Page:Memoirs of the United States Secret Service.djvu/149

132 his chance again, and gives Rugg two $5 counterfeits, for the good $10, for his new acquaintance is too drunk to know a bad bill from a hole in the ground—so Sam imagines!

Simon insists that Lame Sam shall return with him to the store; and then they will go along the same road together to the next village; which proposal Sam agrees to. Just as they are starting, Bugg notes the familiar old cane again.

"It's a cur'ous cane—this 'ic is," says Simon, hiccoughing out the sentence, and gently taking it from Sam's hand. Then he turns it over, and twists the big round handle, to find that it turns upon a screw. He actually unscrews the head, and discovers a string attached to the inside of the handle.

Old Sam is on nettles by this time, but he's a wily dog, and he manages himself admirably.

Rugg pulls this string, (which has a button at its lower end) and out tumbles a roll of bank notes! He continues to tug away, and out tumbles another, and another—a dozen small snug rolls of ten and five-dollar bills.

In his affected drunken surprise and fun, Rugg is seemingly delighted—while Lame Sam is all amazement, at this exposé.

"Why, yer rich — rich, old fellow!" exclaims Rugg.

Sam gathers up the rolls.

"Do you think they're good?" queries Sam, his wits coming quickly to his aid.

Rugg looks them all over, and pronounces them " good, o' course, 'ic—o' their kind." But he sees at a glance, that every one of them are recent counterfeits. "It's very extro'nnary," mutters Sam. " I've hed that ar' cane now, more'n twenty year. My dead father left it to me; an' I never thought to look at this cur'ous arrangement of the handle, afore—never!"