San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1888-04-24
THE MAN IN BLACK.

Mai Dalton was in trouble. He had
been detailed and sent to one of the largest
inland cities in the cOnfederacy to super
intend the manufacture of bombs and tor
pedoes.
Everything moved along satisfactorily
until the chemist connected with the
works made reckless experiment, one
day, and blew himself up. The force of
the explosion was SO great that not a
piece of the unfortunate man could be
found.
81 wouldn't have minded it so much"
said the major to his friend, the provost
marshal, eff the fellow hadn't carried off
lot of valuable papers with him. He
knew lots of chemical secrets, and he had
his formulas written out, and they were
in his pocket when he left"
'You might ADVERTISE" suggested the
provost marshal.
'Good idea," replied the major; ''I'll
do it."
The next morning the city papers con-
tanned a short advertisement, stating that
first class chemist could secure employ
ment, with good salary, at the govern
ment works
At that time there were very few idle
chemists in the confederacy, and after
waiting several days, the major began to
think that he would have to send to Rich
mond for a man.
One night, when he was alone in his Of
flee, he commenced a letter to the secre-
tary of war. He had just penned a re-
quest for the immediate detail of an ex-
perienced expert, when he became con-
scious of the presence of another person in
the room.
1fN1f hityN md I iIrtf Lnn
him." said the major afterward, "but I
could feel my flesh crawl, and knew that
something was up"
The major wheeled around in his chair
and saw man standing just inside the
door. The stranger was tall and thin,
and his black suit cOntrasted strangely
with his pale face and white hands.
Maj. Dalton noted these points. In
addition to his black attire, the mans
hair and eyes were of the same somber
shade. He even wore a black watch
chain, a pair of black trimmed eyeglasses,
and a black seal ring.
The officer gave q sharp look at his
VISITORS face, but it's dead whiteness was
as expressionless as mask
"Ahemm calculated the major
81 must introduce myself" said the
stranger stepping forward. my name is
Pellico. / am chemist and l am ia
miliar with the manufacture OF explosives.
l saw your advertisement and decided to
offer my services"
He spoke rapidly, in a musical voice,
with slight foreign accent.
"You are not an American" said the
major.
'1talian," briefly responded the other;
81 belong to family of famous chemists,
and we have served nearly every govern
ment in Europe"
Just then the major remembered that
he had sentry stationed in front of the
office
"Confound it, sirp' he broke out
angrily; Chow did you get in?''
II beg your pardon" answered Pellico,
courteously. "When your office was
pointed out to me walked in"
"But the sentry, the guard?'
ooh, the soldier-I simply passed him
by"
"You ran the risk of getting shot,"
growled the major.
''Not at all; there was no danger" was
the quiet reply.
Pellico's manner impressed the officer,
and he asked his visitor for his creden-
tials.
The man in black produced letter of
recommendation from a Spanish officer of
high rank in Cuba.
$50 you have not been long in this coun-
try?' remarked the Confederate
Ten days. I slipped through the
blockaders, landed in Florida and then
came here"
Further conversation did not cause him
to say anything that was inconsistent with
his first account of himself
In the course of half an hour Mai. Dali
ton was ready to admit that he was in the