The west Tennessee star. (Bolivar, Tenn.) 1888-1888, 1888-08-10
SMUGGLED LACES.
The Mystery of the Frontier, and
How It Was Solved.

HOW III w as SOlV0u.
Herman Hatell was Swiss boy
whose father held an humble but i'm
pOrtant position in the service of the
republic He was stationed in a small
hut among the mountains that form a
part of the boundary line between
France and Switzerland, and it was his
duty to look out for smugglers, who
were practicing all sorts of tricks to
get their goods across the frontier
For some time great deal of fine
French lace had been entering Switzer-
land without duty, and the frontier
guards, one and all, had received strict
orders to watch for the lace smugglers.
Sergeant Hatell and his boy occupied
what had come to be called 1.-The lace
trail, on account of the large amount
of the cOntraband article which had
succeeded in crossing the frontier at
that point.
1t was a lonely enough place In
which to live, and the Hatells were in
constant danger, for the smugglers
had threatened them with mysterious
letters. But this did not dampen the
old sergeant's ardOr, nor keep Herman
one whit less on the alert.
At odd intervals a little old French
man, a veteran of NapoleOn's wars,
and as shrewd as a Frenchman can be,
would drop in upon the Hatells, and
pass several hours in their company.
Nearly every time he was accompanied d
! by large yellow dog of the masti fl
! species. The animal had a thick coat
of hair, and when he stood on his hind
| feet he was head taller than his
master.
! Whenever these two friends called
at the mountain hut, the boy Herman
was sure of some excellent stories
/ about the retreat from Moscow or the
battle of Waterloo. During the re-
cital, Bruno, the dog, would lie quiet
! ly at his masters feet, watching him
with a shrewd eye, and ready to spring
up and vanish at the lifting of q fin
! ger.
Monsieur Moscow" as Herman had
nicknamed their visitor, prOfessed to
| be the French agent for a Swiss watch
! factory. For once, at least, he told
the ruth; but the officials thought
/ 3
articles across the boundary.
! The orders: Watch Monsieur Mos
COW and his dog had been anticipated
! by the sergeant, but, be as shrewd as
| he could, he utterly failed to detect
any thing wrong with either.
4 don't see why we are to watch
the dog said Herman to his father,
| one day, when they had been talking
about the pair. Bruno is friendly
enough with me, and / have fondled
! him so often that / don't think he
could carry any diamonds among his
hair"
I'VE are to look out for the laces,
my boy" was the reply.
''How could dog carry such over
| the frOntierP"
Sergeant Hatell smiled and answered
that somehow or other the laces con-
tinued to cross, and he intimated that
unless he discovered the smugglers
soon, he would lose his place.
1t happened that one night the old
| Quardsman was called away, and Her
man was left on duty. It had not been
the first time, and when darkness
| closed in around the rough landscape,
he took his gun and went down into
the pass. Hardly had he reached his
favorite sentry station ere the wind
arose, and for the next half hour the
boy guard listened to the roaring of a
terrible mountain storm. He got the
best shelter he could find, and while
he held his post, ne thought more than
once of Monsieur Moscow" and his
campaigns.
ssIf Bruno were here, we could have
a good time,n said Herman to himself.
Il would like to know why the Gus
tom-house people want US to watch
the big yellow dog. His master may
be a hard old nut to crack, but Bruno
is so Jolly that / can't think of him
being a smuggler."
Then Herman thought of the singu-
lar reports he had heard about the
dog during the past two weeks. Some
of the mountain guards said that they
had caught glimpses of a large dog
crossing the frontier alone, and they
all agreed that It looked like Bruno,
s.Monsieur Moscow'sr companion. No
one had seen a man with the animal
on any Of these occasions, and few had
seen him long enough to say that he
was really Bruno.
All at once Herman Hatell was
touched softly by something, and the
next moment he felt two large paws
on his shoulders! In an instant he
dropped his gun, and was calling
, Bruno, Bruno!' in response to the
caresses of a huge dog.
It really was Monsieur Moscow's'
comrade, and the dog seemed as mucl
delighted with the meeting as wa.
Herman. the boy guard. The storm
had by this time abated, and Herman
sat down on a rock and fondled th'
mastiff.
Listen to me. Bruno" said the boy