The Cape Girardeau Democrat. (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) 1876-1909, 1898-04-16

until she came on deck on our arrival
at New York.
AS W. came into dock | saw her make
for the side of the boat. and commence
waving a handkerchief TO some one
amongst the crowd on shore.
Looking in the direction in which she
was gazing, l saw her signal answered,
and answered with a black-bOrdered
handkerchief. Then.
Now, in the name of all that is in
fernal. how the deuce did he get here?
There, standing on the dock. close
to the boat, was my friend the manikin,
with the same ~undaunted air of solem-
nifty, the same black suit, the same
black hat. black tie and black cuff but
tons. waving the same black-bordered
handkerchief!
| was puzzled! Not only that. l was
mad! The same feeling of irritation
with which his appearance on the boat
in Liverpool had inspired me came back,
intensified. The same longing to pick
him up between my finger and thumb
returned with uncomfortable force.
Cnfortunately-Or, perhaps. fortunate
ly for him and me, tool lost sight of
him in the hurry and hustle of land
ing.
On my way to the hotel I kept won
dering how on earth this remarkable
morsel of humanity had got to New
York ahead of us. He could not have
come as a stowaway on our boat, for
| saw him standing on the dock when
we left Liverpool, and | found him
standing on the dock when we reached
New York.
He could not have come by another
line, for the ship in which l had crossed
was the fastest Atlantic liner afloat.
and we had made Il record voyage.
And vet the fact remained that | had
left him in Liverpool and that | found
him in New York on my arrival.
There was something | did not like
about it-something uncanny, unnat-
ural. If he had intended crossing the
Atlantic. why did he not come by the
same steamer as his lady friend, Mrs.
Johnson? Where was the necessity for
the fearful leave-taking or the demon
s~trative reunion?
Then there came into my mind the
thought that this was no man at all.
lie IA n will-o'-the-wisp, n spOok, al
elf. a goblin!
The thing played upon my mind as I
drove to the hotel, until | felt impelled
to report the matter to the police. l
believe l should nave done this, had not
two considerations restrained me. The
first was that | had no time to spare, and
the second was that l was afraid of
making n fool of myself!
Eventually. | concluded that my man.
ikin must have solved the problem of
aerial navigation. and hat he had
crossed the Atlantic in an airship.
And when | remembered his bird-like
appearance, | was more than half in
clined to accept this theory as a cor
rect one.
| had just time to take a good din
ner at the Hoffman house; and then
I had to hurry off to the depot TO catch
the night express for Chicago. l had
business there which required my i'm
mediate attention. There was n Mr..
Peckitt in the Windy city to wnom L
had a letter from n Liverpool merchant,
and whom it vas necessary for me to
see at the earliest possible moment.
l had boarded the train and sat look
ing out of the window. when I caught
sight of Mrs. johnson coming along the
platform with the Mite.
The train was Just on the point of
starting; and, after they had gone
through the same performance of kiss
ing as in Liverpool, Mrs. Johnson got
into the car, leaving the manikin stand
ing on the platform. As we steamed
cut of the station l saw him waving a
farewell signal with the old black-bor-
dcred handkerchief.
"WelI. thank goodness. that's The last
of him." l said to myself as I turned in
to my sleeper. Flying machine or no
flying machine, he can't get ahead of
the train. even if he did beat the steam
ship"
I slept soundly, and did not awaken
until reused by the black porter in the
morning.
Now may all the powers of dark
ness seize HIM" was my prayer, as. on
reaching Chicago. | saw the little man
standing in the station. waving his
black-bordered handkerchief to Mrs.
johnson.
There was the identical manikin
whom | lad left standing on the docks
at Liverpool eight days ago, and left
again on the railway platform at New
York the night before.
The same black suit. the same black
hat. black tie, black stick: the same
black-bordered handkerchief waving in
the breeze.
1t was pulling. 1t was annoying! I
took it as a personal affront. Why
should this travesty of mankind pur-
sue me with such pestilent pertinacity?
Could | not go anywhere in this wide
world without meeting that eif-like fig
urp, and having that garb of unutter-
able woe presented to my unwilling
ewes? Were there no means of putting
Il quie;us to this cmnipresent mimicry
OF humanity? / should go crazy, if it
was TO be my cate to meet him at every
corner and crossroad in life. This