The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1895-08-14
A BAG OF MYSTERY.
1T UPSET THE EQUILIBRIUM OF A CAR
LOAD OF BRookLYNITES.

The Peace OF Mind which the Resident Of
Brooklyn Puts on with His Sunday
Clothes Greatly Disturbed by the Strange
Young Mans Actions.
There was an odd little episode in
Brooklyn trolley car Of the Flatbush line
ON recent Sunday afternoon, which
gave rise to an amusing comedy of con-
Hict between the natural curiosity Of
human nature and the civilized obliga- |
ton to restrain it.
Tho Flatbush and Flatlands line runs
away out into the region of cornflelds,
truck farms and forests lately gathered |
into Rrooklyn's municipal area. When |
the car started from the end of the route |
1t had aboard one passenger, pleasant
faced young man who carried large
leather handhag He was we'll dressed,
but his clothes were covered with dust
and his shoes with mud, suggesting that
he had been roaming across lots in the
rural wards As the car approached and
passed Prospect park it filled up with
Sunday strollers
The young man sat beside the stove,
with his bag ON his knees. After awhile
he opened the bag trifle, shook it
gently and peered attentively inside.
Then he pat his hand in and seemed to
be gently stirring up its contents The
passengers sitting directly opposite to
him became interested in his doings
but he didn't look up. After shaking
the bag from side to side for a little
while he bent over and became interest
ed in some mysterious business which
for the rest of the trip absorbed his en-
tire attention and also that of his fellow
passengers.
He reached down into the bag with
his right hand, lifted out something
carefully in the hollow Of his palm,
weighed it carefully, held it to his ear,
shook it, held it to his ear again and
then decisively reached around and put
it into his overcoat pocket Then he
reached into the bag again and went
through the same motions, except that
this time he placed the something care
fully in one corner of the bag First one
and then another of the passengers be-
came interested in the young man and
his performance until very soon every
one was peering closely, some almost
painfully, over at him and his bag. But
he never looked up. By and by the con-
ductor came in and walked nervously
the length of the car several times, peer
ing into the young mans bag as he
passed. But the bag was open only
trihe, and he could see nothing of its
contents. He went outside and discussed
the matter with a mnn who stood on
the platform
The young man, intensely absorbed
In his performances and seemingly al
together oblivious of the intense inter-
=. est of the other passengers in him, kept
steadily ON, lifting out invisible some-
: things, weighing them, listening to
them, shaking them and sorting them
over. Once in awhile he lifted out bits
of twigs and leaves and threw them on
the floor. The passengers eyed them
over attentively, but could make moth
! ing out of them. Soon they began whis-
pering one to another about the mystic
rious doings of the young man. and the
women moved nervously around, and
& one or two men looked as though they
were determined to ask the young man
for an explanation If he looked up. But
he didn't look up. Once in awhile a
passenger got out and tried hard to peer
into the bag as he passed it, but useless
ly. The situation was painful and was
also intensely oomical to one passenger
who was almost as much interested in
watching the ill concealed curiosity and
strained nervousness of the passengers as
in trying to fathom the mystery of the
young mans performance Probably if
it had been any other day than Sunday
= some one would have plucked up oour-
pertinent question and SO relieve the
general strain. But the restraint i'm.
posed by Sunday clothes held every one
back.
Finally when the car was entering
Fulton street, the young man suddenly
looked out of the window, closed the
bag with a nap and hurried out Of the
; oar. There was movement on the part
of the other passengers, partly of alarm
at the escape of the young man with
the mystery unsolved and partly perhaps
of relief at the end of the suspense. One
man made quick jump after the mys,
tefioue young man anu cauBnt MIN ior
few seconds as he was about to leave
the Car.
"What've y got? Whatever doing2'
he asked, regardless of all proprieties.
The young man looked surprised and
then smiled and said:
"Oh, coooons, ohrysalides, moths, you
know. I've been gathering them out in
the country, and sell them to the nat
uralists. Then he jumped off the car
The impulsive, inquisitive man re-
/. turned to his seat, and the remaining