Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1888-11-27
Tho Man in Black.

The Man in Black.
Major D.l,on ". Ia trouble. III,
h.d been detailed and sen, 10 one OF the
l.rs,., cite. 10 the eonfsdsrsey TO super.
in,,nd the Manufacture Of bomb. and
,ofpedoss.
Everything moved along satisfactorily
until the chemist connected 9TH the
~ors. made an ,spsrimsn, ons day and
blew himself up The force Of the en-.
plo.ion "a. 90 gres, ,hs, no, piece Of
the unfortunate man could be found.
81 wouldn't have minded Il 90 much.
..h the m,j,r to hi. friend. the provost
marshal. III the fsllo~ hsdn't carried
OF lot Of valuable papers With him
lie kne- lot. of chemical secrets, and
he h.d hi, formulas written out. and
they ~sr, 10 ki. pocks, -hsn be lsf,."
"You might advertise" suggested
the proves, marshal.
GOOD id,s." replied the major. 81
will do IT,"
The nss, day the city papers eoa,sin.
ed . small Advertisement, s,sting ths,
. hr,.ela. ehsmi., could .eeur. employ
m.n,. s,a good salary, ., the government
works.
Al the time ,hsr, were very few idle
chemist. 10 the eonfedsrsey. and af,er
waiting several days the nsjor bessn 10
think be would have TO send up 10 Rich.
mond for man.
One night. when be ". alone in hi.
Office, be commenced . letter TO the sec.
rs,sry Of var. lie h.d ja', penned a
. r,qas., for the detail Of an experienced
,,psr,. when he became conscious OF the
presence Of another person In the room.
IL didn', see him, and | didn't hear
him." ..id the major. sftsr~aid. "bu, ]
could feel my as.h crawl. aud knew
something vi. up"
The ms ia wheeled around in bis chair
and saw . man standing jus, inside the
door The stranger Was tall and thin
aud hi. black suit eonua.,ed strangely
With hi. pale face and white hsnd'.
Major Dalton noted these points. In
addition to hi. black attire. the man.
h.ir and eye. were Of the same .ombsr
shade. lie even wore . black watch.
chain. . pair Of bl.ek.rimm,d eye.glss'.
60. md black zeal ring.
The cife,r gave = sharp look a, hi.
visitors face bu, Il. dead whi,sre. ws'
=. ,lpr,..ionls. as mask.
"Absml" ,j.euls,sd the msjor.
81 mus, introduce myself "id the
stranger, stepping forward. "My name
l. Pellieo. an . chemist. aud ] an
familiar With the manufacture of e,plo.
.iv,.. saw your advertisement, and
decided to oifsr my 'er-iess."
lie spoke rapidly, in a musical voice,
with = Sigh, foreign seeept.
"You are no Amsriean'" said the
msjOr.
"It.lisn," briefly responded the other.
81 belong to = family Of famous chem.
hi,. and We have served nearly every
government, 10 Europe"
Jus, then the m.jor remembered tha,
be had . sentry stationed 10 from, OF the
office.
"Corfound Il. .ir!" be broke out, an
grily. "hO~ did you sc, in''
IL beg your pardon" answered Pelli.
co. eour,eou.ly. "whsn your oftiee Was
pointed on, TO me ! walked in
"But the sentry. the guard"
"Oh. the soldier, l simply passed him
by"
"You ran gres, risk Of being shot.
erowled the major.
"No, =, all; there ". TO danger.
vi. the quiet reply.
P,llieo's manner impressed the officer,
and he ssktd bis visitor for bis ereden.
,ish.
The man in black produced = als,,sr o!
recommendation from Spanish officer ol
high rank In Cuba.
$50 you have no, been long In ,hi,
country ," remarked the confederate.
"Ten days. slipped through the
blOesder. landed 10 Florida. and then
came here"
Further conversation did no, cause him
to Say anything the, vas ineousis,enl
With the FIRE, account OF himself.
The interview resulted In the engage.
men, Of Pslliso. and on the follo~ins
morning he vent to work.
From the very ou,se, the man in black
gave perf,e, satisfaction, but he mad,
no friends. The men called him "Mr
Midnight" and the ef!iser quietly agreed
among them,elve. that be va. . mys.
terry. very useful no doubt. but . di.a.
greeable companion.
Il did no, take long to make .he die.
eovsry ths, the Italian. bomb. and tor.
pedoes were the beet that had ever been
made.
One night Pellico paid another vi.i, to
the office Of MsjH Dalton.
"M.jOr." ssid be after some talk sbou
powder. gun cotton q eek FIRE and o,hs
matters, ",he main object Of our splo
sivss is TO destroy the enemy. p
"Um! well yes. to . certain extent
replied the gsllan, confederate.
"what do you think. then. ofa bomb