The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1898-09-30
A RUN TO FREETOWN.
By GEORGE GRIFFITH.

diamond dog, under the skin of which
gems We're struggled from the mine,
should remain a secret for very long.
70 the Illicit diamond buyers every de-
tail of it as it gradually leaked out was
as sweet morsel under the tongue, and
TO many more honest enemies of the
new compound system, mostly trades
men and canteen keepers, it was far too
acceptable a story either to be kept
dark or to be allowed to lose anything
in the retelling.
Added to this, the tragedy in which
1T had eliminated had lent a piquancy
to its flavor which sufficiently stimu-
lated the palate of Kimberley society to
set it longing for more, and so, little by
little, it filtered through the barriers of
official reticence until at last a fitting
finish was given to the story by the con-
fession of Chief Detective Inspector
Lipinski one night in the smoking
room of the club that that days mail
had brought him brief note written
by one Loo Chat, presumably former
resident of that name in Delagoa Bay,
requesting that an inclosed acceptance
for $3.50, drawn in his favor by the late
Mr.. Augustus Lowenfeldt, might be
Dashed by that gentleman executors,
and the amount, less 10 per cent COM
mission for his (the inspectors trouble,
forwarded at his convenience to Ma
lay street, Singapore. The note con-
cluded by stating that the $3.50 was
balance due from Mr.. Lowenfeldt on
the purchase Of a certain dog of the es-
tlmated value of 1000.
Despite the fact that not few of
those who heard the note read out and
looked at the acceptance as it was
handed round had lost some proportion
OF that 81 L, 900, the irony of the note
and the delicate humor of the address
glyen-Malay street, Singapore, having
reputation that is redolent throughout
the whole east-provoked a laugh as
general as it was hearty, and the next
morning all Kimberley was enjoying
the heathen's parting joke.
That night lady variety vocalist ct
the Theater Royal sent her audience into
prolonged and vociferous raptures by
singing the then famous patter song
"Keyser, Don't You Want to Puy a
Tog!' with appropriate local illusions,
and then Kimberley proceeded to i'm
prove the occasion in it's own way.
mo Dogs Admitted was found
painted in large black letters across the
principal entrance to the De Beers COM
pound. The corpse of a large Newfound-
land dog sewed up in the skin of a small
donkey and carefully packed in neat
case was sent by coach from Vryburg
to the chief inspector to be paid for on
delivery" Printed notices were stuck
up in conspicuous parts of the town to
the effect that in future all dogs enter
ing or leaving Kimberley would have
to be skinned alive "by authority, :"
and SO on until the very sight of dog
in the street afflicted the worthy in
spector and his subordinates with some
thing like new sort of rabies.
All this was humorous enough in its
way as humor went then in camp, but
for all that it was destined to lead up
Indirectly to much darker tragedy
than that which had closed the hitherto
prosperous career of Mr.. Augustus Low
enfeldt.
There was at that time in Kimberley
q Yankee adventurer named Seth Salter,
who was known to the detective depart
ment as an even more skillful /. d. B.
than the late lamented Lowenfeldt. His
ostensible means of livelihood were
stock and share speculation, billiards
and three card monte, varied by the &C.
casional keeping Of faro bank, but
though he did we'll at all these compar-
atively honest vocations he did not do
we'll enough to satisfactorily account
for a style Of living and Insurance of
dissipation which could not be ade-
quately supported on less than $4,000 a
year at the most modest computation.
There were only possible alternative
hypothesis, debt or l. d. B., and he had
no debts.
Now, Seth Salter was one of the most
conspicuous of the humorists who, as
he put it, made the department. see dogs
instead Of snakes when the officials
thereof had got bit too full, and
before very long Inspector Lipinski
publicly stated in the bar of the Queen 8
hotel that the next time Mr. Salter
tried, either in person or by proxy, to
run parcel of illicit stones over the
border to Freetown he would so ar
range matters that by the time the cir
Gus was over the said Mr.. Salter would
have good reason to wish that he had
been born dog instead of dirty,
stock rigging, card swindling diamond
thief
AS it CHANGED, just as the inspector
was emphasizing the above statement,
garnished with certain verbal frillings
which need not be produced here, by
slapping his four fingers on the bar
counter Mr.. Seth himself lounged into
the room. The instant turning of the
eyes Of the company on to him told
him as plainly as any words could have
done that he was the subject of the in
spector's eloquence. The crowd saw at
a glance THAT he had taken in the situa-
tion, and every one expected a royal
row, for Salter was known to have q
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