The Arkansaw traveler., 1888-02-11

Dacre's room door, and knocked loudly for admission in the name of the law. Only at the third and very imperative summons was the door opened by Orlando P. Jones. The supposed criminal was discovered seated at his little table, upon which lay a blood stained dagger; his face was buried in his hands
 "Signor Dacre," said the chief oi police, "I call upon you to surrender, and l demand to search your apart ments. This gentleman" said he, pointing to the informer, "detected you last night in conveying the body of dead or insensible female into this house." The informer, being an Ital- ian, immediately struck an attitude.
 'T yield," said Dacre in a broken voice; "the proofs of my crime you will find in the next room."
 Two of the agents advanced and seized the supposed murderer by either arm.
 "I should recognize her at once,' cried the informer. "The poor crea- ture wore dress of bright blue color: l saw the edge of it from under the cloak in which she was enveloped. ;
 The bedroom door was flung open by the leader of the little party. In the centre of the room was a lady fig ure in bright blue dress; it was standing on its head.
 The police instantly released their prisoner.
 "Let this be lesson to you, sir" said Dacre to his too curious victim in voice of thunder, "when you next dare to intrude upon the privacy of gentlemen and men of honor."
 And then Messrs. Dacre and Jones executed a ferocious pas de t,fomphe.
 A less sublime but practically ridic- ulous joke was perpetrated by Dacre upon an unfortunate old lady who had the misfortune to dwell upon the sec- ond floor of the great house of which the comrades occupied the sky par lors.
 She was dcvotee, her one harm- less amusement being the keeping of two imhense goldfish in big glass globe upon her balcony. With dia- bolical ingenuity Dacre, by means of a piece of cotton, bent pin, and a small piece of meat, angled for the two tinny monsters who formed the joy of the old lady's life, caught them, fried them in egg and bread crumbs and then restored them to their once happy and transparent home.
 In the Cate Verdi, Cecil Dacre once calmly declared, after rather hilari- ous breakfast, that he would cause twenty innocent citizens of Naples to be arrested within the hour. The Cate Verdi is, as we know, situated in the Piazza dei Martira. Dacre went out and purchased large ball of string, he made loop in the end of it and then he took mean advantage of the urbane politeness of the Italians. Producing huge notebook, he cour- teously raised his hat to the first re- spectablo bystander.
 "Signor," said he, twill you greatly oblige me by holding this piece of string while I take few measure ments? Thank you so much"
 And then with great strides he com- menced to pace the piazza. Of course little crowd collected at once. Dacre selected another victim with the same result.
 "Keep it quite taut, if you please" and he bowed politely. Within five minutes thirty individuals were hold ing the tightly stretched string, an immense crowd had assembled and Dacre had finished his pacings, his string, and the careful notes he had appeared to be making.
 Be patient, gentlemen" he said |; "I shall not detain you long," Then he disappeared only to re-enter the Cafe Verdi by the back door, to watch the result. He had chosen his time with considerable ingenuity, for he knew that the police patrol always arrived on the Piazza dei Martini punctually at noon. It wanted but two minutes of the hour. Just at that time the peace of Naples was much disturbed by political demonstrations, which were severely put down by the authorities. The hour struck. Twenty policemen, headed by a sergeant, ap- peared upon the scene; of course they proceeded at once to arrest the thirty mysterious conspirators, who were still innocently engaged in holding Dacre's string, Dacre and his friends watching the whole scene from the windows of the Cafe Verdi with de- lighted amusement.
 But the master stroke of Dacre's in- genuity was the ar;fully arranged plan by which he obtained feloniously a sum of five pounds five sterling from Mir. Donald MacTaggart, of Leith. MacTaggart was an ambitious young fellow of small talent, who had re- gently arrived in Naples to study art. MacTaggart was we'll to-do, excess l iYelY stingY. preternaturallY noly and