The Delta independent., 1890-05-06
SOMETHING WRONG.

urely away at white-ashed Perfecto,
"have been brought into contact with
all sorts and conditions of men, and
lay the .fiattering JUNCTION to my soul
that l am a pretty good judge of hui
man nature, fairly good reader of
character, but yet am forced to admit
even after have studied and observed
them for years, remain as sealed
book, SO little of their true inwardness
am | able to fathom. l have now in
mind such case. and if you care to
listen l will tell you of man who.
take him all in all, was the most enig-
matical individual, SO to speak,. that |
ever knew. / first met him in an
eastern city in 1874. He was intro
duced to me under the name of MouteI
and have never had reason to believe
but that it was his correct name. All
the time he was to all intents and pur-
poses young man of elegant leisure.
He lived in luxurious bachelor apart
ments; spent money freely, and enter
tained lavishly. He was handsome,
fascinating fellow, graceful and easy
in his manner, was possessed of pecil-
liarly winning qualities, and many
accomplishments, and l never knew
him to indulge in boisterous or often
siye conduct.
"Where he came from or where he
and few seemed to care. 1t was. .occa-
sionally whispered around that he was
3 skilled gambler who had 'struek it
rich,' but in all my acquaintance with
him never once saw him play cards
for money. He played the piano like
true artist, and sang beautifully.
ellis literary taste was of high
order, and he read nothing but the bes,
books. 1 must confess that l used to
enjoy his company exceedingly, and
many an hour have / sat and listened
to him discourse on various interesting
topics. Nothing ever seemed to disturb
or annoy him, he retained perfect
equanimity on all occasions, in fact his
existence seemed to be in conformity
to the rules of serene philosophy that
nothing could rufiie or discompose.
lie was not a member of any religious
delomination, but attended church re e.
ularly, and gave literally of his store
to the poor and needy. Don't under
stand that he was in. any sense a goody-
goody or namby-pamby young man,
far from it. He was intensely virile
and robust in his makeup, and en-
ioyed himself in a manly and sensible
way. In short, he was that sort of a
character that carries everything before
it, and /, for one, believed in and ad-
mired him to such an extent that he
gained my entire confidence and abso-
lute faith.
"We were very intimate for two years
and half and never in all that time
had occasion to change my belief
that of all the good, warm-hearted,
upright fellows in the world Harry
Mouter was the prince. Early in the
year 1877 he told me one day that cir
cumstances had arisen that compelled
him to go to California TO remain, how
long he couldn't say, perhaps never to
return. He assured me that the change
i'll residence was not of his own seek
ing, and he expressed great regret at
being obliged to go thousands of miles
from a host of dear friends and among
that number he was kind enough to
place me first. was loath to see him
leave our midst, and told him frankly
that meyer expected to- see his like
again. Neither have l.
"Two weeks later he had disposed of
such of his personal effects as he didn't
care to take with him, farewell sup
per was rendered him by a few of his
most intimate friends, good-byes were
said, and the charming and gallant
Harry Mouter ceased. to be anything
more in our circle than a pleasant
memory.
"Two weeks after his arrival in San
Francisco l received long, newsy
letter from him, in which he said that,
although somewhat homesick the first
few days, he was enjoying himself
hugely in the cosmopolitan City of the
Golden Gate. Five days later 1 re-
ceiyed copy of the San Francisco
Chronicle which contained two-col-
umn article, and it was all about
Moutcr. The article went on to say
that at 1890 on the morning of the
day before fine-looking young man
called at one of the principal banking
institutions in the city aud asked to
see the cashier. He was nshered into
that cfficcr's presence and to him he
said that he had just come from New
York and had S20, 200 in currency
that he wanted to exchange for gold,
and would it be possible for a
messenger from. the bank to bring
the gold to his room in the
Lick House that afternoon and make
the exchange? The cashier replied
that it would, and Mr.. Mouter, with
profusc thanks for accommodation,
bowed himself out. The cashier, after
thinking the matter over, concluded
that it would be wise precaution to
have detective follow the messenger
to the hotel when he went to see
Mouter, and accordingly sent for one
and instructed him just what to do.
"At2 o'clock in the afternoon the
messenger with four large bags full of
gold coin went to the Lick llouse and
was ushcrcd mp to Mouter's room.
The latter met him at the door, and
smilingly received him. He asked the
messenger to be seated in a large easy
chair for minute or two while he got
the S20, 900 in currency ont of trunl,
that stood in closet. The messenger,