stay in millionairedom. I had any number of answers? but none of them got within a thousand miles of my million. (Having sought diligently for the owner of the million dollars, and spent my own good money freely in advertising, without success, was I not now the legal and legitimate owner of it? That question had my poor brain doing a continuous twenty-four hour stunt. I answered it in the affirmative twenty times a day, but the plaguey thing wouldn't stay answered. I began to reel quite as worn and haggard as I looked, and to wonder why the possession of a million' dollars, with the probability that it would be all mine growing into a certainty, did not bring me more pleasure. I asked myself whether all millionaires were as much, troubled about their money as I was. Six weeks had passed since the million* dollars were placed in my possession, and 1 began k> make plans as to what I would do with it. I no longer expected the owner to turn up. I had not mentioned the money or the odd manner in which it had come into my possession to any one, and was still undecided as to how I should account for my sudden wealth, when I began to spend the money. It would not do to start by depositing a million dollars in one bank. That would be certain to make talk. It must soon be settled, or I should become insane. That eeemed certain. Already my friends and business associates were allowing me to see that they thought me queer. This could not go on indefinitely. After mature deliberation, I decided to make my appearance as a man of wealth gradually. I would make a deposit of ten thousand dollars in one bonk. , After taking ten of the one thousand dollar notes from. my. safe deposit ibox it .occurred to me thai it would be a gpod idea to cany them to the tJnited States

On reaching the cash room of the Treasury, I handed the ten one thousand dollar notes through the wire wicket teller's window and asked that he give me fifties for them.

It did not surprise me to notice a rather astonished and startled look on the teller s face tts he took the notes; nor that he should step to one side and examine one of them carefully through a glass. runners for the banks; consequently, it seemed the natural tiling that they should be carefully examined. Hie deliberation, however, in counting and recounting those fifty dollar notes wa-» getting on to my nerves, and I was about to speak impatiently to him when I felt a light touch on my shoulder and a low but distinct voice said near my ear: "I

want you." "Well. I'm here," I answered, facing tht speaker impatiently. " What do you want with me?"

"I want you to go with me," he replied with a smile, without raising his voice.

The teller had stopped counting the notes, and was naively staring at us, as though it had not been his touch of an electric button that had summoned the man.

"Why should I go with you?" I asked rather sharply. "I don't know you." "No, but I think you'll gp," he answered, in the same exasperatingly calm ton<\

"Why?" I demanded, somewhat frightened by his manner, without having any clear idea why I should be. "Because," he said, almost in a whisper, "you are under arreet." ""What for?" I managed to ask, at the same time trying hard to think of any reason why I should be arrested. "Trying to pass counterfeit money," he replied, turning back his coat and allowing me to see the United States Secret Service badge he wore. " You are out of your head," I retorted angrily, but at the same time the awful truth flashed upon me—my million was counterfeit.

"That may be," he said as he reached for the notes* which the teller handed him, each with the word " counterfeit" cut across ite face. "You can talk about that to Chief Wilkes. Come!"

Fortunately, I was well known to Chief Wilkes. He not only accepted my story, but added to it by telling me that the woman had learned from a confederate on the train that his men were hot on her trail, and being obliged to get rid of thn counterfeit money somewhere, had given it to me, securing her own release when she was* arrested and searched immediately after leaving the train. The chief went with me to the safe deposit vault, got the rest of the counterfeits and destroyed them, and he hopes soon to get the men who made them. He congjratulated me on getting out of an ugly predicament so easily. To this day I am unable to cay witb certainty whether relief or regret was my strongest feeling over the loss of the ownerless million dollars.