, 1892-02-18
-ue1l. | wonldn,t have been ben. ~

well, | wouldn't have been here nov
20 tell the story.
after the train had progressed half
way to Dover one man in the compart-
ment said: 'D-n this railway service.
Here | got a headache, h first in my
life, through the ventilation Another
also complained of a headachSrTn by
the time we reached Dover tiSfe we're
seven very i'll men in the compartment.
81 was i'll, too. but | knew the cause.
1t was the fumes of nitroglycerin.
"At Dover as we got on the boat there
was another narrow escape. A stupid
porter seized the Gladstone bag and
tried to balance 1t on his head. | res
cued it in time.
"We got aboard the o. at Calais all
right. and | sat pensively watching that
internal bag, which rested quietly, as If
it had not been filed with dynamite
enough to blow up the ship, within ten
feet of me. The passage, thank heaven,
was smooth, but ! felt pretty well done
up. / left the bag and walked down into
the cabin thinking of the custom house
officers who were awaiting us on the
other side. At last 1 saw a man-an in
terpreter, a Frenchman-and l decided
" uldhc I'LL nclp lut- L Sdb uOWu LII
the cabin and began to weep-it isn't
hard if you know how. He said, Does
monsieur require anything? l looked
up, wiped away my tears and told him
my sorrow.
at was to the effect that my wife was
dying in Paris. She had telegraphed
me, and | was about to soothe her last
moments by my presence. He became
immediately interested and begged me
to cheer up. agreed to do SO on condi-
ton hat he would join me in a bottle Of
champagne, which he did gladly. AS
we walked l slipped two Napoleons into
his hand and said:
Now, / want to get away quick on
the first train. I've nothing but a satchel,
and don't want to be detained by the
customs house at Calais. Can you ar
range matters? he swore hat he would
and kept his word. When the boat
landed my satchel was carried trium-
phantly ashore on the shoulders of my
friend, the interpreter, and l passed the
customs house without a moments de-
lay.
"And SO we went to Parasitic Glad
stone bag, filled with nitroglycerin, and
myself-and in course of time arrived
at the Care de Nord. 1 hailed a passing
cab and directed the driver to my ad-
dress, but cautioned him to avoid the
rough streets OF the journey. Like all
Partisan hackmen, he did just the oppo-
site till l stopped him. My friend, said
/, do you know what's in that satchel
you have between your legs on the box?
Well, sir, there's enough dynamite to
blow your whole outfit to the devil, and
If you don't drive quieter the chances
are against you You never saw a
more careful driver after hat in your
life.
Finally, l arrived at my rooms, and
the next day got up early (for l was be-
ginning to get afraid of that internal
satchel by this time MYSELF and went to
Versailles, where l stored the stuff safe
ly in my laboratory and exploded it at
my leisure.
81 wrote to Majendie in London after
ward, telling of my success, and re-
ceived a short reply saying that l ought
to be in jail this minute.
Funny, isn't it, these English Of
ficials have no sense of humor?"
And here the colonel lit another cigar,
while L watched the Gladstone bag re-
Observation-Disclosures Times.