Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1888-05-11

home for him when he came back, so he |
went about with list of suitable women |
in his pocket, and has struck the bargain |
at last with q wi6ow-rather good sort. |
New I intend making him wedding |
present, so I want you to let me have that |
cane"
Well, 1 sold him the stick that Is, | |
changed it for some cigars OF brand |
/ fancied, and my friend carried 1t off. l |
looked out for HadieT's wedding, but !
very shortly after, to my regret, came !
upon a notice of his death instead.
1t seemed that upon the very day my
friend had himself called, and presented
the Malacca cane, he had been seized with
sort of fit, from which he died after
ngering few days.
Ny friend returned the cane to me. at
| seems a rather unlucky giit," he remark
ed. | thought the same, and put 1t by,
but some time later, ON gcipg to South
America, took it with NE, thinking l
would use it myself.
1 went inland to spend a couple of
days with a very old friend who was
| working an estate. He had 70 sons just
growing up, with him, an agreeable wife
and pretty daughter. L fancied the lat
| ter was somewhat like my Marion; at
any rate, she sang; so did Marion, and
l am sure that these were the reasons for
the tender feelings [ experienced when ]
was in her company. quite forgot her
| afterwards. That cane was like a very
pretty woman-it could not go anywhere
without attracting attention.
| My host was com pletely fascinated with
it. Look here, Hodsou, he said 'I'll
| give you what you like for that Malacca;
it's hit my fancy. Do you set especial
value upon it.
mo" [ answered; "and yet don't par
ticularIy want to part with it; it's carried
carried i'll iuck hitherto"
| My host laughed this to scorn, aud soon
afterward Marion-Ro, l mean Kitty
really was beginning to mix the two girls
begged me 10 let her papa have the
| cane, for he had set his heart upon it. OF
| course it would have been grossly rude TO
refuse pair of blue eyes such simple
| request, and ] asked to be allowed to
make it present. He would not hear of
| this, and gave me in exchange fer it q
curious hunting knife.
| was bound up the river, and on my re-
turn a month later found, to my uuex
pressible CONSERVATION, the cane itself
/ awaiting me, with a p1teOus letter from
| poor, darling Mar-I mean Kitty-telling
me that the very day l left their house
| her dear papa had been seized with some
| fever of kind they did not understand,
had rapidly sunk under it and died. That
| happy, hospltable home! l could not
| pick up my spirits after the news for at
least three weeks.
Nothing should induce me to part with
| the cane again. [ took it into occasional
| use, for at least it had never harmed me,
except, indeed, in the case of my uncle's
| unsigned will, and the next event in con
nection with it happened at Buenos Ayres
| 1t is the custom there for business men to
take their meals at cafes, and [ was break
fasting in one of these places with shore
| friend when it disappeared, or, as [ had
reason to know, was annexed" by one Of
a noisy party at the next table. These
men were mostly in uniform, and made
! great row, disturbing our quiet comfort
with their loud, excited talk. My cane
and this party went away simultaneously,
and my friend declared that he not only
suspected them generally, but was pretty
sure which of them had taken a fancy to
the stick; he had caught the eye of one of
| the men IN uniform fixed very lOngingly
| upon it. He promised me to do his best
| to get it back for me. as [ was leaving dl-
| rectly for the West Indies.
As Is not unusual in these parts, affairs
| were in q most unsettled state; in short, a
| revolution was brewing.
Some time afterward | heard from my
| friend, whose name, by the way, was
Darby Fielding, that the missing stick
had fallen into his hands in an odd sort
of way. The man who had made of with
it had been murdered in his lodgings for
political reasons, and the cane had been
handed over to my friend by the chief of
police, who had charge of the fellows
effects. He promised to take care Of it
| and send it TO me at the first opportunity,
"as," he wrote, 81 fancy you value it for
some reason or other l own L did; in
spite of the melancholy associations, 1t
always reminded me of Mari mean
Kitty-no, mean Marion. OF course!
Time passed by, and 1 met man who
had Just come from those parts. | asked
after Darby Fielding at once, hoped he
vas all right aud generally tiourishing.
He, didn't you hear?" he replied.
Poor fellow, he died rather suddenly
some months ago.
This was blow. That fatal stick
again. On my return home l landed at
Plymouth and made straight-as soon Is
the ship was paid off-to the dizzy shop
of the rascal who had sold me the unlucky
article.
Imeant to have a talk with him about
it, for by this time had come to a sort
of belief its owning magic properties,
such as those wicked old hays, the Obi
witches, seem to have the power of put-
ting into things which nature intended to
be harmless.
When the old spider caught sight of
me and my cane l never saw anything
like the deadly fear and amazemeut that
Il. cl-i
hand went up, his jaw dropped, his d. ep
yellow face seemed to shrivel into a duller
parchment texture but not word did he
utter until / spoke, and then a hodge
podge of strange oaths in all tongues
dropped slowly out under his breath.
"What? It's come, Them he whispered.
Il have come to hear the story of this
stick,% l said. ''There is something
queer about it."
All his emotions had vanished, an
Oriental apathy had taken possession of
hisn and did not leave him again. l felt
sure as l watched his features and took
note of his small 1.-the hands that he was
an Oriental by birth, Hindu or Parsee or
of some kindred race.
Fate" he muttered. "Siva. It's over.
Come thou tonight"
| loft him clearing the multIfarious
goods cut of the window, and | returned
at 10 o'clock in the evening, carrying the
cane with me.
found my friend in small dark kit
chen, his sitting room, behind the shop,
and 10 my surprise the floor was covered,
as well as the walls, with the strange va
riety of objects in which he dealt. The
Pickering light from the fire and the two
candle s lit up a strange, barbaric scene.
An Eastern bazaar, with odds and ends
of English uniform intermixed, seemed
30 be turn ed out in utter disorder. He
seemed to have piled all his possessions
into this squalid room with its blackened
ceiling.
He motioned me toward chair, from
which 1 dislodged a cavalry saddle and
roll of bunting.
was in no inconsiderabie state of ex-
citemept. Was it possible that some pro-
found secret, hitherto unknown to any
European, was to be revealed to me?
l RENE rked at a venture that he had not
expected to see me back alive, and sug-
gested that, as my only affair with him ives
to do him slight good turn, / could not
! avoid wondering why he had apparently
so ught with gles to compass my death.
This l said, taking the magic properties
of the cane for granted.