Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-05-04

aboard the boat to promote the row and
add to the din of Custom House Ben and
the person from the Tyrol.
AT last the war was over. The chief
managed to separate Custom House Ben
and his foe from the mountains. The
chief inquired briefly into the trouble. de-
Custom House Ben that he was too en-
thusiastic. Suddenly, as If a thought had
flashed upon him, the chief returned to the
wharf and again took position overlooking
the suspicious packing case. He never
noticed Flannigan's switch.
After the direct work was over the
waiting chief strobe up to. the packing
where's Custom House Ben? he call
Here replied Ben at his elbow.
did you inspect this trunk%
Custom House Ben looked at the chalk
initials as If for Identification.
"'Yes, sir
"'Open it, commanded the chief in
tone as direct as a bullet
THE trunk was opened. 1t was all
right, correct in every particular. Custom
House Bens o. k was O. K. after all.
The chief was baffled. He shifted in a
but he was at the end of his rope. He
turned and bored a look into Custom
House Ben's face like a gimlet That gen.
tleman's countenance was like an affidavit
to his honesty. The chief gave it up.
Smiley, Custom House Ben and Elan
nigan breathed freely again and Smileys
pulse ran down from 40 to 6S. AT 3
o'clock in the morning, dark as stack
of rain, Custom House Ben dispatched two
hawks of the river to fish up the drowned
packing case.
80 Smiley got his treasures together
after a while. He thought his troubles
over. That's where Smiley fell into error.
Now happened a tangle which even Gus
tom House Ben had not foreseen.
Smiley had put in but one day in a
continuous effort to sell his silks when
everybody had to run to cover again. This
was the trouble: A. T. Stewart was the
The moment he got a rumor of these silks
being in town for sale he began a CAM
paign of inquiry 1t was a campaign of
education for poor Smiley shivering in
fifth story on Broadway with his silks,
which at last began to seem like traps set
to destroy him.
"Stewarts detective went first to the
custom house. No such silks had paid duty.
They were keen hands and took the tip
in a moment The silk had been smuggled
in, they said. All of Stewards detectives
hunted for those silks. So did all of the
New York regular force. Smiley laid close
as a rabbit.
'.Then came another shock Custom
House Ben was adding to his stock of
silk,,learning every minute. He brought
Smiley stealthy word one night that his
silk possessed dangerous popularity. The
selvages of no two bolts of it were alike.
Each selvage was doomed differently from
the Lyons works, and a piece of the sell
wage was kept there an Identification of
this factory chronicle of Its weaving. The
makers books showed a slip Of the sell
wage of each bolt, with the date of its
manufacture, as well as mention of the
time when and the person to whom the
bolt was sold
1--WE must trim off every bit of sell
wage said Custom House Ben, and de-
stroy it. or we're gone fawn Skins And
he produced two pairs of shears
TT took two days. At last the tolls of
Smiley and Custom House Ben subsidized
and they made away with the accusing
selvages. Then two months later, when
Stewards hue and cry died out, Smiley
crept about for buyer. He found one at
last; mantua maker, who took his stock
off his hands at about cost figures. Smiley
just about got out even. and there was no
profit left to be divided between himself
and Custom House Ben and Flanagan, the
faithful; whereat the latter worthy ground
his disguised teeth. But the experience
wrought one tremendous advantage for
Smiley. 1t cured him of all taste for
smuggling"