The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1894-11-23

|
to do b,sideS listening'
| "pll tell it you if YOU like
The Minute Hand gruned. The Hour
Hand shifted itself forward !, little ans
told this tale.
The carriage drove into the station in
gmii time: and a. single representative
| The young prince was to pay visit tC
| London strictly inccs.. and it was his
| particular desire that. upon his arrival
| there should be absolutely nothing that
even approached fOrmality; indeed. he
| was coming from Dover by the ordinary
| train. Just under the clock two mtll
were talking.
comes off, Jim. Old Icey Creamo says
it's us good ais 10000 pahntls, if it's Il
punny.'
''Yus. If it's Il punny. III bet you
to l something goes wrong
'l'll .tike you. Ill tike you. In six
penceS.'
The two smackel each others palms to
render the wager binding. Another car
riage drove into the station with an odd,
clean-Sh haven coachman. in Il coat that
looked il shade too large for him. Inside
was II man with fierce mOlstachioS.
There he is. See him on the box :
That's old lcey Creamo."
$50 are you,' said the other. incretll,-
lousy.
Its pawsitive fact, my boy. It's a
good mike-up. s'elp my bob. 60 and tell
him that the prince is at the front of the
trine. I'll 60 and tell the other lot that
he's at the back"
''Nhat do we stand to get. old man.
asked the pessimist. ''if this goes rocky
Il don't know, Norris. I've never took
on with job like it before. | don't sup
pose it's much. They say they don't want
to kill i'm
$50 they say" said Mr.. Norris, doubt
fully.
what they want is t. s.. i. And it's a
vurry common comploint, too. Go and
look on the site and see what time the
trine's due"
Mr.. Norris did so and returned with the
information. that it was due in FIVE min
utes' time.
"Good!' said the other. You look after
Icey Creamo. I'll look after the toff'
own carriage. If I can only keep 'em
well away from the saloon it ought to. be
| pretty right. Wen follow 'em up in a
ansOm. That's the oidea, isn't it:''
oidea, old man.
The two strolled off, performed the
duties which they had assigned to them
selves. and the carriage from the embus sy
drove down to the end of the PLATFORM
The tidal train steamed over the bridge
came slowly into the station. the buffers
of the engine kissing the stop-buffers gent
~ just for fun. From every carriage
passengers descended, The porters at
loot in the shape of bulky portmanteauS
and bloated handbags, to he placed lin
| company with their respective travelling
companions) on cabs: the gentlemanly
man with the fierce mustachiOs, seeing Il
youthful figure. with refined face. de.
scending from i. saloon in the fore part
of the train, and looking helplessly around
hurried forward at once, hat in hand.
Par lei, votre Altessc sill vous plat.
Both stepped into the carriage, the door
was closed. and Icy Creamo-this was not
probably, the bogus coachman's real name
quickly drove out of the station. The
two men, who had been talking. jumped
into hansom and followed, with Il look
of extreme content upon their ingenious
faces.
"WelI. I never saw no prince get out.
SIR the guard said to the attache in
charge of the embassy carriage. per
halss he's walken on to the hotel
The attiche. much perturbed, declared
that he could not think it was likely, for
the prince had wired from Dover to say
he was coming. The inspector came up
judicial air, as though the remark half
settled the matter, that it was Il rum go.
His luggage is in the customs" said
the station inspector, but where's he?''
As this was precisely the point which
the others were troubled about there was
no reply.
''He can't have vanished into what you
may call thin air." said the station in
spector, augmentatively. You'd better
drive to the hotel. sir. and see if he's ar
rived. and then come back
The attache from the embassy. more
excited and more annoyed now that he
saw clearly that the disappearance would
the hotel on foot. Soon he returned.
"Personne is there" he cried.
''Oh, he's there, is hep said the sta.
ton inspector. Il thought there was NO
OCCASION"
Il say to you nobody is there His
his valet. His highness the prince has
Disappeared
"Well, I'm hangedv' said the station in
spector. Which, of course, was not, strict
" speaking, true.
The extra special editions came out
with placards bearing one item only:
ADDICTION OF A PRINCE.
SUPPOSED ANARCHIST PLOT.
They contained. of course the barest
account of the extraordinary affair, but
they were, nevertheless, quickly bought
up. The men selling in the streets were
surrounded by wouId-be purchasers, the
b0okstalls were besieged, no other topic
of conversation was permitted in decent
society; A perfect army of interviewers
came down to the station to see every
body; small battalion of snapshooters
took the scene from every conceivable
point of view. At the hotel they could
get little informati0n-and this. under the
circumstances, was not surprising; ut the
embassy they could get no information
ut all. but they -ascertained by dint of
patient waiting that good many tele-
this fact alone, handled with due dexter
ity, would make at least twenty or thirty
lines in the morning journals. They all
went home ut about 10.
1t was II o'clock that night exactly
that one of the two Englislmen came
back into the station and stood exactly
under the clock. To him, within two
minutes Inspector Birding of New Scot
land Yard-Inspector Brading. in silk hat
and frock coat, with white satin tie,
smoking big cigar, and presenting alto
gether genial see-it-eut appearance that
was agreeable: to- behold.
you'd better come down to the yard,
Norris said Mr.. Brading, when he rec
ognized his man. eve can settle all we
want to do ere, Mr. .Brading. You got
my telygraln?''
II did. Who do you want to split upon
Dow|' ~.
Mr.. Norris looked around and did not
speak until his gaze. rested again on III
spector Brading =z !.
eff you like to make it worth my
while" said Mr.. Norris, slowly, q can
tell yOu-I can tell you just where - 49, &
We'll, WELL . =5=1: ,.5.s. 'Ea 1.
Just where, at this very moment, the
missing prince is 2
rs that a fact ~ cried Inspector
Brading, with much anxiety.