The record-union., 1897-08-13

and most fngeniously -contrived mask,
which it had cost Loo Chai some weeks
of patient labor and the animal a like
period of not over-pleasant training to
get and keep in position But the hind
er part was a miracle of that imita-
| tive ingenuity IN which the Celestial
! exCelS all other workmen.
The delicate lacing along the back
where the hair of the original owner of
the skin had been thickest, something
after the fashion of an unkempt skye,
| when closed, and yet the inside of the
skin was lined with marvelously-
trived pockets, designed for small or
large stones, accordingly as the in
equalities of the animals body or the
length of the hair best afforded con-
cealment. Loo Chai pointed them all
out TO the wondering Jew, with calm
and, in its way, justifiable pride, and
when he had done Mr. Lowenfelt, who
so far had not uttered an articulate
sound, looked first at the half naked
dog and then at his own blandly-smi-
ing face and said very softly:
Veil, Pm-!"
Loo Chat silently restored the dog to
its original condition of disreputable
curdom. kicked it onto the floor with a
motion of his knee, and said quietly:
We'll, Missa Lonefelt, you no tink
dat velly first chop 1. D. B. doggie, eh?"
The immediate result of the somewhat
animated conversation which followed
Loo Chafs pertinent and business-like
question was the payment to him there
and then of ESQ in notes and gold, and
the drawing of a bill for $3.50 more at
sixty five days on the Standard Bank
at Cape Town. 1t was big price to
pay for a little dog. especially when
considered in conjunction with a COM
| mission of 10 per cent. on the possible
future value of its skin, and the paying
Of it made all the heart that Mr.. Low
enfeldt possessed ache for several days
and nights with a pain which stimu-
lated his normally keen wits to a really
| dangerous state of activity.
The Jew having thus paid his money,
1t was for the heather to do the rest;
and, as a first consequence of what he
did, a Pondo Kaffir whom long had
under his eye for the working out of
this particular scheme, presented him
self at the gate of the new compound
Of the De Beers mine for hire early on
the following morning but one.
He had a very disreputable looking
mongrel under his arm, and this with
only partly ineligible eloquence, he
strenuously declined to be parted from.
The officials objected but the Katfir
! stuck to his point, and his dog and
| eventually carried both through, for the
compound system was new and un-
popularth then and native labor was very
| scarce, so at last, as he was turning
away TO offer his services elsewhere, he
was called back and allowed to take his
cur in, for he was a fine, athletic, likely
| looking boy, and after all, if the dog
gave any trouble, a fatal illness would
not be a very difficult thing to arrange
for.
The Pondo proved to be an excellent
| workman, and so little was seen or
heard of the dog that its existence was
| forgotten long before the usual two
months engagement was up. ''Byme-
bye as the Kaffir called himself in ac-
| cordance with the common custom of
taking more or less grotesque English
names, found plenty of old acquaint-
ances in the compound, as both Loo
Chai and Mr.. Lowenfeldt had foreseen
that he would, and by virtue of sundry
| invisible transactions between him and
them his dog improved rapidly in value,
although his presence became even
more unobtrusive than ever.
About ten days before young Byme-
| bye's time was up one of his most in
innate friends left the compound after
passing bIamelessly through the then
usual fOrmalitiee under the hands of the
searching officials, and that night con-
trived to convey, through Loo Chai and
| one All Foo, his servant the welcome
| news to Mr.. Lowenfeldt that the Pom
| dos dog would come out with such
lining to it's second skin as the expert
enced broker felt justified in estimating
at from 100000 to $4,000 in value.
The Kaffir received two sovereigns in
| return for his news, and with them
and his own earnings he proceeded. af-
ter the manner of his kind, TO blind
| himself to the lights of heaven and
| divers baITooms for three days and
nights, after which he went back with
| a light pounch and a heavy head to do
another two months spell in the mine.
! This time he was the bearer of a mes
sage to his Pondo chum to the effect
that, if on his coming out he would take
| the dog to a certain place other than
the house of Loo Chai, he would get
E200 for it in place of the f100 that his
master had promised him. To this the
| POndo, being easy Of morals. and long
ing greatly for the possession of wives
and cattle in his own land, incontinent-
ly consented.
The reason for this leading astray
Of the untutOred savages may be quick
ly seen in the fact that 10 per cent. on
say, f10000, would be II ,000 and this,
with the amount Of the bill, would make
Il, ,2j0-which, when Mr. Lowenfeldt
came to think quietly over the matter
seemed to be a most outrageous price
to pay to a yellow-slxinned heather even
for dcub8e-sl1inned dog, and; after due
deliberation, he decided not to pay it, if
he could find any means of evading
| payment.
The shortest and easiest way to do
this was to procure the arrest and con-
viction of Loo Chat as an l. D. B. before
the Pondo got out, and to this end he
succeeded in bribing All Foo with cash
down and the promise of more to plant
four traps which he took from his
own safe, in convenient place in his
masters store. But, as there is more
| honor of a sort among heathens than
among thieves, All Foo gave the plot
| away in the same hour showed the trap
stones to Loo Chai who had been sus-
pecting some friendly action of the sort,
and with his consent took them away
with him for greater safety and his own
| reward
Very early the next morning the po-
lice acting on information received, :"
raided the store of Loo Chat, turned it
/ A.,