Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1889-01-02

Plymouth, and made straight-as soon
as the ship was paid of-to the dingy
shop of the rascal who had sold me the
unlucky article.
I meant to have talk with him about
it, for this time had come to sort of
belief in it's owning magic proper
ties, such as those wicked old bags
the Obi witches. seem to have
which nature intended to be harmless.
When the old spider caught sight of
me and my cane, never saw anything
like the deadly fear and amazement
that the sight caused in him. His
skinny hands went up, his jaw dropped.
his deep. yellow face seemed to shrivei
into duller parchment texture, but
not a word did be utter Until sl oke,
and then hodge-podge of strange
oaths in all tongues dropped slowly out
under his breath. "What? It's come.
then - he whispered.
II have come to hear the story of this
stick" | said. There is something
queer about it. ]"
All his emotion had vanished, an Or
iental apathy took possession of him
and did not leave him again. T felt
sure, as 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"
[ left him clearing the multifarious
goods out of tue window, and I returned
at III o'clock in the evening, CARRYING
the cane with me.
[ found my friend in a small, dark
h1n cf<fI L. L L
shop, and to my surprise the floor was
covered, as well as the walls, with the
strange variety Of objects in which he
dealt. The tlickering light from the
fire and two candles lit up a strange,
barbaric scene. An Eastern bazaar,
with odds and ends Of English uniform
intermixed, seemed to be turned out in
utter disorder. He seemed to have
piled all his possessions into this
squalid room with its blackened cell
ing.
He motioned me towards a chair.
from which [ dislodged cavalry saddle
and roll of bunting.
| was in no inconsiderable state of ex-
element. Was it possible that some
profound secret, hitherto unknown to
any European, was to be revealed to
me?
| remarked at venture that he had
not expected to see me back alive, and
suggested that, as my only affair with
him had been to do him slight good
turn, could not avoid wondering why
he had apparently sought with gIee to
compass my death. This said. taking
the magic properties of the cane for
granted.
''Who knows" he replied in hollow
hot sc e.
death might not have been your ex-
come. Naught is ail-powerful, not
even"
Gwen what You have learned the
devils arts in the West Indies or Bur-
nah, eh ?"
you will leave the cane with me-"
he said, regardless of my question.
81 mean to burn it. !"
"Leave that to me. You will repent
if you do not"
The scene, the voice, the aspect of
the singular being. had, confess, un-
nerved me by this time. The gro
tesque surroundings alone would have
gone for nothing, but a sense of an I'M
DERIVING mystery and purpose was
there; moreover, was aware of a curl
Gus pervading scent which no doubt
emanated from the masses of stuffs
around, a mixture OF Eastern perfume
and Eastern dirt, peculiar and pene-
trating. 1t affected my head.
Tell me-" be asked earnestly, chow
/ knew he meant deaths and briefly
told the story.
An expression of intense Joy lit up
his withered visage to an Incredible
degree. He began counting on his fin
gers, and / could hear he counted in
Persian numerals.
"You seem to owe the world
grudge," said angrily 'Your iend-
ish arts have destroyed these innocent
persons. | wish / could hand you over
to the law to answer for their lives"
He looked with cynical contempt at
me. eve are all alike, we get what we
want out of the world as we can" he
"Some are wiser than 9TH
ers."
Then he went on counting. cone
MORE" With this he turned his gilt
tering, viper-ike eyes with darling
glance upon me.
had an oddly confused feeling in
my head, and the gorgeous, squalid
contents of the room swan before my
eyes. zone MORE" he repeated, s'and
the goal is won" Silently he crept to
the rusty CRATE, stirred up the fire with
a bit of charred wood, then with the
burning end Of the latter deliberately
set light to heap of spangled muslin
of very fine texture.
"What are you about, mailman ~ /
exclaimed, but when I tried to rise
from my seat found my limbs like lead.
He glided from corner to corner of the
little room with bit of flaming stuff in
his hand; here he applied it to an open
newspaper, there to linen sheet, again
to length of colored calico. The
smell. sound and sight of burning filed
and choked the atmosphere-and re-
NAMED like a log
Like phantom in a wild dream, I
saw the weird figure of the Oriental
waving the Malacca cane about his head
in rhythmic movements.
Zone more ~ he cried exultantlv.
s'The hour has come The number is
made mp. My glory is assured for vast
eternities." Then thought I saw him
fall to the ground. made frantic eff
fort. With ali the strength I could
muster in failing body and Keeling