The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1892-12-25

The turnstile-keeper of the Zoo seemed-at
least so | thought-overwhelmed with sur
prise at my advent, and / could see a gleam
OF pure amazement In his ewes as the sound
of another outside car rafting MP to the
gates of the Zoo caught his ears as i was
passing through the turnstlle.
experienced a curious sense of loneli-
ness at finding the beautiful gardens de-
serted. l was. with the exception of a few
s~cavengers, the only human being in the
Zoo. / wandered about for the best part of
an hour, and then | turned into the mon
lighthouse. where. much to my surprise. 1
than my grutf fellow traveller from Chester.
thinking of taking q stretch here
amongst our relativesi" / observed.
The stranger darted q curious glance at
me. but made no reply to my threadbare
and impertinent Joke.
After O drive through Phoenix Park and
a visit to st. Patrick's Cathedral my jarvey
landed me at the door of the Griffin at
half-past / o'clock. | had ordered a light
dinner for 2 o'clock. and as l sat down TO 1t
In q dingy den l was at once surprised and
annoyed to find myself sitting opposite to
my taciturn travelling acquaintance.
Most extraordinary thing" said i. that
we should be meeting so constantly
The man appeared to take no notice of
my remark, SO / repeated 1t in q louder
tone.
Don't raise your voice. said he. II
heard You quite plainly. You are some
DOiStClOuos
BoIsterous or not. 1 wasnow quite angry.
1T would seem as IL you were dogging me
for some reason, SIR tuned. "Wonld
you kindly say If my surmise on this point
is correctf"
Quite correct answered the gruff crea-
ture, nibbling at q piece of bread.
And what on earth do you mean. siri" |
asked. "Wbat business have You to follow
me. to dog mer
Curiosity" he replied.
you are an impertiDent %scoundrelw I
Numbered. IF you attempt to follow me
again Tll DO Obliged to give you in charge
to the police"
You're a daisy" observed the stranger,
with q low chuckle.
No doubt this creature is insane. reflect
ed. but his insanity takes q very unpleas-
ant form. Perhaps 1t would be wiser to
avoid = quarrel. and speak to the landlord
OF the Griffin about. the matter. With an
impatient growl l turned toward the chop.
which a youth in his shirt sleeves placed
before me-.
After dinner l stood MP to leave the cof-
fee-room in quest of the landlord.
II think this farce has been played long
enough now" said my gruff companion.
standing up and dvancin to the door of
che room.
his back against the closed door and faced
me-.
mo you don't, Mr.. Henry Platt." said
the strang GER. sQuaring himself.
MY name is not Henry Platt'-I felt
quite uncomfortable now-"and your con-
duct 10 the conduct of q lunatic. Let mo
pass, sir. or you may regret the conse-
Quences."
1 was about to fling the man out of my
path, when he electrified me by saying.
Look here. my felonious friend. that
may be very fine acting. but 1t won't wash.
Let US have the key of that valise with the
yellow straps to start with. You may as
we'll take 1t quietly-I have no wish to
~ 1a a MN mr. ~ nNo.a NTH mn
Platt.D
Il tell you," I exclaimed, "that my name
is not Plat. d not In the least under
more wish than You have to create ascene.
but If you don't let me pass Pn certainly
intiict bodily injury upon you,"
"No you won't" said my tormentor,
coolly. where's the use of being obstinatei
Ihaye o warrant for you In my pocket.
and l have every desire to avoid O row.
Let us have the key of that valise-the
dark one with the light straps is, l think,
the article. Here is my warrant. Henry
that SCORE. L. is duly countersisned in this
little metropolis"
What did it all meant This man was either
q lunatic or a police officer. He was nc
doubt, in either case, armed, and a tussle
with him might have dangerous results.
Gould il be that he mistook me for the
haberdashery traveler-the pseudo sport
ing journalist
81 am really puzzled" l observed, quietly.
q matter of fact. / ave not got the key of
the vslise you refer to, nor does it belong to
me. And / Am not interested in Henry
Platts warrants. A stranger gave il into
my charge at Chester and asked me to leave
it here. He is to call for it himself OF to
send q message in these words. Give bearer
nv mar uscript.'"
That's too thin q yarn, i fear.n
any rate. it's the truth. l gave the
yalise into the landlords care when I ar
rived here. 1t doesn't belong TO me. 1
know nothing of Its contents, and IL will
be sent for by the owner some time to-day.
/ expect"
"Pon my soul. l am half inclined to be-
lieve your very strange tale: but business
is business. My name is Ranking, my adj
duty. which is TO con vey you and your
valise TO Bow street rs quickly as circum-
stances permit. IL you don't feel up to
crossing the channel tonight am not
very eager for 1t myself can promise you
comfortable quarters at Green-street police
station for the night and you can prove
your story at Bow street the day after TO-
morrow"
is some cruel joke or some extraordinary
blunder. You have addressed me as Henry
Platt; You tell me you have q warrant for
Henry Plat. ! know no man of the name.
My name Is lne0QOre Mis-"
Can you prove thatf"
Easily. of course"
"Nowi"
81 can telegraph to my friends in Lon
dom
Then o have no one in Dublin who
can answer for youf"
no" answered. after q pause. II am q
tranger here"
Tell you what" said the obliging gen.
tleman from Scotland Yard. I'VE can
travel quietly over to Holyhead by the
mail this evening. 1t will save you q lot
of trouble If you are not Henry Platt or
an of his" he added ''I'd have
preferred having o good nights rest here,
for ! had TO do without sleep since | over
took you at Chester. and 1 don't want to
SIT up Watching You again tonight if il
can he avoided"
But isn't it plain to you thu am not
the owner of that valisei If it were mine
and l TAX it that that valise is at the
bottom of all this mischief, curse tiff
that valise were mine, | repeat, would / be
likely to have gwen it into the landlords
charge"
Il really don't know" said Mr.. Ranking,
blandly. "Don't you think we are losing
q lot of timef My professional opinion Is
that you are Henry Platt. aged thirty-tive.
height five feet eight inches and q half,
blue gray eyes. heavy m0ustache. brown
hair"
"Oh, stop, for heavens sake!" I
exclaimed. / am fearfully upset-almost
crazy at the notion of being suspected Of
some crime-the nature of which / have
not even the ~faintest notion of. Damn
your professional Oplnlon! 1t surely M ust
be possible for me to prove / am not this