Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1892-09-15
WITHOUT AN ENDING.
An Old Salts Start on an Excit-
ing Narrative.
interesting Preliminaries to Story He
Hadn't Time to Finish-A War
Time Adventure with a Big
Sailing Vessel.

Sailing Vessel.
The sunlight streaming through the
half-opened port cast a ruddier glow
upon the bronzed visage of a comman-
der OF one of the big passenger steam
ships which ply between this and Eu-
ropean ports Seated opposite TO him
was an inquisitive young man, pencil
and notebook in hand
Yes, said the captain, rehectively,
Il have had some strange experie nces
during the forty-odd years that l have
spent upon the ocean and have seen
some strange scenes. But you want to
know the most singular of them all?
Let me see-did l ever tell You of a
passenger | once carried who was ar
rested wnen the ship reached her dock
for numbering himself? Never heard
of it. ell? And | do not suppose You
can ina CINE how such thing as liv-
ing man being arrested for numbering
himself is possible.
We'll, i can easily pardon your in
creduiity, for one cannot readily see
under what circumstances living man
Gould be accused of assasSinating him
self. Taken all in all, that perhaps is
the most remarkable incident that ever
came under my observation. / may as
well admit that vanity may have had
something to do with placing it in that
category. as it was through my per-
Sonal efforts that the tangled sllein
was finally unravcled and the mystery
made clear"
The captains pipe went ont, and
pause ensued while the bowl was being
refilled. The young man resharpened
his pencil and prepared to write
tragedy.
''You see, " added the narrator, med
itatively. as he watched the blue smoke
curling upward from the replenished
bTicr-rOOt, the captain of passenger
steamship nowadays has to be some
thing of 4 detective as well as most
everything else Frequently ne has to
listen - the complaints of passengers
who claim 70 have lost articles of Jew
elry or money, but it is rarely the case
when they can simplify the question
by indicating the person or persons
suspected of apprcpriating their val
uablcs.
Even if we were permitted to do so,
we could not subject all our passengers
to the humiliation of being searched,
and would hesitate long time be-
fore l would take the responsibility of
having any of my passengers treated
in Such a manner. But the complain
ants, as rule. are never satisfied short
of anything else. The customs officers,
however, afford us great assistance in
such instances. l will tell you of a
case in point which happened on board
of ship l commanded some years
ago."
THAT Of the passenger who was i'm
plicated in his own murder?" inquired
the young man with his notebook.
NO; l am coming to that. This is
70 merely illustrate what | was just say
ing about the relationship between
captain and passenger. Never mind
the name of the ship; and, by the way,
Won must not use mine, either; agents,
YOU know. don't approve of their cap
tains talking too much.
1.-The incident took place several
wears ago in the course of voyage
from Liverpool to Boston. On the
morning of the third day out the stew
ard awakened me and said that n pas
senger was anxious to see me on Il mat
ter of great Importance. | told the
steward TO find out who the passenger
business. The steward returned with
the information that the man was a
Jew and appeared to be greatly per-
turbed about something, which he de-
,clined to communicate to anyone eX-
,cept myself. I sent him word to wait
till l was dressed, and then had him
shown into the cabin
.He came in. hat in hand, evidently
!. at,
The cause of it, which finally man.
aged to gather from his rather inco-
herenr sentences. was that he had been
robbed during the night Come with
me- said /, and show me how this rob-
berry occurred
Ills stateroom was a double one
opening upon the upper deck. Three
other men of his own race occupied it
Jointly with him.
Now tell me what you lost and
show me where it was when you saw it
last l said.
THE Jew-his name was Simon, if l
remember well-almost went into con
-vulsions.
Lost he exclaimed. 'Mein frien,
hat los: eberything.'
s.He then explained that all his saw
iups of lifetime had been invested in
diamonds. These, he said, had been
concealed in a false pocket in his trous-
ers and the aperture sewed up.
land where did you place your
trousers last night?' inquired.
s'He indicated a hook within arms
reach of the door. The pocket had been
neatly slit open, apparently with some
sharp instrument. When I discovered
that the door had not been locked dur
ing the night Immediately formed my
own conclusions regarding the case.
"'whom do You suspect of having |
done this?' asked.
sIt seems that he also had formed an