The Grenada gazette. (Grenada, Miss.) 1885-18??, 1886-06-19
THE MAN OF FURS.
How the Wearer Of Costly Over
coats Caused Trouble.

The detective of an uptown hotel,
not many blocks distant from Madison
square, told the following story to a
little group Of loungers who were wait
ing in the lobby, q few nights ago. to
learn the latest particulars of Secretary
Manning's illness: Il was standing
Just where | am now, on Il clustering
night in the carly part of last Noyem-
Der, he said, 'when the night clerk
left his desk suddenly and ran over to
me. jim, said he, did YOU notice
that ~rum-looking cove, wearing a mag
niticent seal>kin oyercoat, who lust
went into the bar?' | had noticed
HIM, and ] said 50. 'Well,' he con-
tlnu"d, with eagcrneSs, when you We're
OFT duty IN Tuesday night, about this
tlm', that very same man came in
here wearing a beaver Newmarket
edged with sable, a pair of enormous
sabl" gauntiets and a sable cap. The
whole ri~ must have been worth S7ju
at the lowest estimate" suggested
that very probably the gentleman was
rich and eccentric, fond of driving ont
to Gabe's and back again, and well
able to afford the luxury of two $3.50
fur OytrcOatS.
The night-clerk scoffcd at the idea.
Look at him well when he passes he
said, and besides he didn't drive down
here on Tuesday night, for | had the
curiosity to 60 out on the street and
watch him when he left. He struck a
bee line for downtown and he went
on foot. Moreover. the bar cashier
says he caught a glimpse of his
clothes when he unbuttoned his fur
overcoat to pay for his drink. and that
they were a 5 old and dirty as a tramp's.'
| had no opportunity to point out to
him that there was nothing in his OBJ
~Jectlons to my theory about the mvste-
rious fur coat, for at that moment the
object OF u remarks came out of the
bar-room door and passed us on an
easy saunter. | took a good look at
him, and | confess that for a moment |
felt staggered. He was the most COM
mon-place-looking individual that |
ever behold. His hair was the color
Of a ripe squash, and a wiry, backing
brush Of a mustaChe of the same hue
fringed his liberal mouth. His nose
up at an acute angle and his
was expressive Of neither
intellectually nor cleanliness. More
over, imbedded in fur which would
have adorned an 1talian-opera goddess,
caught a glimpse Of tho dirticgt col
ar that ever disgraccd the neck Of a
of a Bakersfield hand-'em-
Town.
1.-TWO nights after that | was talking
the detective of an uptown hotel.
We have a queer visitor who drops in
IN us of an evening" said he, a man
n a fur coat Here | interrupted {
lin. He came into our place the j.:
'ther night l said. He is a short
nan with carrotty hair and he wears a !
ealskin overcoat.' You are wrong in !
ne particular, said my friend, laugh l
ng, i should think that an old hand G
ike you knew sealskin when he saw it. T.
Why, the mans coat is made of real I
~.strachan-a perfect beauty! A young c
Jude who saw it the other night, and t
Who has been in Europe and knows all l.
bout those things, said that it was i
forth a cool thousand if a penny. v
.o, hon | said to myself, 80 my friend z
three fur overcoats. This needs b
into !
THE mysterious man with the fur a
v~ercoat, or overcoats, rather, didn't n
al at our hotel again. One night, Il
bout a fortnight after this CONVERSE a
on, | stood ut the window in the lob Il
looking out at the lazy snowhakes lc
owly drifting downward. Suddenly q
y attention was riveted on a familiar n
y~ure-it was the overcoat man. He e!
as walking at a hangdog. shutting bl
.ce across the park. When he reached nj
Immediately opposite the front /
'or he paused with one foot on the |
rbstone, and looked inquiringly ds
the hotel. Then he scratched pc
> head in an undecided way. hest be
a moment, turned on his heel and TO
off down the street. 20
the few brief seconds in to!
Itch he had stood before me in the or
ire Of the electric light my straining tn
rs had clearly and indisputably an
ted the fact that he wore a fur over thu
1t, and a different one from any that ne
had previously worn. 1t was . no