The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1895-03-15
FREDERICK CITY MD. FRIDAY MORNING. MARCH Is 1895

mind TO cancel the remainder OF his
leave and return to India. in the hopes
that the active life with his regiment
might clear away the haunting fancies
from his brain. and yet when il came
TO the point he could not make mp his
mind TO leave the land where the girl
whom he believed had been foully
murdered, slumbered in her grave. one
day when he was almost wearied out
with his self-tormentngs, it suddenly
mashed acrosss his mind that a friend
or his had written to him to say that he
mad sent tiger. which had grown too
large for pet, to the Geological Gar
dens, and begged him to go and see
Motee. for 80 the animal was called,
Tor old acquaintance sake.
A good thought: l will go and see
now the poor beast is getting along"
thought the major, who was walking
llstlessly out OF his club in st. James
Square, where the thought occurred to
MIN, and hailing a hanson. he was
driven off rapidly in the direction of
Regents Park. As soon as the major
entered the gardens he made his way
TO the dens where the large carnivora
are Kept, and slipping a couple of shil-
llngs into the keepers hand. begged
MIN to show him the cage in which
the tiger Motee was confined the ami
NAL which had been presented to the
society by Mr.. Cumfeld. the Com
missioner of Jatpore.
CLOSE by, sir" answered the man.
adroitly slipping the money into his
/ pocket and leading the way to the den,
he extended his hand towards a full
grown tiger reclining listlessly upon
the sanded boards of her cage
HI, Motee, Motee." cried the man,
here Is gentleman to have look
at you"
The creature blinked lazily at him.
but took no further notice OF his ad-
dress.
imprisonment does not seem to
agree with her constitution" remarked
Manvers. When last saw her. in
india, she was as froicsome as kit
ten."
And she IS now. sir" answered the
keeper; when night comes she tears
about the cage like mad thing, and,
for the matter of that. so do all the
striped and spotted creatures"
That must be very interesting
sight" observed Manvers, interested
in spite of himself by the mans narra-
ton. What a pity that the public
are not admitted to the gardens after
dark"
But some of them are, sir" replied
the man: land as see that YOU are a
gentleman, think 1 could manage 1t
for you. There is an old chap with
a with beard and face like a corpse
that often comes in and talks to the
reptiles for hours in their native lam
guage. He brought over a deadly, VEN
omous cobra from the Injees, and he
comes to see how it gets on; it's as
good as a play to hear what he says,
and see what he does, too, for the mat
ter Of that"
An old man with a white beardw
exclaimed Manvers; IAN old man who
talks In Hindustani to the snakes."
Il don't know what name he calls
his lingo by" replied the keeper, "but
his own particular reptile seems to un-
derstand him thoroughly"
when does he Gomez" asked the
major.
Let me see," answered the man.
scratching his head thoughtfully, ITO
day is Thursday; he'll be here to-mor-
row-he always comes on Friday-at
least most always"
Can You get me into the gardens
on that night?" inquired the major.
IF you can manage it, will give you
a sovereign"
TITS worth all the money. sir" re-
piled the keeper; but I'm on-you be at
the Primrose Hill gate at nine o'clock
on Friday night. and I'll see you are
passed. AK your pardon. SIR" he con-
tinued. but may I ask you not to come
logged up like a swell; It would make
ma tiers a bit easier.
The arrangement was soon complet-
ed and Manvers left the gardens a
prey to the widest feeling of excite
element. A deep-rooted conviction
founded upon no logical base, made
him feel certain that the white-headed
visitor to the Geological Gardens was
DR.. Langton Hesselton, and he at the
same time felt perfectly certain that
strange revela ations were nigh at hand
The intervening hours were spent in
q state of feverish excitement, and the
appointed time found him at the gate
which had been selected by the keeper
as the place of rendezvous. According
to the wish which the man had ex-
pressed he donned a black felt hat
and a serge coat, though, as the keep
er muttered. "he wasn't half shabby
enough by a long chalk" The gate
was opened. and as the pair passed
through the tunnel which led from one
portion of the gardens to the other
Manvers eagerly inquired If the noe.
turnal visitor had yet made his ap-
pearance.
"He came about five minutes before
you arrived. and went straight to the
reptile house." answered the man.
Let us go then, at once" returned
the major.
won't you see Motee first. sir?"
asked the keeper, "She is real frolick-
some tonight"
Later. later" replied Manvers, i'm
patiently, and without another word
the man led the way In the required
direction.
The night was intensely hot and
sultry, and as they passed some of the
dens. the various inmates could be seen
moving restlessly backwards and for
wards as though Influenced by the
atmospheric conditions OF the night
All at once there was a binding flash
OF lightning, followed by a crash OF
thunder, and then the rain began to fall
in warm, heavy drops. They had, by
this time, however. reached the door
of the reptile house. and, as Manvers
crossed the threshold, he came to
sudden halt, absolutely petrfed at the
spectacle which met his eyes. The gas
was alight. and the bright glow pene-
trated into every nook and corner of
the spacious room. The electricity OF
the atmosphere appeared to have had
q strange and terrible effect on the
denzens of the various cages and